TUTORIAL- Celtic Knots Part 2: Rings Rosettes and Beaded Beads

Since 2004, I've enjoyed making all kinds of beaded beads, but I have to say, these knotted ones are a little different from all the rest.

Each beaded bead knot is made from one long strip of seed beads, woven together into a circular knot.  They're a little bit soft and squishy while at the same time holding their shape.  I usually prefer my beaded beads to be rigid, but with these beaded beads, I like them flexible. 

I also like that the holes are large, so you can string these beaded beads on cord, matched with lampwork beads.  I can't tell you how long it took me to assemble this mere two inches of beads, but it was longer than I'd like to admit. In the end, I like this simple little necklace a lot.  Small, subtle, but with lots of interest, texture and detail.

So do you want to learn how to make knotted beaded beads?  Well, you're in luck.  I have a tutorial that will teach you how to braid pieces of beadwork into knotted beaded beads.

These knots are quite flexible, literally and figuratively! You can turn them inside out. They can be worn as finger rings, and since I explain how to make them in a ton of different sizes, you can make one that fits you!

You can also flatten these beaded knots to make rosettes for pendants or earrings.   This pattern is suitable for beginning bead weaver, with enough design possibilities to entertain advanced bead weavers. I provide specific counts for four different knots, and explain the general concept so you can bead the whole set of braided circular knots, any size you want!

If you like this design, you'll also enjoy my first tutorial on Celtic knots that shows earrings made from rectangular knots,

TUTORIAL- Celtic Knots Part 2: Rings Rosettes and Beaded Beads

This is my second tutorial on Celtic knot.  The last tutorial showed earrings made from rectangular knots, whereas this new tutorial will teach you to braid the pieces of beadwork into circular knots.

These knots are quite flexible. You can turn them inside out. They can be worn as finger rings, of flatten them to make rosettes for pendants or earrings. You can also add extra stitching to turn these knots into sophisticated beaded beads with large holes. This pattern is suitable for beginning bead weaver, with enough design possibilities to entertain advanced bead weavers. I provide specific counts for four different knots, and explain the general concept so you can bead the whole set of braided circular knots, any size you want!

The tutorial is 17 pages, with over 60 full color illustrations and photographs.  Click the photos to go to the listing.  Thanks for looking.

Tutorial Celtic Knot Earrings and Knotted Cross

I just released my newest tutorial on beaded rick rack and Celtic knotwork designs.  This tutorial starts with a beginner’s lesson on beaded rick rack in several sizes. Then you learn to make beaded squares, leading to the main pattern: the Celtic Knot Earrings shown here. In a later project from the same pattern, I also explain how to make these earrings.

And there's more, because I also devote a full page to this beaded Celtic cross.  I don't give step-by-step instructions for this advanced design, but I do give enough information that if you put your mind to it, you should be able to make one for yourself.  

Lastly, here's a photo of some of the basic designs I show in the pattern, namely beaded rick rack and squares.

Thanks for looking!

Tutorial Celtic Knot Earrings and Beaded Rick Rack

I just released my newest tutorial on beaded rick rack and Celtic knotwork designs.  This tutorial starts with a beginner’s lesson on beaded rick rack in several sizes. Then you learn to make beaded squares, leading to the main pattern: the Celtic Knot Earrings shown here. The beaded rick rack technique works remarkably well with lots of different bead sizes. 

This pattern ends with 7 colorful pages of dozens of beading projects and illustrated designs to inspire you to make beautiful beaded rick rack and knotted jewelry.  In 2004, Blake Mellor and I published a paper together called, “On the Topology of Celtic Knotwork Design,” and I used what I learned from writing that paper to design some of the beadwork in this tutorial. 

This pattern is suitable for beginning bead weavers with enough design possibilities to entertain advanced bead weavers as well.

Because rick rack is a common textile trim, I'm considering this to be part 7 in my series, The Beaded Lace Adventure, where I aspire to write a series of tutorials designed around making a large collar necklace out of beaded lace. I am carefully documenting my process in this series, and I invite you to make a lace collar or cuff bracelet with me.

As always, thanks for looking!

