Classic Daisy Chain (Bracelet)

Classic Daisy Chain Bracelet



Another easy and fun pattern to follow. It may look complicated but it is beyond simple. One thing I want to clarify though is that none of these designs or patterns is original, I did not create any of them. Hopefully one day I will become good enough to design my own :) But until then I'm sticking to designs that are already out there. There's a lot!!!!

Once you start making these daisy chains you really can't stop. They are very delicate and sweet looking. The beads I used were very small so they made my bracelet very thin and adorable! You can go on forever with it and make a choker, an anklet or even stitch it to boring tank-top's straps to make them fun and trendy.

So, here it goes... :)

Tools and Supplies:



1. Nylon string, the one I use is very fine and called an invisible string. It's very easy to go through small beads a few times with it but it's difficult to make it stay in place so be patient with it. However, if you're using seed beads with a larger hole, I encourage you to use a thicker string because it would be much easier to deal with.
2. A clasp of your choice, you can use a button if you will. A small flower button would look sweet on this bracelet :)
3. Flexible thin needle, if you have a long flexible beading needle go ahead and use it.
4. String wax. My string is nylon so it doesn't really need waxing but I still choose to do so. Waxing a string makes it stronger and decreases tangling.
5. A pair of sharp scissors (Careful for your fingers okay?!).
6. The minimum number of seed bead colours you can use for this design is 2, I chose 3 just for demonstration to create a contrast. And I like the mix of black, red and light green. If you want more colours, by all means :) feel free to add as many as you please!

Now that we have this out of the way...

It's Time to Start:



For tips on stringing the needle and stopping the beads from falling off, please review the first step in my Spiral Stitch Weave tutorial.

Right so, this is how you do it. You string on 9 beads. The first four will be the link between the daisies, the next four will make four of the daisy's petals and the last one will be the center of the daisy.

I went with one red, two blacks and another red for the link. After you string all these beads, you go through bead #5, which is the first petal of the daisy as well. And you pull!



When you pull the string you should end up with half of the daisy just like the picture. So now all you need to do is string on another 2 of your petal beads; black in my case.



Now go through the last petal you strung on before, it was bead #8 in the pattern and it is the last bead before the daisy's center bead. And pull!



Looking adorable, isn't it? :D



Repeat the first pattern. 9 beads: 4 for the link, 4 for the petals, and one center bead. See how uneven my beads are? It's okay if yours are uneven too, it doesn't matter. It might look a little weird but who cares? :)



Go through bead #5 again. First bead after the link and first petal, and pull.



Repeat: Add another two petal beads and go through the last petal bead; last bead before the center bead. And pull!



Just repeat the same pattern. Like I said, my string is a little too thin and it keeps sliding out. Tension is very important to keep the pattern in place so what I did to avoid this was that every two daisies I went through my work again to tighten things. This will make it stronger and tougher to break and it will tighten the pattern and keep it in place :) You might want to do that too.



Easy, isn't it? Add 2 petal beads and go through bead #8, last petal you have before the center again. And pull.



See the difference between the first two daisies and the last one I made? That's why going through the work twice is better.

Keep going till you reach your desired length :)



Once you feel like the length is fine you can stitch your clasp/button on one end and make a loop on the other end. It is very important to go through the loop and the clasp as many times as possible to make sure it doesn't break.

Now that you're done, enjoy the piece you've made :) they really are very delicate looking and sweet. Perfect for any trendy girly-girl :D



So cute!



I hope you had fun making it like I did :D Love what you do, I know I do!!!

Enjoy and best of luck,
Nadia.

Bicone Beaded Bead

Bicone Beaded Bead

Yay another tutorial :)

This tutorial is very easy and fun to make. It doesn't need a lot of tools either and you will have a million things to do with this beaded bead once it's done. I made it into a mobile phone charm but you don't have to do that. Be creative!!!

So clear some space, get your beads and prepare to work.

Tools and Supplies

1. A pair of scissors.

2. Fishing string or any other nylon string you trust.

3. Mobile phone charm string.

4. A metal ring.

5. Twelve (12) bicone beads of your colour choice. I like blue :D

Ready?

First things first. You won't need any needles here so make sure the string is small enough to go through the beads twice. String three beads on and try to keep them in the middle of the string.

The camera played tricks on me so I apologize for the quality. This is probably the trickiest part of the whole beaded bead. All you need to do is bring both ends of the string through the bead. Take the right side and bring it through to the left and the left side and bring it through to the right. You should end up with an "X" shape like the picture.

When you pull it you should end up with something that looks like that. See? That wasn't very difficult. Just make sure things stay in the middle. If they don't, don't panic, it's all good. Keeping things centered will make it easier for you to build on that but in case you find that difficult don't worry about it.

