All about jewellery making

Russian leaf stitch lariat 

1.  Russian leaf stitch lariat

This Russian leaf stitch lariat has been made from a pattern devised by Varvara.

The leaves are made in Russian leaf stitch which is basically peyote stitch created in a leaf shape.  Here is a close up of the Russian leaf stitch:

 
2.  detail showing the Russian leaf stitch

The ‘berries’ are a mix of hematite, green moss agate, green aventurine and mother of pearl.  Most of the seed beads are Toho which are good for their uniform shape.

The lariat is very fluid and hangs very naturally when worn.  This is not so easy to convey when photographing it!

Wire gauges for jewellery making

When you start to use wire in your jewellery making projects the wire gauge system can seem confusing at first.  Here I am going to explain the different gauges of wire available and their equivalent size in mm.  I will also provide notes on the type of jewellery projects that each wire gauge is suitable for.

		18 gauge wire equivalent to approx. 1 mm diameter
		18 gauge wire is the thickest wire that I use for jewellery making. I personally find anything thicker quite difficult to work with.
		Wire of this gauge is suitable for making chunky jump rings which are unlikely to pull apart, clasps, frameworks for beaded cuffs and armatures for wire-wrapped pendants.
		20 gauge wire equivalent to approx. 0.8 mm
		20 gauge wire is also useful for creating links, clasps, and armatures.  Other items that can be made with this wire gauge are headpins, eyepins and ear-wires.  Any framework made with wants to be for smaller ideas such as wire-wrapped pendants.
		If you find it difficult to work with 18 gauge wire try 20 gauge instead as it will put less strain on your hands.
		24 gauge wire equivalent to approx. 0.6 mm diameter
		Compare the photo for 18 gauge wire with this one for 24 gauge wire and you can clearly see the difference in size.  I would not recommend using this thickness wire for armatures because they will simply bend under any pressure.  In certain situations it may be suitable to use this gauge for the base of a wire-wrapped pendant.  I always try using thicker wire first and only use finer wire if I feel it is necessary.  This ensures that you will create a strong piece of jewellery.
		More delicate jump rings can be made using this gauge of wire but they are more likely to pull apart so I would suggest this gauge to be most suited to making wire-wrapped loops headpins, eyepins and ear-wires.
		26 gauge wire equvalent to approx. 0.4 mm diameter
		26 gauge is really quite fine and very easy to bend.
		It is suitable for making wire-wrapped loops, headpins, eyepins (especially for beads with small holes such as freshwater pearls), wrapping and coiling.  26 gauge wire is also useful for creating bead sprays to be applied to tiaras and haircombs.
		32 gauge wire equivalent to approx. 0.2 mm diameter
		32 gauge wire is extremely fine and I never use it for making any kind of finding, it is just too thin.
		This gauge of wire is best for knitting and bead crochet.  You can also use it for beadweaving when you want your final creation to maintain stiffness.  Additionally it is good for binding bead/floral sprays to tiara bands and haircombs.

---

You can of course find wire of both bigger and smaller diameters. I have listed here the wire gauges that I personally use and believe to be the most useful to the jewellery maker.

It is also possible to get different profiles of wire such as square, triangular and half-round.  However you can usually only find these types of shapes in sterling silver or gold and they are quite expensive. The square and half-round profiles are used a lot in the wire-wrapping styles of Preston Reuther and other US jewellery designers.  These types of wire are much harder to acquire in the UK.

When trying a project out for the first time I always feel it is best to have a go with cheaper craft wire.  This can be silver-plated, gold-plated, brass, copper or even coloured.  Such variation obviously brings many opportunities for expressing your own creativity.

Note concerning sterling silver wire
Purchasing sterling silver wire can be confusing at first as you will most likely see it described as ‘hard’, ‘half-hard’ or ‘dead soft’.  I would not recommend buying ‘hard’ as you will find it extremely difficult to work with.  Different designers have their own preferences regarding ‘half-hard’ and ‘dead soft’ and it is best to have a go with both if you can.  ‘Half-hard’ needs less work hardening and will retain its shape more easily to start with but ‘dead soft’ is more malleable. 

A work of caution regarding the ‘dead soft’ option:  you may wish to use nylon jawed pliers as this wire is more susceptible to being marked by your tools and you will need to work harden it using a ball-pein or rawhide hammer and anvil.

---

Copyright 2007 http://www.allaboutjewellerymaking.info
Not to be reproduced on any other website, in printed format or on a portable media device. May be printed for personal use but must not be used for commercial purposes.

Beaded Egg Pattern

For this pattern I have used polystyrene eggs as you can use pins to pull your beading down over the egg as you go. This helps to create a nice tight net of beads and it will make life much easier if you are relatively new to beading.

I have some of these polystyrene eggs for sale in my shop, Bead Tree. However you could use a wooden egg or a real egg that has been blown - it is entirely up to you.

Please bear in mind that you may need to adjust these instructions slightly to get the best fit for your egg as the pattern is dependent on both the size of egg you use and the size of the beads.

In the photo above you can see 3 beaded eggs. The main instructions I am giving here are for the lilac egg. This is covered with a combination of beaded netting and square stitch. The green egg was my prototype and is very similar to the lilac one except that the square stitch has been used on every other block of pattern. The yellow egg follows the same principle except that the square stitch has been omitted entirely. These beaded eggs illustrate the different effects you can get from varying the same basic pattern and I encourage you to have a go at your own version.

Lilac beaded egg

Materials

1 polystyrene egg (or egg of your choice)- I have painted mine first using ordinary household acrylic paint from a match pot (like you get in the DIY shop)

approx. 10g size 11/0 seed beads in colour A

approx. 10g size 11/0 seed beads in colour B

approx. 10g size 8/0 seed beads in colour C

suitable thread such as Nymo

beading needle

pins (if you want to pin your beading over the egg as you go)

Step 1

 
Top of the beaded egg showing the netting stitch

We start at the top of the egg, see photo above.