Infinite Skew Polyedra Pendant with CRAW

Last week I showed you a bunch of progress photos of this infinite polyhedron (4.4.4.8) and gave a little background on the mathematics I used to design this piece. I've since learned it's called the runcitruncated cubic honeycomb.

It's made with a variant of cubic right angle weave (CRAW) using cubes and octagonal prisms.  Since not all of the units are cubes and not all of the angles are right, I think it might better be described as prismatic weave or even better, a 3D angle weave. Just saying...

Anyway, this piece looks really different depending upon how you hold it.

Here you can see the back, with a tiny sterling silver tag that's stamped with my name nestled inside one of the squares.  You cannot see the tag from the front.

In case you're wondering what to do with such a thing, it's a pendant. Here you can see it hanging simply on a piece of cord.  You could also hang it from a nail in the wall and make it wall art.

It's for sale in my Etsy shop.  Thanks for looking.

Tutorial Beaded Lace Hearts Part 6 of the Beaded Lace Adventure

Using nothing more than seed beads and thread, beaded lace hearts are designed to look like Irish crochet and tatting lace hearts and leaves. Use square stitch to make hearts in two different sizes. Although the shape varies with the size and shape of the seed beads you use, this pattern explains how to adjust the counts so you can make beautifully shaped hearts with your particular seed beads. The big heart is 1 1/4 inches (32 mm) tall. The small heart is 1 inch (25 mm) tall.

The tutorial is 12 pages, including 37 illustrations and photographs. The tutorial is a PDF file that gives step-by-step instructions explaining how to make beaded hearts in two sizes. I give detailed instructions for weaving the hearts, plus the last 5 pages include photos and several design possibilities for bracelets, earrings, and necklaces with these hearts, some of which use other beaded motifs from the Beaded Lace Adventure. While many design inspirations are included, this tutorial does not explain how to finish a specific piece of jewelry.

This is part 6 in my series, The Beaded Lace Adventure, where I aspire to write a series of tutorials designed around making large collar necklaces out of beaded lace. I am carefully documenting my process in this series, and I invite you to make a lace collar or cuff bracelet with me. For example, this section is the front of the third collar I am currently working on.

Part 1 of the Beaded Lace Adventure is “Athena’s Acanthus Bracelet”

Part 2 is “Beaded Lace Flowers”

Part 3 is "Beaded Lace Swags"

Part 4 is "Beaded Lace Medallions"

Part 5 is "Eucalyptus Leaves Bracelets and Clovers"

Infinite Skew Polyhedron (4.4.4.8) W*8

I'm beading an infinite polyhedron, also called an infinite skew polyhedron.   This structure continues to be full of surprises. 

It is a patch of the infinite polyhedron (4.4.4.8), called that because every vertex is surrounded by 3 squares and an octagon.  I copied this picture below from Crystal Structures I: Patterns and Symmetry by M. O'Keeffe and B. G. Hyde, Figure 7.42 because it's precisely my inspiration for this piece of beadwork.  You can see it's made up of cubes and octahedral prisms.

I'm simply placing one seed bead on each edge of this structure.  Accordingly, I'm using cubic right angle weave to make this, with bits of prismatic weave.  Really, it's just a 3D edge-only angle weave where some of the loops have four beads and some have eight beads.  I also added little bicone crystals on both bases of each octahedral prism for sparkle and structure.

I think I first learned about infinite polyhedra (or at least the idea first sunk in), when I read this paper

Patterned Triply Periodic Polyhedra, by Douglas Dunham. 

Here are some action photos so you can see my process a bit.  Here's the first bit I beaded.

After I added a bit more, it looked like a little square crown.  I might modify this little guy to make a new pendant design.  I think it's got a lot of potential.  This is precisely what is shown in Figure 7.42 above.

And then it turned into this, but my thread ran out just before finishing the last crystal filled bit (i.e., octahedral prism) to make the whole thing look like a cube. It's the center front rightish that's missing, right where the big hole is.

And here is where it is right now (and the first photo).  I think I'm going to keep going because every time I add more, it surprises me and looks different.  Why stop now, right?

 

It's done.  You can see more here: http://gwenbeads.blogspot.com/2014/01/infinite-skew-polyedra-pendant-with-craw.html, and it's for sale here.  Thanks for looking.