Now on either side of the string, you add one bead. These are beads five and six. Bead number one is the bead you see at the tail of the diamond shape you created. It is important to know which one it is because we will return to it at the very end.

Bead number 7. Add it just like you did with the previous one :) X shape.

Pull it and add beads 8 and 9. Not so difficult, is it?

Bead number 10. X shape and bring it all the way down. Try and keep things tight. The beads will take a round circular shape on their own.

Now add beads 11 and 12. You should have no loose beads left, everything should be strung by now.

Remember the bead we called bead number one? Take both ends of the string and cross them inside that bead like that. Right to left and left to right then pull tight.

When you pull the strings tight you should end up with a small beaded ball like this one. Go through some beads with the strings until you feel like things are secure then bring them both to one side and tie the strings together tight.

This is what your beaded bead should look like after you cut the excess pieces of string :) It's so cute, isn't it?

Now add the small metal ring and the mobile phone charm string and voila... You're done :D

I hope you enjoyed it and most importantly I hope you loved making it.

I know I did!

Nadia.

Heart Felt Keyring

Heart Felt Keyring




Hi again. In this tutorial you'll learn how to make a keyring that looks like mine! Cute, isn't it? The same pattern for the sequence can be applied for anything you may desire, even your jeans!

My goal here is to open your eyes to the endless amount of options you can have with the techniques you're learning here. If you wish yo create a replica of this tutorial, sure, why not? But you can create a flower with the same sequence pattern if you'd like. I want you to imagine what else you can do with it. Don't stick to this, by all means, go creative!

Felt is very nice to deal with. It's strong and flexible at the same time. It comes in many colours or even prints. Working with felt is very fun because you have to prepare the pieces first and then stitch them together like a puzzle. I chose yellow because it's bright and you can easily see what's happening. One thing I urge you to do is pay attention to what you're doing. Tangled strings are a pain and nothing looks nicer than a clean stitch :) so here we go... Time to roll up those sleeves!

Tools and Supplies




1. A sharp pair of scissors (Careful when you use it, accidents can happen!).
2. Two small pieces of felt and an extra smaller piece for the link (Or you could utilize the remains after you cut out the heart shapes if you like).
3. Regular sewing needle.
4. Any colour sequence you like and as many colours as you like.
5. String that's the same colour as your felt.
6. A key ring.
7. Padding. You can buy a cheap pillow and cut it open to take the padding, that's what I do. :)

Let's Get Down to Business



Take one piece of your felt and fold it in half as shown in the picture.



Cut half a heart shape like the picture. You can put a pin through it to make sure it doesn't unfold while you're cutting. And be careful if you're using sharp scissors.



This is what it should look like unfolded. Promising!!! :D




Now place your first heart ontop of the other piece and cut it. You can do so by either tracing it with a pen and then cutting it individually; which I don't advice because the pen will mark it around the edges whether you like it or not. Or you can hold them together and cut around it. You can pin the two pieces together if you'd like to secure them in place and prevent them from moving.



TWINS!!! On a more serious note though, make sure you don't flip one of the sides because then they won't fall ontop of each other nicely when you want to stitch them together. So pay attention to that when you are working with anything that has two sides, a front and a back. A little trick I used to do when I first started: Put a dot with a pen on the sides that'll go on the inside of each heart, this way you'll know which ones will show.




String your needle and put it through the front side of the heart.



Put the first piece of sequence through the needle and bring it up.



Add the second piece of sequence before you go back through the heart. Keep the pieces close to each other and layer them on top of each other like that.



Bring the needle out through the second piece just like the picture and keep going the same way. I'll leave you to the pictures :)






This is how you add the last piece, it may look tricky but it really isn't!








This is what it should look like after you tie and cut the string:



The difficult part is over! We're almost there :D If you need to replace your string because it's too short or something, do so now. You don't want your string running out on you half the way through the stitching; it'll cause an unwanted knot!



Make sure when you bring the needle out not to go through the sequence again. The first three stitches are always the trickiest so be patient. :)







Keep going around until you reach the other side. However, leave a little opening. Just like the picture:



Leave the needle and the string where they are and stuff the heart. You may use a pencil, pen or even your scissors to push the padding down and fill it all up. Just don't over stuff it or else it'll be difficult to add the link and then stitch it closed.



Now add the link and stitch it closed. You won't be going around the heart like you were before, instead you'll go in and out to secure the link in place. In case you're stuffing the heart with something heavier, or you plan on hanging a few keys there, you may want to go in and out of the link more than once to secure it in place.






Now that you're finished, slide the ring in and add your keys if you wish :D




Things like that are very easy to make, very cute to use and very lovely to present as gifts to family and friends.

A simple keyring like that should not take long to complete. If you don't love what you're doing, then you'll run out of patience after the first stitch.

Make sure you love what you do :D I know I do!

Hope you liked it,
Nadia.