Blazing Barnacles Necklace
Instructor: Kathleen Lynam
Sea Blue Palette
Intermediate Level
BW2-RAW-01-Right Angle Weave
No need to scrape off these barnacles! Construct your own colony of barnacles using right angle weave and peyote stitches.
This set of instructions is organized as a series of
Jewelry Design Choices:
SUPPLIES LIST, p. 3
I. Planning Your Project, p. 4
Use of Components, p. 5
Working One Technique Off Another, p. 5
IA. Conceptualizing Your Piece, p. 6
IB. Measurements, p. 7
IC. Selecting Materials, p.7
ID. Sketching a Pattern or Graph, p. 8
IE. Identifying Potential Areas of Weakness within Your Piece, p. 10
IF. Visualizing Your Process, p. 10
IG. Organizing Your Work Space, p. 13
II. Beginning Your Project, p.13
IIA. Basic Steps, p. 13
1. 3-Large Diamond Focal Center Skeletal Structure, p. 14
2. Tubular Peyote Bezel Cups, p. 17
3. Small Diamond Units, p. 20
4. Toggle Clasp, p. 21
IIB. Dealing with Contingencies, p.22
IIC. Finishing Touches, p. 22
III. Summary of Learning Objectives You Have Met
After Accomplishing This Project, p. 23
IV. Next Steps, p. 25
IVA. Suggested Readings, p.25
- Creating a skeletal framework for making interlinked components using Right Angle Weave
- Adding dimensionality to this framework
- Linking component piece to component piece to make a necklace
- Working tubular peyote off of right angle weave
- Making your own toggle clasp, designed to be visually organic with the piece.
TimeFrame:
This bracelet takes about 37 hours to complete / These Instructions are written from what is called The Design Perspective.
They first guide you through the kinds of choices to be made, when designing this particular piece. This gives you a sense of how the artist thought through the development of the project. This provides you with a better understanding and some insights about what kinds of things you would need to consider, when designing a similar piece, or adding personal touches to this project.
Then step-by-step, easy-to-follow instructions for completing this project are presented.
Finally, the skills learned by doing this project are summarized.
The Blazing Barnacles Necklace is a good example of a creative way to adapt the architectural features of Right Angle Weave for creating components and adding dimensionality to your piece. This project shows one possibility of how to work one stitch technique -- tubular peyote -- off another, in this case, right angle weave.
Supplies To Make a 16 1/2" Necklace:
Kit and Supplies available for purchase from:
Land of Odds ()
LearnToBead.net ()
[Additional beads included with kit to make up to an 18 1/2" necklace.]
Generic Item Description / This Project
#1. Sea Blue / Your Project Variation
Diamond Components
COLOR A. Japanese Size #2 bugles (6mm)
(132 beads or 3.5 grams) / COLOR A. Miyuki Size #2 bugles (6mm), BGL2-414FR, matte opaque cobalt ab
(in kit, 4 grams)
COLOR B. Japanese 8/0 seed beads
(340 beads or 9 grams) / COLOR B. Miyuki 8/0 seed beads, 8/0-26, olive silver lined
(in kit, 12 grams)
COLOR C. Japanese 11/0 seed beads
(396 beads or 4 grams) / COLOR C. TOHO 11/0 seed beads, T11/0-1046, luster peridot/opaque white lined
(in kit, 5.1 grams)
COLOR D. Japanese 11/0 seed beads
(264 beads or 2.4 grams) / COLOR D. Miyuki 11/0 seed beads, 11/0-1024, amethyst silver lined ab
(in kit, 3 grams)
COLOR E. Japanese 11/0 seed beads
(132 beads or 1.2 grams) / COLOR E. TOHO 11/0 seed beads, T11/0-742, copper lined peridot
(in kit, 2 grams)
COLOR F. Japanese 11/0 seed beads
(128 beads or 1.2 grams) / COLOR F. Miyuki 11/0 seed beads, 11/0-1930, lilac lined light sapphire
(in kit, 2.2 grams)
COLOR G. Japanese 8/0 seed bead
(128 beads or 3.5 grams) / COLOR G. Miyuki 8/0 seed beads, 8/0-20, dark sapphire silver lined
(in kit, 4.5 grams)
Swarovski, Series 5328, 4mm bicones
(32 beads) / Swarovski, Series 5328, 4mm bicones, aqua 2AB or aqua champagne
