Try our detailed instructions for yourself

Try our detailed instructions for yourself. The Spinning Top Bead is the simplest bead design that we have using our original technique called the Fringe Method. These cute little beads are perfect for earrings, and look great flanking a fancy focal in a necklace. The variations section in this pattern includes instructions for the Poppy Pod Bead.

Examples

Here are Gwen's playful Spinning Top Earrings. Artists in our Guest Gallery have made Spinning Top Beads (some with variations) as well: a large Spinning Top, and a badge holder. Spinning Tops make great side beads to support a beaded bead focal. Here are some in a necklace featuring a Double Rose Window.

Makes Earrings, too

The Flower Ring is a big, shiny cocktail ring that is remarkably comfortable for its size. The Embellished Spinning Top Earrings are fun and fancy top-shaped earrings. Both feature the beaded bead described in this pattern. The pattern also includes variations that look great with bead caps. This versatile pattern builds on the Spinning Top bead, embellishing the design until the original shape disappears. We sell kits for the rings; the kits include materials to make 1 Flower Ring, including he wire for the band, and of course, all the beads.

Examples

The variations in this pattern teach you to make the beaded beads in the Embellished Spinning Top Earrings. Here's another pair and a variation. The pattern also shows you how to make bead-capped Embellished Spinning Top Beads. Gwen has other bead-capped Embellished Spinning Tops in her gallery, and here is a necklace in the Guests' Gallery showing that variation. Here are some of Gwen's fancy variations on this idea.

Quick and flashy

The Fringe Method makes covering a crystal core with bugle beads a snap. The Telstar Bead resembles its namesake, the first telecommunications satellite. You'll be surprised how quickly you'll sew these beads; make a whole strand! The clear quartz core bead sparkles through between the bugle beads, making the Telstar beads glow with reflected light.

Examples

The kits include materials to make 3 Telstar beads, so you can make a necklace like Gwen's Telstar Necklace. Florence's Telstar Necklace includes 11 beaded beads. Here's another necklace made with Telstars from our Guests' Gallery. Don't miss Carina Veling's clever Telstar spider in our Guest Gallery.

Not made with peyote stitch

The Fringe Method makes it easy to capture the sparkle of a Swarovski rivoli. The Rivoli Sunflower resembles a sparking flower in full bloom. The captured rivoli (a faceted crystal) has an attached bail than can be strung on a chain or cord. You can make a pendant from one Rivoli Sunflower for a simple necklace, or string 3 or even 5 pendants on a single strand of beads to really show off your jewels. You can also link 4 or 5 Rivoli Sunflowers together to make a dazzling bracelet.

Examples

See examples of necklaces and a bracelet made from the Rivoli Sunflower in Gwen's Gallery. Here are a necklace and some pendants. This is Gwen's Blue Sunflower Set, featuring Rivolis galore!

Good enough to eat

This beaded bead was the very first design that we made, using the Fringe method. The uniform seed beads give the Blueberry a mosaic quality, perfect to create designs with color. The very first one we made was in gray and blue and looked just like a blueberry. The pattern includes color schemes with diamonds, stripes and zigzags, as well as a template to help you invent your own. In this pattern, we also show you how to trade some of the seed beads for crystals, for added sparkle.

Examples

Florence made a necklace with 11 blueberry beads, and a necklace with just one. Here is a pendant with crystals replacing some of the seed beads. Gwen made mini blueberry bead earrings, a design also described in the pattern.

Exquisitely detailed

If you enjoyed making the Spinning Top Bead, you'll love using the Fringe Method again to create the Rosebud. The Rosebud beaded bead resembles a flower bud or a strawberry, with cleverly woven embellishment, adding fine detail to the finished design.

Examples

Gwen made a necklace using Rosebud Beaded Beads in Velvety Blue. Florence made earrings colored to look like Rosebuds. Florence also made a necklace using a close cousin of the Rosebud Beaded Bead.

The Rosebud's big sister

Check out this necklace and this pendant that feature the Rosebud and her big sister, the Four of Spades. Here is a necklace in our Guests' Gallery.The colors in the Rosebud kits match those in the Four of Spades kits.

Eye catching focal

The Four of Spades resembles a flower bud with four spade motifs pointing towards each of the two holes of the beaded bead. In making the Four of Spades beaded bead, you will use the Fringe Method, and then embellish with several rounds of seed beads. Both made with the Fringe Method, the Four of Spades beaded bead and the Rosebud beaded bead, make a nice set.

