Gerdany Information

BOOKS:

Everything I’ve learned about basic patterns, I’ve learned from MariaRypan. Her books and kits are available through her website at Ms.Rypan also appears at many bead shows and expos throughout the year, and often teaches classes. She makes a distinction between loomwork medallion-style pieces, which she calls “gerdan”, versus the netted version using the traditional Ukrainian technique I discussed in class, which Ms.Rypan calls “Kilim”, in reference to the Turkish rugs that inspired her patterns. Once you’re comfortable with the technique, you can certainly branch out and experiment with drawing up your own color patterns & netting patterns, which I have frequently done.

SUPPLIES:

Needles: I like collapsible eye needles. They are easier to thread, but will definitely make it through 10/0 beads multiple times. Beadalon makes a very nice line of needles, that are designed so that the eye springs open again once it’s passed through a bead.

Thread: I like to use Dandyline, also by Beadalon. The advantage of Dandyline is that it is a braided nylon thread, so it has a very high tensile strength. Also, because it’s a thread and not a wire, it can make the tight turns needed for picot edges and pick points without kinking or creating odd bends. It comes in white and black, which is sometimes useful to coordinate to your color palette.

Beads: Depending on your comfort level in dealing with thousands of tiny beads, and on the thread you choose, you can use any seed bead size from 6/0 (Rocaille or ‘E’ Beads), to tiny 11/0 embroidery beads. I use 8/0 beads to teach with in class – small enough to be affordable in large batches, large enough to not be frustrating to work with, which is important for the beginner. Generally, 10/0 is the best size for gerdany. Remember, the bigger the bead, the heavier the necklace, so it’s a matter of finding a balance between the strength of your thread against the number of beads needed to complete the piece.

For netted collars, any sort of seed beads will do. However, for a medallion gerdan (or Kilim, as Ms Rypan calls them), either netted or on the loom, you really want a bead with a very consistent size – the variety of actual sizes found in one package of ‘seed beads’ from a craft store brand like Michaels is truly remarkable, and can really throw off your piece. For a collar, it’s not a problem, but for a tightly woven or netted medallion, you have to be aware of it. Therefore, for medallions I recommend MiyukiDelica seed beads. They’re high quality machine made beads, and are always a uniform size.

Findings: You can use any clasps you want, plus it’s fun to incorporate charms and other sorts of beads into your gerdany. I find in particular, if you’re tying off to a jump-ring, you’ll want to use a wire guardian – this keeps the fine thread from slipping through the break in the jump-ring (or chain link). You can also finish the gerdan by making a ‘button’ of beads, and a loop of beads. I personally like to use about 3 inches of chain at one end, and a lobster-claw clasp at the other. This lets me make my gerdany all the same size, but adjustable for the end-wearer.

OTHER INFORMATION

The images of my Kingdom Gerdany project can be found at Each necklace was made to evoke the arms of the various SCA Kingdoms.

I can be reached at if you have additional questions.