(in kit, 40 beads)
TOGGLE CLASP
COLOR H. Japanese 11/0 delicas
(64 beads or .4 grams) / Miyuki 11/0 delicas, DB-1207, silver lined olive
(in kit, 1 gram)
COLOR D. Japanese 11/0 seed beads
(6 beads or .1 grams) / COLOR D. Miyuki 11/0 seed beads, 11/0-1024, amethyst silver lined ab
(in kit, see above)
COLOR F. Japanese 11/0 seed beads
(8 beads or .1 grams) / COLOR F. Miyuki 11/0 seed beads, 11/0-1930, lilac lined light sapphire
(in kit, see above)
COLOR C. Japanese 11/0 seed beads
(1 bead or .01 grams) / COLOR C. TOHO 11/0 seed beads, T11/0-1046, luster peridot/opaque white lined
(in kit, see above)
OTHER MATERIALS
Size #10 and #12 English Beading Needle / #10 and #12 English Beading Needles
(in kit, 2 Size #10 and 2 Size #12 needles)
Bees Wax or Microcrystalline Wax / Microcrystalline Wax
(not included in kit)
FireLine or other cable thread, size D, .008" / FireLine, smoke gray, size D, .008"
(in kit, 1 50yd spool)
(not provided in kit)
Scissors, Ruler, Work surface
Necklace Sizing Cone
Bic lighter or thread zapper
BLAZING BARNACLES NECKLACE
I. PLANNING YOUR PROJECT
Thinking about the types of choices made for this project
I was taking a workshop with Marcia DeCoster, and had been ooh'ing and ahh'ing over her pieces. She explained some of her creative work process. She liked to play by making little components, and then playing with their arrangements. She inspired me to play, as well.
Right Angle Weave seemed a natural starting point. It is very "architectural" and lends itself to an idea of creating building blocks. RAW gives you 4 points within the unit stitch to work off of -- and you can integrate almost any other stitch, almost seamlessly. So I played and played and played, first trying to create a very dimensional looking component. As my "form" --in this case, a RAW diamond square -- began to materialize in a satisfying way. I found that I could force a peyote tube to emerge from the center of my diamond. I decreased each row, as I built my tube upwards. It did not take long for my tubular structure to look like a natural setting for some kind of stone. An Austrian crystal bead was the perfect final touch.
I then turned to color issues. As I picked colors and stacked them within my RAW diamonds and upwards within my peyote tube, it felt as if they were growing and emerging with life and energy.
I gravitate to nature and natural images and colors within my pieces, as I did this time. I began to see my components as sea-like -- barnacles attaching to rocks and shells and boats.
Use of Components
Of particular importance is the idea of creating "components" and their utilization within a piece.
There are a few design challenges. Yes, assembling a series of components can make the design process a little easier, in some ways. Yet, it can also result in a piece that is boring and monotonous. So, somehow, you need to add some variation. This can mean playing with color. Playing with volume, space and proportions. Playing with placement and positioning. Playing with textures, patterns, and rhythms. In Blazing Barnacles, I play primarily with volume -- small diamonds and larger diamonds. The larger diamonds themselves are made up of 4 smaller diamonds.
Another design challenge is how to manage the transition from one component to the next. In this piece, I do two things. I bring color from the previous component into the next. Also, any two components share beads at their connection -- thus, I slightly blur the boundaries between any two components.
Working One Technique Off Another
When you can work one technique off another in the same piece, you end up with a more intriguing outcome. You have a different rhythm and texture, because of the different placement of beads. You have more visual appeal. You sense a more adept application of the artist's hand in craft.
