Reminiscence

I've been reminiscing this past week over the different bead stitches I've learned and how I've managed to modify the stitches to suit my own designs.

Brick Stitch

After taking 2 years trying to make sense of peyote stitch, I finally got that down and learned to work it in flat and tubular, but I could never work a project with increases on the outer edges.  I finally decided to learn brick stitch, which looks like peyote but is worked in a different direction.  I found that with this stitch it was very easy to make neat increases on an outer edge.  This "Geometrics Bracelet" is one of my first designs I created after I learned the technique.

Two needle RAW (right angle weave) was one of the first stitches I learned and my ability to make my own designs with this stitch encouraged me to make and sell my own patterns. This "Figure Eight" bracelet is quite versatile and may look quite different depending on whether you use pearls, faceted rounds or bicones for the large beads.

While these are two of the major stitches being used at that time I was still hungry to learn new things.  I found a pattern for "Carmen" worked in Russian Lace stitch. This is a netting stitch that is unique in that the lower edge of the project is split allowing it to look equally flattering as a choker or neckace.  When I had made that necklace I sat down with graph paper and made a pattern for this "Celtic Cross Necklace"

I've learn many more stitches over the years and modified most of them to suit my own needs.  I'm still learning.

You can find more of my patterns on:
BeadPatternsBoutique 
The Bead Coop
Craftsy

New RAW Idea Teaser

I'm working on something very different for me.  I've created quite a few elegant RAW designs, but I've never made flat RAW with seed beads and worked designs in it with color.  I need to get permission from another designer who doesn't make patterns to share the finished product since it was her idea, but here's my first design.  It was supposed to be basket weave, but it's so narrow that I don't know if that's an apt name for it.  I have some other designs in my head, but getting the beads to configure themselves to the design in RAW is quite different from designing with brick or peyote stitch.  The great thing about creating the RAW flat weave is that it's so much easier to embellish than brick or peyote because the open weave is easier to maneuver a needle, so you can create a design on each end and leave the center a solid color to be embellished if you want to.

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