Thread on 21 size 11/0 beads in colour A, take the thread back through all the beads and tie the ends to create a firm circle of beads. Knot the 2 ends of thread and then take the needle through the next bead along so that the knot pulls inside the bead.

Diagram 1, beaded egg pattern - starting netting at the top of the egg

Step 2

Thread on 5 size 11/0 colour A beads and take the needle through the 3rd bead along the circle as in fig. 2. Repeat 6 more times. When you have gone all the way round bring the needle out through bead number 3 of the first arc of beads. Now you are ready to start the next round.

Diagram 2, beaded egg pattern - continuing with the netting stitch

Step 3

Thread on 7 size 11/0 beads of colour A and take the needle through bead number 3 of the next arc on the previous row. Repeat 6 times and finish the round by bringing the needle out though bead number 4 of the first bead arc.

Diagram 3, beaded egg pattern - continuing with the netting stitch

Step 4

Thread 4 size 11/0 colour A beads followed by 1 size 8/0 colour C bead and then another 4 colour A beads. Take the needle through bead 4 of the next 7 bead arc on the previous row. This round follows the same principles of the previous 2 rounds. Repeat 6 times and to finish this row bring the needle out through the size 8/0 bead.

Diagram 4, beaded egg pattern - continuing with the netting stitch

Step 5

Thread 1 size 11/0 colour B bead, 1 size 8/0 colour C bead, 7 size 11/0 colour B beads, 1 size 8/0 colour C bead and 1 size 11/0 colour B bead. Take your needle through the size 8/0 bead of the next bead arc on the previous round. Repeat 6 times. To finish the round bring your needle out through the first size 8/0 bead on that row.

Diagram 5, beaded egg pattern - continuing with the netting stitch

Step 6

This row is different in that we effectively embellish the prevous round with some added square stitch. The square stitch is added to the 7 beads at the centre of each of the bead arcs on the previous row. If you are unsure how to do square stitch there is a tutorial on my site here.

Once you have added the square stitch to the first set of 7 beads using the same size and colour beads you then take your needle through the sizes 8/0, 11/0, 8/0, 11/0, 8/0 beads so that the thread is in the correct position to add the next block of square stitch. Please see the diagram below:

Diagram 6, beaded egg pattern - adding the square stitch

Step 7

The pattern is now set. The last 2 rows are repeated increasing the number of beads in each bead arch to fit the egg.  Here is a close up of the netting and square stitch pattern:

 
Close up of the netting and square stitch pattern

Once you have reached the widest part of the egg then the number of beads in each bead arc are decreased. The important thing to remember here is that each bead arc needs an odd number of beads for the pattern to work.

Step 8

When you get near to the point of the egg finish the netting in a similar way in which you began the egg cover at the top, obviously decreasing the number of beads in each bead arc this time!

Step 9

Finally you need to add a hanging loop. I make a wire wrapped loop and glue it in the top with G-S Hypo Cement (or any other suitable glue). If you don’t know how to make a wraped loop I will be adding a tutorial soon.

Copyright 2006 http://www.allaboutjewellerymaking.info
Not to be reproduced on any other website, in printed format or on a portable media device. May be printed for personal use but must not be used for commercial purposes.

Mother of pearl, toho beads and Cellini spiral necklace

This necklace has been made using various techniques.  The main ‘rope’ is a Cellini spiral, the sculptural quality of which is created by using different size beads in a particular formation.  Running through the spiral is a peyote tube and the mother of pearl pendant is encased in a peyote stitch beaded bezel.

Please see close up photos below for a better view of the details. 

Here is a close up of the pendant.  The beaded bezel has an open back and is constructed from peyote stitch.

Here is a close up of the Cellini spiral illustrating the sculptural qualities of this stitch.

If you would like to try out the Cellini spiral stitch yourself there is a Cellini spiral tutorial on the Bead and Button website.  Here is the link http://www.beadandbutton.com/bnb/default.aspx?c=a&id=493.

 Copyright 2006 allaboutjewellerymaking.info  
Not to be reproduced on any other website, in printed format or on a portable media device.

:: Wire-wrapping tumbled semi-precious stones ::

Many pretty effects can be achieved by wrapping simple tumbled gemstones with wire. Here are some examples to look at. 

	This rounded ametrine nugget is wrapped in brass.   The wire framework was created by using three separate pieces of wire - you can clearly see where I have bound them together at the base of the stone.
	I used one long piece of silver plated wire to wrap this piece of sodalite. I really enjoyed making the swirls which cover the hand made loop by which the pendant is hung.
	This nugget of purple dalmation jasper has been wrapped to an entirely different effect. This time I have used copper wire which has the advantage of being extremely malleable. This type of wrapping is started by binding several wires together and placing the binding centrally on the back of the stone. The ends of the wires are then brought over and wrapped across the stone.
	For my final example I thought I would include a very simple setting. The stone here is a coloured quartz (dyed) and it has been simply wrapped with brass wire. The only reason the stone is held in place is the tight spiral at the bottom of the cage.

You can create a lovely memento of a holiday by wire wrapping a pretty pebble or piece of shell that you have found. There are many more styles of wire-wrapping and the advantage of this technique is that shape and lack of symmetry are no barrier to creating a unique and beautiful piece of unique jewellery.

Copyright 2006 http://www.allaboutjewellerymaking.info
Not to be reproduced on any other website, in printed format or on a portable media device. May be printed for personal use but must not be used for commercial purposes.

Bead Tree - my bead shop offering beads (!!), jewellery making