Right Angle Weave gives you four points to work off of. Peyote requires that you create a "zipper" arrangement of your beads. In my first inner row (first row inside my diamond), I force this zipper to emerge, partly using the four RAW corners, and partly by forcing a seed bead in each of the 4 sides of this inner row to protrude.
IA. Conceptualizing Your Piece
Ask yourself these questions:
Purpose?
Is this to be for a Woman 15 1/2 - 18 1/2”) or man (17 1/2" - 19 1/2")?
What is the Context/Setting the necklace might be worn in?
Sizing?
Size of neck? How close to the neck should it fit -- tight choker, near, down how far on the chest?
Materials?
What types and materials of beads do I want to use? glass, gemstone, metal, mix?
What size(s) or shape(s) of beads do I want to use?
What kinds of stringing materials do I want to use, and do I want to wax the cord?
What will the clasp assembly look like, and where and how will I attach the clasp?
Design and Color Issues?
What should my component look like?
How will I attach one component to other?
Will my necklace be a "line of components", or will I vary the volume or placement?
Are there any odds and evens issues?
Do I want to use the same bead throughout, or do I want to create a pattern?
How much surface embellishment do I want to do? how elaborate do I want to get?
What colors do I want to use? Metal colors? Glass bead colors?
How can I use color and material to enhance a sense of dimensionality?
Do I want to use a manufactured clasp, or make my own?
Wearability?
How easily will the woven beads, once the project is finished, conform to and feel comfortable on the neck?
How will the necklace wear and drape?
The Blazing Barnacles Necklace is a woman's necklace meant to be worn comfortably around the neck.
I decided to build the necklace from a diamond-shaped component, and to fashion a center focal section that had more volume and space, but that was still made up of these same diamond shaped components.
I mix bead sizes and shapes. I mix stitch techniques. I mix glass and crystal materials. One of the critical ties that binds all this mixing together is the choice of colors. Better choices result in a greater sense of unity, a more natural transition from one component to the next along the necklace length, and a more pleasing sense of dimensionality.
My center-focal section has 3 diamonds -- definitely a conscious choice to use an odd number. The number of diamond-shaped components used as the "strap" will depend on the length you want your piece, not on any evens and odds logic.
Bead sizes are critical. The diamond shape has to be a size that will coordinate with the peyote tube. The beads used in each row of the peyote tube have to be a certain size, because we are decreasing the width of this tube -- really more conical shaped -- as we add each subsequent row. The sizes of the beads in the next subsequent row how to fit with the spaces left for them in the previous rows.
The point at which the strap is attached to the center-focal section is critical. This enables the piece to drape and lay better across the chest.
I decided to make my own toggle clasp using seed beads and delicas. I felt this would give a more organic feel to the piece.
IB. Measurements
Ask yourself these questions:
What length and width necklace do I want to end up with?
What are the widths and lengths of each of the beads I want to use?
How many component shapes long?
How many component shapes wide?
Do I need any definable center points?
How much more length will clasp attachment create?
Will there be any variation in the actual sizes of the beads, from bead to bead?
For this project, I wanted to make a necklace approximately 16 1/2" long, which includes the clasp. In this case, the clasp adds about 1" to the piece.
I wanted a definable center point.
The size of my center-focus piece is fixed. For the necklace straps, one side (with the toggle bar) has 9 diamond shaped components. The other side (loop side) has 10 diamond shaped components, with the last component serving as the "clasp-loop".
MEASUREMENTSCriteria / This Project / Your Project Variation
Necklace length w/clasp / 16 1/2 ”
Size of diamond component, including picot embellishment at each of four corners. / 3/4" x 3/4"
(19mm x 19mm)
Clasp adds this length / 3/4" – 1”
Each additional pair (thus, one on each side) of diamond components along the strap adds this much length: / 5/8" - 3/4"
(16-19mm)
NOTE: There are 25mm in an inch. Rulers are marked in inches on one side and millimeters on the other.
IC. Selecting Materials
Ask yourself these questions:
Types of beads? Glass, metal, other?
Sizes of beads?
