Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Going on a Beaded Lace Adventure

I'm going on a lace adventure.  Do you want to come along with me?
Beaded Lace Flowers
Let me explain...  For the last couple of weeks, I started beading lace.  I'm taking my inspiration from the fantastic Terese de Dillmont, who documented the art of Irish lace crochet in her Encyclopedia of Needlework, in the 1880s.  From Terese, I learned how to do crochet lace flowers, and I made a few free video tutorials that you can find here on my blog.  One classic crochet design is the basic five petaled flower.
Crocheted Flower

I tried to make a flower with beads and a needle instead of yarn and a crochet hook.  And so I did, and I made more and more, and now I have a little garden of black lace flowers made out of seed beads and thread.  
Beaded Lace Flowers
I have enough flowers to make a bracelet.   I could sew them together and add a clasp, but what I really want to do is make is a big black lace necklace, a collar that fits comfortably around the base of my neck with crystals hanging off of it and pearls connecting it together.  Something dramatic and Gothic.   So I just put in an order for the bigger beads, and I'm going to make more flowers.  I'm also going to add swags and other do-dads and lacy bits to fill out the piece until it's big and complicated.  And I want you to make one too!  Don't you want to make your own?  I mean, you like lace too, right?

Now, what's so great about this lace technique made with bead weaving is that it's easy to do, and because it's flat, it's easy to draw patterns explaining how to do it, and I think that should make it easy to learn as well.  So I'm writing a series of tutorials in hopes that some of you will play along and make beaded lace jewelry with me.  Athena's Acanthus Bracelet is the first design in the series.
Athena's Acanthus Bracelet
So I'm going to make big necklaces.  Rather than making one large tutorial explaining how to make a whole necklace, I'm going to write several shorter (read that "inexpensive") tutorials that each explain one kind of design. Rather than focusing on making complete jewelry, for now at least, I want to teach you how to make individual motifs, and show you ways of arranging them.  The result will be a series of designs and tutorials that all coordinate so you can compose larger pieces of jewelry.  I'm not sure how many of these tutorials I have in me, and it might depend upon how enthusiastic you gals are in encouraging me to make more.  But I think I have at least a couple more.  
So, I'm selling these as short tutorials, individually priced so you can just buy the parts you want to learn and make.  And I am pricing them at a fraction of what I normally charge to encourage you to try it out, and make your own beaded lace jewelry.

Part 1 of the Beaded Lace Adventure is Athena’s Acanthus Bracelet.
Athena's Acanthus Bracelet
Part 2 is Beaded Lace Flowers.
Beaded Lace Flowers
Part 3 is Beaded Lace Swags.
Beaded Lace Swags

Part 4 is Beaded Lace Medallions.
Beaded Lace Medallions
Part 5 is the Eucalyptus Leaves, which shows how to make a bracelet
Eucalyptus Leaves Beaded Lace Bracelet Tutorial
and the Eucalyptus Clover, a four-petaled design that plays well with the other lace motifs in this adventure. It's like the four-petaled flower from Part 2, but bigger.  A bunch of them in a row makes a nice band.
and more designs are coming! Look for in the tutorials section of my Etsy shop.  Here is my first complete necklace, made with motifs from Parts 2, 3, and 4.   
Steampunk Beaded Lace Necklace
Stay tuned for more because there's definitely more.  More tutorials and more jewelry.  As always, thanks for looking.

11 comments:

  1. I think the short tutorials are a great idea. I rarely make a complete pattern; I prefer to pick out bits and pieces to use in my own finished design.

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    1. I can totally see that. Cool. I'm getting a good response so far on FB, so we'll see what happens.

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  2. I'm interested! I've been thinking about doing beaded lace ever since I saw some mourning jewelry from a friend's family.

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    1. I'm so glad Karen. I'm choosing from classic motifs so I hope what I'm thinking will be in alignment with what you're thinking. I'm working fervently to get the flower tutorial finished and listed. Tomorrow, probably.

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  3. Hello,Gwen:-)
    I love the lace stitch.Your beaded flowers are exactly as if they were made from yarn.This stitch always makes the incredible effect.I'd like to come back to it someday too.
    -Warm Greetings-
    -Halinka-

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  4. I am really drawn to these, as I have been to Cynthia Newcomer Daniel's lace inspired works. I love that you are making modular tutes too, so we can make our own combinations
    Catherine

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  5. Fantastic, inspired work!! Keep it up!!!!

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  6. Gwen, I Love the gorgeous necklace you shared on Facebook . Soooo yummy !
    I appreciate how exciting it is to see and it encourages me to want to try this technique .
    Becki C.

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    1. Becki, I was inspired by the crocheted lace I found in magazines. The makers would assembled dozens of flowers and leaves into long coats and dresses. The possibilities are endless!

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