"Round Squared"

A Right Angle

Weave Pendant

How-To

 

This post is a how-to on a right angle weave ("RAW") surrounded disc to create a pendant piece for a necklace.  I will not be teaching RAW in this post ~ just how to use RAW to create a focal piece.  You can find some great RAW how-to's on the Internet and I encourage you to do so if you do not know RAW.  Otherwise, you will not get through this project!

For this particular pendant, all I am doing is surrounding a round disc with a square box.  I will show you the basic structure - it's up to you to finish it!  

If you do, I'd love to see the finished project.  I'll even post your finished photos on my blog.  So send me a photograph and your experience and I'll get it up!  

Materials:

35-38 mm round disc (in any material)
11/0 rocaille seed beads
15/0 rocaille seed beads in 2 colors
   (optional 1 15/0 rocaille, 1 15/0 hex cut)
Fireline .006mm in crystal or black
13/0 beading needle
Scissors (sharp ones!!)
Bead Pad
50 - 4mm Czech glass fire polish rounds
1 strand - 4-5mm Freshwater pearls 
                 (or something else in whatever material that has a nice contrast to your work)



1.  You will build a basic RAW structure by stringing the following beads to create your RAW "boxes."

15/0 rocaille
15/0 hex
11/0 rocaille
15/0 hex
15/0 rocaille

2.  You will re-create this pattern for each side of the RAW box.  

3.  Now, you will create a row of 9 boxes.  

4.  Connect to your first row of 9 boxes, a 2nd row of 9 boxes.

5.  Connect to your 2nd row of 9 boxes, a 3rd row of 9 boxes.

6.  Now create your final row of 9 boxes to create a square.  

THE TRICK:  There is a trick to attach row 4 to row 1.  After box 7, string your beads for the first side of box 8.  Pass your needle through the closest side on box 9.  You can see in my picture the beads strung and my needle sticking out of the closest row - see that?  

7.  After you pass your needle through this row, pick up your next side of beads and finish the box.  Tighten it up, pass your needle back through several areas, create a knot, pass your needle through a few more areas, create a knot, cut off your thread. 

It sounded like I was repeating myself?  I was!  You can never be too careful with knotting off your Fireline and cutting off.  I knot in several places before doing so to ensure my work will not fall apart later.  Take heed!

8.  You are now going to begin the side embellishments on your box.  Pass you needle and add boxes where you see them in my finished box in the photograph to the right.

As you can see from the left photo, I added one box on the inside of the square and several along the outside of the square.

9.  Here's a closeup of the finish box with embellishments.  I put my disc in the center to be sure it would fit.  Cute, huh?  

Make sure you knot off in several places and cut off your Fireline.  

10.  Now you need to re-create this box as you see it all over again.  We are going to layer the two together when we're done and you need two identical layers to do this.  So get busy!

11.  As you can see here, I have the two layers spread apart like a butterfly so you can see more completely what I'm in the process of doing.  I'm zipping the two layers together with RAW along the side.  You use the 11/0 rocaille, adding 11/0;s as you make RAW stitches along the edge.  

THE TRICK:  Work your RAW along with edge with 11/0's only.  It's easier to see what bead your working off on each of the two edges and what beads your adding to attach the two sides together.  11/0 make the work visible.

You can't see the detail work here, but you can see how I hold the two pieces and am working the edges. 







  

12.  When you have all 4 sides sewn together, you can needle back to the front of one of the two sides (there is no top or bottom, just pick a side to make your front) and start crossing the tops of the boxes with your embellishment beads.  

In this close-up you can see how I crossed over and embellished my boxes on this blue piece (which is in progress).  

When you create crossovers, you are using this pattern:   

15/0
4 mm Czech or 4-5mm Freshwater Pearl 
15/0

Here is a close-up of the final on my brown piece.  I used transparent dark topaz 4mm Czech glass and freshwater pearls.  

