Studio Saturday

a bead crochet necklace - wonderful addition to a minimalist outfit

There are so many wonderful seed bead techniques that I didn’t really need another. But one day I saw a super chunky seed bead necklace that looked like a tube with wonderful patterns and discovered it was bead crochet. And I decided I needed to learn how to make it. That was about 25 years ago. I love wearing these ropes. And I love making them. All of my ropes tell a story. They are eye catching and elevate a simple minimalist outfit.

The idea is to create a fabric, and the beads end up on the outside. I have used size 8, 11 and 15 seed beads or delica beads.

Pattern

First you need a pattern. There are books out there and if you google bead crochet patterns you won’t be disappointed. I like to create my own patterns and use a program called BeadTool. You could even use graph paper.

Thread

It really depends on the size bead you are using and how many beads in the round you are using. Patterns should tell you.

Preparation

You need to thread all of your beads on before you start to crochet. I use a big-eyed needle. I just threaded a pattern which has 21 beads in a row and has 224 rows. So, 4,704 beads. This part is tedious and of course if you mess up and pick up too many beads or too few beads for the row you end up messing up the pattern visually. But you won’t know until you start to crochet.

Crocheting

For a tube with 21 beads in the round I use a single crochet stitch. First, I chain 22 and join in the round. Then I single crochet the beads into each chain. For the next row I slip my crochet hook under the bead and pop it to the right. I let a bead drop down from the thread and it should sit on top of the previous row’s bead. I yarn over and draw the thread through. You now have 2 stitches on the hook. I yarn over again and draw through both loops. That’s it. You just keep going round and around.

Clasps

For most of my designs I use a magnetic clasp. For a rope with 21 beads around I use a 15mm clasp. I glue the ends of the rope into the clasp.

One of my favorite bead crochet ropes is one where I derived inspiration from a Georgia O’Keefe painting.

The painting is called Black Cross, New Mexico.

ABOUT THIS ARTWORK

“For me, painting the crosses was a way of painting the country,” recalled Georgia O’Keeffe about the series of compositions featuring Catholic crosses that she created upon visiting the Southwest in 1929. In Black Cross, New Mexico, she contrasted the handmade cross, magnified in scale and isolated flat against the picture plane, with the distant brilliance of the sunset behind the rolling hills. O’Keefe’s cross paintings helped cement her association with New Mexico, to which she would return every summer until she moved there permanently in 1949. The Art Institute of Chicago organized her first major museum retrospective in 1943, an purchased this painting at the time.

The necklace I’m currently working on is a deco inspired design of southwestern colors. I have decided to offer the pattern here when I finish the necklace. So, stay tuned.

You might enjoy this video

Thanks again for being here.

Louise x