Bicone Beaded Bead

Bicone Beaded Bead

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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

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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

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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


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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


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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

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

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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.

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


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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.

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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.


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

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

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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.

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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 :)

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

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

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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!

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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. :)

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

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

Spiral Stitch Weave


Spiral Stitch Weave (Also Known as DNA Stitch):


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This stitch is very basic, very easy and the outcome is always gorgeous as you can see in the picture. The key to the success of this stitch is choosing contrasting colours; otherwise you won't see them going in a spiral way like that and it'll look like a big bulk of beads.


Two things you should pay attention to: 1. Choose the core bead (Blue in my case) a little bigger than the spiral bead (Dark multi-colours beads in my case). 2. Keep your work very tight the whole time. And don't worry about the bracelet coming out rigid, the way you weave it will force it to stay flexible.


I would like to call the blue beads the "core bead" and the spiral one a "contrasting bead". Reason why I will call it this way is because you might choose to go with different colours and confusion might happen.



Tools and Supplies:

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1. A pair of scissors.
2. "Invisible string" or the finest nylon string you can find. The string needs to be very thin becuase you will go through the beads more than once. Most beaders use what's known as the "fire wire" but sadly it is not available where I live.
3. String wax: It will decrease the troubles of the string tangling and knotting.
4. Thin flexible beading needle.
5. One lobster clamp; or any other lock you may wish to use. A toggle can work just fine as well.
6. Your core beads: Larger in size.
7. Your contrasting beads: Smaller in size.

Okay Are You Ready for Some Action Now?


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First of all you need to string your needle. A little trick I do because I use a very slippery and tough to deal with nylon string is that I tie two knots around the eye of the needle. This will keep the string in place and you will never have to deal with it escaping the needle. Don't worry about the knot getting in the way because the string is too fine to cause any troubles. The knots will go through the beads just fine.



Moving On

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Wax your string now. Just press the string against the wax and pull it. Wipe off any excess wax you may get on the string with your fingers. Now you're ready to work! Finally huh?


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The first few stitches are always the hardest so be patient. String four of your core beads on the string you're using. However, to prevent the last bead from falling off I suggest you make a loop through it and then tie the string like you would when you're stitching normally. In this picture I did not leave enough tail because I was using a small piece of string for this tutorial. You, however, should leave a big tail because you will use it later on to make the loop for the lock you're using.


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This step is easy, just string five of your contrast beads and bring them all the way down the string like that.


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Go through all four core beads. Make sure you don't go through the contrast though! Be careful. Like I said the first few steps are always the hardest so be patient and have fun with it. :)

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Pull and tighten your work. It should look something like that. Wooo the fun's just beginning! :D


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Okay pay close attention here. You string just ONE core bead and FIVE contrast. Don't string 4 core and 5 contrast like the beginning. 1 core and 5 constrast, easy, is it not?


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My camera failed to focus so I apologize for the quality of most of these images, especially this one. Okay here's what you're going to do now: Bring all the beads you strung to the end of the string and go through the last 4 core beads. These are 3 that were already there and the new one you just strung.


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Pull and tighten your work, this is very important. I know that nylon strings are very difficult to deal with but you must keep the work tight. You see how it's starting to take form now? Yay!


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Repeat: ONE core and FIVE contrast. Very easy, very pretty and it doesn't take a lot of time either. You can go on forever and make a necklace for yourself or even a belt! It's very cute and fun to make.


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Again, go through the last 4 core beads. That is 3 already strung and the one you just added. Leave the contrast alone do not go through these.


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Pull and tighten your work again. Just keep going like that, I will let the pictures speak for themselves :) You're basically repeating the same step over and over until you reach the desired length.


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And congratulations! Your first piece of the spiral stitch is done!!! This is how it looks like in comparison to a longer piece:


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See? Just keep going like that and you'll end up with a bracelet like mine. Keep the work tight, very tight.

All that's left is a loop for the clamp and the clamp itself. Just stitch them on like I did in this picture and you should be fine:


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It is very important that the string does not show. If you can't find a nylon string and can find something else that is as strong (Generally the wax makes the string stronger so wax any string you use. Fire wire is already waxed but as mentioned before, no access to it) go with that string, just make sure it does not show or else it'd ruin the design for you.


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Looks nice, doesn't it?

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Try and look at it from different angles

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How about this one?

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Yup, show off your new bracelet, necklace or belt. Choose whatever colours you want. Mix colours you don't have to stick to one colour in the core... Whatever rocks your boat.

Just make sure you love what you do :D I know I do!

Hope you had fun,
Nadia.