Examples

Gwen made a necklace and a pendant with the Four of Spades. They both also feature the Rosebud bead, which looks great with the Four of Spades because both designs involve the Fringe Method and both have roto-reflection symmetry. Here's a necklace from Gwen featuring a Four of Spades in bright pink. Here is a necklace in our Guests' Gallery.

Try our detailed instructions for yourself

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The Crystal Bangle pattern is one of our easiest patterns. Crystals peek through twisting rows of seed beads to make this intricate and yet simple bracelet. Give it a try!

Examples

Artists in our Guest Gallery have made some Crystal Bangles (some with variations) as well: One, Two, Three, Four

A great first project

The Diamond Net bead uses the Filled Net Technique to make an elegant tapered focal. The pattern describes all of the beaded beads, including the button, in these necklaces. The three tiered variation (the Mini Diamond Net bead) that is perfect for earrings. The miniature version looks nice flanking the focal or on its own.

Examples

Gwen made many necklaces with Diamond Net Beaded Beads. Click here: necklace, necklace, necklace. Here's a necklace with small Diamond Net Beads.  Here's Gwen's Cosmic Diamond Net necklace, made with the Cosmic Gemstones kit.

On a cord or in a necklace

The crystals in the Barrel Bead peek out through the netting, adding depth and sparkle to this elegant focal bead. You can wear the Barrel Bead alone, as it has a hole wide enough to accommodate a cord or a chain over an eighth of an inch thick. It also looks great as the focal of a necklace, with matching Cuboctohedra.

Examples

Gwen made a Ruby Barrel Necklace and a Green Garnet and Beaded Bead necklace, featuring a Barrel Bead. And here's Gwen's Lab in a Barrel Necklace, featuring a mini labradorite Barrel Bead. This necklace features a Barrel Bead in Aquamarine with lampwork and Chinese knots.

Ring nebulae are where stars are born

The Filled Net Technique makes a tight circle when you vary the sizes of the beads that fill the net. These sparkling little wreaths look nice hanging on a chain, or woven into necklaces. The cable twists like a telephone cord when woven into long segments. This allows you to make links and knots such as the Whitehead Link.

Examples

Here, you can see Florence's original Ring Nebula, made before we refined the design into the pattern we sell. You'll like wearing the Ring Nebulae on a chain, and you'll love working them into finished jewelry. Here are some choker necklaces, for example. Gwen often incorporates hand made glass beads into her finished jewelry. One of Gwen's necklaces, displayed on the web site of Redside Designs, shows a Ring Nebula together with other beaded beads and lampwork glass (scroll down; you can't miss it). Gwen occationally makes objets d'arts like this link, using the Ring Nebula pattern.

A Tactile Cube

El Cubo is probably our most tactile beaded bead.  The whole bead has a alluring springiness about it, and the small beads roll pleasingly between your finger tips.  The hole through the faces of the cubo is large enough to accommodate a thin chain or chord.  If strung on beading wire, the cubo can also be strung through the holes on the corners. 

Examples

Gwen made a necklace and another necklace using an El Cubo bead. Here's Gwen's Ripe Berry Necklace. Here are Gwen's Itty Bitty Cubos, made with gemstones. Here's an El Cubo Necklace in our Guests' Gallery.

A Bracelet and Earrings Set

We designed the Almond Drops pattern to complement the Double Rose Window and Sea Star. Using the Lace Overlay technique, you will sew these almond shapes, and then embellish with seed beads to add detail and structure. They drape beautifully linked together in a bracelet, and individually make striking earrings. The pattern describes how to make both the earrings and the bracelet, and the kits include materials for both.

Examples

Florence made Almond Drop earrings shown here to go with her Triangle Necklace. Gwen made Almond Drop Earrings to go with her Sea Star necklace. Here's another Almond Drops-Sea Star set from our Guest Gallery. Gwen made these Almond Drop Earrings from gemstones.

A Lace Overlay Classic

The Double Rose Window's hollow body lets light sparkle through the seed bead bordered windows. The roundel shape makes a great focal, but also looks fantastic flanking a larger bead like the Time Machine. The Double Rose Window pattern is easily adaptable to an olive shaped 4-fold version, perfect for earrings.

