SPIRAL BEAD CROCHET BANGLES designed by Barbara Zaner Miezejewski DIFFICULTY bead crochet 2018 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission the publisher. 2018 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This from material may not www.beadandbutton.com be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. April 2018 6
materials silver bangle with 2 1 4 in. (5.7 cm) inner diameter 1 6 x 8 mm rondelle or other focal bead of similar size (metallic silver) 75 3 mm fire-polished beads (jet Labrador full) 40 80 seed beads for starter stump 3 g 80 seed beads (Miyuki 190F, matte nickel plated) 2 g 100 cylinder beads (Miyuki Delica DBM1831, Duracoat galvanized silver) 2 g 110 cylinder beads (Miyuki Delica DB1831, Duracoat galvanized silver) 2 8 10 mm bead caps YLI Jeans Stitch or Gutermann Top Stitch thread Fireline, 6 lb. test, or nylon beading thread, size D (for starter stump) 1 5-in. (13 cm) Big Eye needle (for stringing) 2 3-in. (7.6 cm) Big Eye needles (for making starter stump and finishing) steel crochet hook,.75.90 mm green bangle colors 6 x 8 mm rondelle (lime green) 3 mm faceted rondelles (lime green AB) 80 seed beads (Miyuki 1014, silver-lined chartreuse AB) 100 cylinder beads (Miyuki Delica DBM147, silver-lined peridot) 110 cylinder beads (Miyuki Delica DB860, matte transparent chartreuse AB) yellow bangle colors 6 x 8 mm rondelle (yellow) 3 mm fire-polished beads (citrine yellow AB) 80 seed beads (Toho 2125, silver-lined milky light jonquil) 100 cylinder beads (Miyuki Delica DBM232, light lemon ice) 110 cylinder beads (Miyuki Delica DB232, light lemon ice) basics ladder stitch bead crochet: bead slip stitch FacetJewelry.com/basics Crochet these fun, stackable bangles in a rainbow of colors. Once you get the hang of it (made easier, thanks to a special starter tool you can make yourself!), you won t want to stop making them. STARTER STUMP Many people find it difficult to start bead crochet, mainly because there is little to hold onto at first and the order of stitches is hard to make out. A reusable starter stump eliminates the frustration and confusion inherent in starting bead crochet. 1) To make a starter stump: On 2 ft. (61 cm) of beading thread, pick up 10 80 seed beads, and sew through all the beads again to make two stacks of five beads each (photo a). 2) Work in ladder stitch with five beads per stitch until you have a total of eight rows (photo b). Join the ladder ends into a ring (photo c), and end the threads. BEAD CROCHET ROPE 1) Attach the Big Eye needle to the end of the YLI Jeans Stitch or Gutermann thread (don t cut it from the spool). a c b 2) String this pattern of eight beads: three 110 cylinder beads, a 100 cylinder bead, an 80 seed bead, a 3 mm fire-polished bead, an 80, and a 100 cylinder (photo d). Continue stringing this pattern until you have about 60 in. (1.5 m) of beads. This will produce a 7-in. (18 cm) crocheted spiral. size wise To size your bracelet correctly, first measure the widest part of your hand. Next, determine the total length of the bead caps and focal bead, and subtract this figure from the total length. This is about how long your bead crochet rope needs to be. The rule of thumb for an eight-around bead crochet rope is that every 8 in. (20 cm) of strung beads yields about 1 in. (2.5 cm) of finished rope. If your bracelet requires a 7-in. (18 cm) rope, you will need to string a total of 56 in. (1.4 m) of beads. Add 4 in. (10 cm) for the beads that you are going to remove from the starter stump end of the bracelet. d April 2018 7
e f g 3) Leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail, use your crochet hook to pull a small loop of the cord under a thread bridge at one end of the starter stump (photo e). Catch the working thread with the hook (also called a yarn over), and pull it back through the loop. Pull to tighten. 4) Slide the hook under the adjacent thread bridge on the stump, and slide the end bead on the cord up to the hook. Yarn over just beyond the bead (photo f), and pull under the thread bridge and through the loop on the hook (photo g). You will have one loop on the hook. Repeat this stitch all around the stump, attaching a cylinder to each of the eight thread bridges on the starter stump (photo h). Note that these beads sit perpendicular to the beads below. 5) Work in bead slip stitch: Insert the hook to the left of the next bead in the previous round, and flip that bead to the right (figure 1). Slide the next bead down to the hook, yarn over (figure 2), and pull through both the stitch and the loop on the hook (photo i). 6) Working counterclockwise, continue in bead slip stitch until all the beads have been incorporated into the tube. Starting in the second round, note that each new bead that gets crocheted in place will be stitched to a bead of the same type the 110 cylinders will always be attached to other 110 cylinders, the 100s will be attached to 100s, and so on. 7) Bind off the rope by working a slip stitch in each end bead without adding beads. Leaving a 10-in. (25 cm) tail, trim the cord, and pull it through the last loop. 8) Carefully cut the cord that attaches the rope to the starter stump. Do not cut the thread of the starter stump itself so you can use it again. 9) One by one, carefully remove enough beads from this end of the rope so you have at least 6 in. (15 cm) of cord available for the finishing process (photo j). FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2 h i j April 2018 8
10) Attach a Big Eye needle to one end of the cord, and string a bead cap (wide end first), the focal bead, and a bead cap (narrow end first). Using the other end of the cord, sew through the bead caps and focal (photo k). Working with one end of the cord at a time, sew into the center of the rope at the other end and exit the beadwork at least ½ in. (1.2 cm) from the end. Pull tight. With each cord end, retrace the thread path back through the focal bead and end caps. Working with one cord end at a time, sew back and forth through the rope width-wise a few times, sewing through the beadwork and catching the internal cords with each pass. Be careful that the cords don t loop around any of the beads. After you ve passed the cord through the rope several times, trim the cord as close to the work as possible. B&B k Barbara Zaner Miezejewski retired to Tucson, AZ, after teaching biology and earth science on Long Island for 33 years. Her original designs are inspired by the shapes, colors, and patterns found in nature. See more of her work at tobeadaz.com or email her at tobeadorknottobead@msn.com. Make a necklace This classic spiral design makes a great centerpiece for a necklace. For an 18-in. (46 cm) crocheted necklace (17 in./43 cm plus findings), string 48 in. (1.2 m) of 110 cylinders first. Next, string 56 in. (1.4 m) of the repeating pattern shown for the bracelet, and then string another 48 in. (1.2 m) of 110 cylinders. April 2018 9
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