On the blue piece, I used 4mm cobalt blue crystal bicones and 3mm Czech glass opaque turquoise fire polish rounds.  You can use whatever you want!  Just have fun with it!

Thanks for beading with me and I'll see you next time!!

Tassel Bohemian Earrings

Art Fiber Tassel Earrings

In this short how-to, I will teach you to create a tassel made from embroidery floss and turn it into an earring!

You will need the following materials:

Embroidery floss - any color
1 - A big-eye needle
2 - Earwires
2 - Eyepin
6 - Jump rings
2 - Bead caps 
8-12 - Indian Bells
1x1.5" piece of cardboard
Scissors
Flat nose and round nose pliers
Jewelry wire cutters

Hold the free end of the embroidery floss under your thumb on top of the cardboard card, with a small 1 to 1.5" tag of embroidery floss hanging off the card.  










Wind the embroidery floss around the card 8 to 10 times, so that you end up with an even amount of loops on the bottom of the card. 

The tag of embroidery floss and the longer length attached to the skein will end on top of the card if this is done correctly. 

Slowly, pull the card out of the loops so that you have something that looks like this.  

Do not cut off the longer length.  We will need it to stay attached for a few more minutes.

Pinch the loops in between your forefinger and thumb so that the top 1/4" of the tassel is sticking out (along with the two pieces of floss).  
Grab the longer piece of floss, and tightly wrap around the top of the tassel so that is it completely covered. 

Now you can cut off the longer length of floss, leaving 1 foot.  

Thread the 1 foot length of floss onto the big eye needle and carefully pass it up in between the loops (through the middle) of the bottom of the area you just wrapped.  










Pass the big eye needle back through to the top of the tassel so that the tassel, once again, has both pieces of the floss coming out of it. 

Now, you want to knot both pieces of floss to each other carefully (as as to not pull length from the loops). 

After making your knot, you may cut off both pieces of extra floss. 

You now have a tassel.  Now, make another tassel.  After you have two tassels, you can begin assembling the earrings.

Earring Assembly:

Pick up one tassel, split the loops apart evenly and carefully pass the eyepin up through the bottom of the tassel so that the top of the eyepin exits the top of the tassel (leaving the eye of the pin in between the loops and under the head of the tassel).  If yours' looks like mine, you've done it right! 

Now, put the bead cap on top of the tassel so that it covers the head of the tassel, like so....

















We are making a wrapped loop on top of the tassel.  This will hold the tassel together with the bead cap and provide places to attach our ear wire and charms!  Yeah!

Pick up the flat nose pliers and make a right angle bend right above bead cap.  Put your flat nose pliers down and pick up the round nose plier.  Place the round nose plier next to the right angle bend and gently pull the long piece of wire around the top round nose.

You need to reposition the pliers (see photo) so that the wire passes through the middle of the plier jaws.  

Once you have repositioned, gently pull the long piece of wire down around the bottom jaw of the round nose pliers.  

When you pull the pliers off, you will have a loop!  Well, if you've done it right.  No worries, you can contact me or google "wrapped loop how to" and get more specific directions. 

Position the loop in between jaw of your round nose pliers and wrap the end of the wire around its base 2 times.  Cut off any excess wire you may have and gently push the end into its base with your flat nose pliers. 

All we do now is open jumps rings and attach bells. Jump rings are meant to be pulled open front to back, not side to side.  

I put 2 to 3 bells on a jump ring, hooked the edge of the filigree bead cap, and gently close the jump ring.  Do this once or twice around the cap, or on either side of the cap, depending on how many bells you would like on your earring. 

Your final steps!  

Open the loop on your earwire, hook the loop on top of the tassel and close your earwire loop.  The earwire should now be attached to the tassel.  

As you can see, we have our bells on the cap already and your only other step is to cut the bottom of the tassel loops with scissors.  If they don't cut evenly, no worries!  Gently, trim the longer strands and even it all up. 

Enjoy!