Examples

Florence made a necklace including a Double Rose Window Bead. In Florence's Gallery, you can see at early version of this design. Gwen made a necklace with some Double Rose Window Beads. She made another necklace with Carnelian and Amethyst. Florence's Bead Dreams 2007 entry includes some Double Rose Window beads, as well. Here are some Double Rose Window beads accompanying a Time Machine. Gwen replaced some of the size 8/0 seed beads in these Double Rose Window beads with drops to match the Time Machine. Here is a necklace including both 4-fold and 6-fold Double Rose Windows, as well as Spinning Tops.

Beautifully round

The Octahedral Cluster looks like a cube with its corners and edges smoothed out. Like a cube it has six faces, each with a hole large enough to accommodate a chain or a thin chord. Since the bead is hollow, the octahedral cluster can also be strung on a wire through any of the eight corners. Five Octahedral Clusters make a stunning choker, but one Octahedral Cluster bead can be just as spectacular as a focal.

Examples

Florence made a choker with Octahedral Clusters. Gwen made a necklace featuring Octahedral Clusters and lampwork beads, and another featuring the Maroon and Gold Octahedral Cluster. Here's Gwen's Casual Clusters Necklace. Here's a necklace with a mini Octahedral Cluster. Gwen made two variations on the Octahedral Cluster Beads. Here's one beaded bead and here's the other (huge) beaded bead. Look for more examples in the Guests' Gallery like this cell phone dangle, or these necklaces.

Ornate pendant

The Seven Sister Bead Cluster resembles a glistening glass chrysanthemum. This design incorporates a variety of stitches in uncommon combinations to deliver a radially symmetric cluster of beads. A web of beads on the back allows you to add a cord or chain to the finished cluster and wear it as a pendant. Add a pin back and it becomes a broach. A hair clip lets it adorn your hair.

Examples

Here are examples from Gwen's Gallery: 1, 2. She made some spectacular Seven Sisters Pendants with dichroic glass: 1, 2. Here's more from Florence's Gallery. Even more examples from the Guest Gallery: 1, 2, 3, Skulls!

Twinkle, twinkle...

The Sea Star is a solid two-sided star that we made into a pendant by adding a wire loop. It can be strung into a necklace through the points, as well.

Examples

Gwen made a Sea Star necklace with matching Almond Drop Earrings, and another Sea Star necklace, on a Double Daisy Chain. Florence made a necklace featuring a three-fold variation on this pattern. Here is another Sea Star necklace with matching Almond Drop Earrings in our Guest Gallery. This Sea Star necklace has matching Three Drop Earrings.

Spectacular

The Time Machine beaded bead resembles a baroque decorative egg. The surface of this bead is speckled with precisely placed drop beads and a layered lace work of seed beads. One makes a nice focal bead, or for a more elaborate necklace, combine the Time Machine with other cluster beads such as the Double Rose Window or the Octahedral Cluster.

Examples

See the Ruby Time Machine and the Harvest Jewels Necklaces in Gwen's Gallery, both including Time Machines and variations on the Double Rose Window.

Try our detailed instructions for yourself

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The Double Daisy Chain is a stitch that we designed to coordinate well with our beaded beads. The small loops of seed beads echoes the lines of seed beads visible in our Lace Overlay series and our Filled Net series of beaded beads. Give it a try!

Examples

Gwen made a necklace and another necklace using the Double Daisy Chain Stitch and featuring the Sea Star Bead. See a three-stranded bracelet and this necklace in our Guest Gallery

Chandelier earrings from seed beads

The Three Drop Earrings provide a nice alternative to wire wrapped chandelier earrings. The earrings use a variation on the Double Outline Stitch, which we first developed in our pattern for the Double Daisy Chain. The Double Outline Stitch makes these earrings stiff enough to hold their shape, rather than flexible, as flat beadwork tends to be.

Examples

These are Three Drop Earrings from Gwen's Gallery. Gwen made a pair of Three Drop Earrings for her Late Summer Set. Here is a Three Drops-Sea Star set from our Guest Gallery.

Two patterns in one

This pattern starts with a beginner’s step-by-step lesson describing how to construct the Basic Beaded Dodecahedron with 30 (round or bicone) beads. Then the pattern describes the main project, the Infinity Dodecahedron, a hollow lacework of beads with 12 pentagonal holes wide enough to see through. The instructions carefully guide you through the steps for weaving a layer of beaded lace that curls into a ball with a large rattle bead on the inside. Kits include beads to make all three of the beaded beads shown here.

A versitile weave

You can easily scale patterns involving the Infinity Weave by resizing the beads. You can also construct many geometric shapes with the Infinity Weave. The pattern discusses all of the regular solids, in addition to several variations using different types of drop beads.

Examples

Gwen demonstrates some of the variations of this design in this pile of Dodecahedra.

Infinity Dodecahedron
Part 2

This is not a stand alone pattern; the Infinity Donut beaded bead pattern is an extension of the Infinity Dodecahedron. It is a hollow lacework of beads. The instructions will carefully guide you through the steps for weaving beaded lace that curls into a ring. Many other geometric shapes are also possible with Infinity Weave, and we present a special example at the end of this pattern. These instructions assume you have already learned how to make the Infinity Dodecahedron beaded bead.

Example

This multistrand necklace features an Infinity Donut in firey orange. Here are a couple of Infinity Donuts, one of the capturing a lampwork bead.

Water lilies

The Lotus Beaded Bead resembles a glistening flower in full bloom. The finished Lotus can measure any size, depending on the size and number of drop beads you use. The Lotus in the step photographs measures 43mm wide and 20mm thick, making it a good size for a large focal piece for a necklace. Because there is such a wide variety of shapes and sizes of drop beads available, the pattern guides you through a general process, in addition to giving you an exact recipe to follow for the Lotus Beads we sell as kits.

Examples

See a Lotus Flower necklace in Gwen's Gallery. Here are necklaces made from variations of this technique: Rose Quartz Flower, Gina's Flower, Purple and Green Flower Necklace.

A very symmetric beaded bead

The Cuboctahedron looks like a multifaceted mineral crystal. The four-sided and three-sided faces alternate to make a polyhedron, in the shape of a cube with its corners cut off. The Cuboctahedron beads look great in a necklace flanking a larger focal like the Barrel Bead, or as earrings.

Examples

This kit matches the Barrel Bead kits, and the  pink ice El Cubo kit! Gwen made a necklace showing the combination. Here is a necklace showing a variation on the Cuboctahedron that replaces some of the seed beads with drops. There is a necklace in our Guest Gallery using Cuboctahedra and a matching Double Rose Window.

Free form organic pendant

The rich organic form of the Fairy Chrysalis reminds us of a magical cocoon from which a winged fairy or a beautiful butterfly could emerge. Or perhaps the chrysalis could be an ancient seed pod lost within an enchanted rainforest. In these instructions, we will show you how to make a Fairy Chrysalis, a pendant constructed entirely from beads and thread. The finished pendant shown is 55 mm by 25 mm by 11 mm and was sewn around a 40 mm core bead.

Examples

Gwen made a Fairy Chrysalis in green jasper, two using Mexican crazy lace agate (the other one), and one using pink muscovite.

About kits

We do not sell a complete kit for this design, but we offer the pattern with two natural stone core beads that we will choose for you. Stones will be chosen from a collection that includes pink muscovite, Mexican crazy lace agate, blue sodalite and rain forest jasper. The length of the core beads ranges from 1 inch to 2.25 inches.

Make a bracelet in a day

Kepler's Star is an easy flat weave that is can be used to make wide bracelets and necklaces. This pattern is suitable for beginner beaders, but there are enough variations to please even advanced weavers. This weave can be made any width by adding more rows. You can scale the weave by using all large seed beads or all small ones, and you can modify the weave even further by selectively changing bead sizes of only some of the beads.

Kepler's Star sews up much faster than other common flat weaves such as peyote stitch or herringbone so that you can finish a bracelet in a single day. In this pattern, you will learn several variations, including two ways to add a clasp.

Examples

Gwen shows some of the variations on this weave in these Kepler's Star bracelets. Check out this cream colored necklace in our Guests' Gallery!

Make a bracelet in a day

Night Sky is a flat weave for narrow and wide bracelets as well as pendants. Night Sky sews up much faster than other common flat weaves such as peyote stitch or herringbone so that you can finish a bracelet in a single day.

The underlying pattern of Night Sky is very regular, so you can repeat it to make rectangles of any size. Since this weave can be made in different widths by adding more rows, the pattern includes a discussion of three different examples suitable for bracelets (i.e., 27mm, 40mm, and 64mm). Patches of the weave to make excelent pendants; the pattern includes detailed instructions for two such pendants, the Greek Cross and the Southern Cross. We also discuss a simplified version for other pendants and earrings at the end of the pattern.

Examples

Gwen shows a wider bracelet and matching Greek Cross pendant made with the Night Sky Weave.