Stringing material? beading thread, cable thread?
Clasp? Make my own or use a manufactured clasp?
Blazing Barnacles needs to sparkle like encrusted jewels from the sea. I used beads with iris and ab finishes, some luster, some fascinating color-lined effects. And, of course, within each diamond component is set a sparkly Austrian crystal bead.
Here I use FireLine cable thread. Right Angle Weave is a loose stitch, and I wanted to get more thread tension. FireLine allows for this better than beading threads like Nymo or C-Lon. Since I was using bugles and Austrian crystals, which are known for having sharper holes, the FireLine has more abrasion resistance.
A clasp that feels as a natural, organic part of your piece will always be more satisfying.
ID. Sketching a Pattern or Graph
We need to translate our piece into a series of diagrams or graphs to get a better handle on its construction.
First, we are adapting the Right Angle Weave stitch for making our Skeletal Structure. We are not executing it exactly in the classical way. But we are adapting its mission to our purposes. From the start, it is important to be able to visualize what that basic Right Angle Weave Unit is. We actually have 2 types of units in this design.
THE DIAMOND SHAPE UNIT:
Consists of stringing on 8 beads: Alternating Size #2 bugles with 8/0 Seed Beads.
NOTE: As we keep adding beads to our piece, and integrating more diamond shapes, it is easy to lose track of where your thread needs to go next. Always come back to visualizing this basic RAW unit -- this circle of 8 beads -- and you won't get lost.
THE 3-BEAD PICOT EDGE ON EACH CORNER
Consists of 3 8/0 seed beads.
OUR 3-BEAD PICOT EDGE ALSO DOUBLES AS A RAW UNIT
Consists of our 3-bead picot edge plus one 8/0 bead in our Diamond Shape RAW Unit
THE TUBULAR PEYOTE BEZEL SETTING
After we create our Skeleton Structure for our necklace, we will be filling in the negative spaces with our Diamond Shaped RAW Units. We do this using tubular peyote and decreasing rows as we get higher and higher. Toward this end, we need to create a "zipper", with protruding beads, so that we can peyote. We are going to force the 8/0 beads within our Diamond Shaped RAW Units to serve as "protruding" beads. We are going to add some 11/0's in our first peyote row, and force some of them to serve as "protruding" beads, as well, as we create the 2nd row. Also, in our decreasing strategy, as we go row by row, we are sometimes going to use a 2-beads-as-1 strategy; that is, we will go through 2 beads at a time and treat them as if they were a single bead.
NOTE: Don't get overwhelmed by this image. In the instructions below, we take this one row at a time.
OUR SKETCH
It is always beneficial to do a hand-sketch of your piece.
IE. Identifying Potential Areas of Weakness within Your Piece
Identify potential points of weakness within your piece. These are areas within your piece that you will want to add some extra reinforcement.
In our project, there are points of weakness at the either end where we attach our clasp components. We want to fill these beads with at least 3 passes of thread.
There are also points of weakness where we attach one component to the next. The thread path we use to create the Diamond shaped RAW unit and attach it to the next usually ends up passing through the beads two or more times, and thus is reinforcing.
IF. Visualizing Your Process
Holding the piece. I work the piece over my fore-finger. Thus, my finger becomes like
a little easel. I use my thumb as a clamp to hold the developing beadwork in place. I am righthanded,
so use my left hand and fore-finger as my easel, and work the needle and thread
with my right hand. You want to hold the piece steady so that you can more easily maneuver your needle.
THREAD PATH
In which direction do you want to work– away from you/towards you; towards
you/away from you; side to side, clockwise, counterclockwise?
For this piece, we work a bit in a convoluted way. The classical RAW thread path is a figure eight, and you come up and around and back, then up and around and forward.
In RAW, we want to make sure that no thread path crosses the negative space within our RAW unit.
We also want to maintain the integrity of our RAW unit.
This means, we always want to circle around our 8 beads in the primary RAW unit, or our 4 beads in our secondary RAW unit. We may want to make a right turn at one point, but if this violates the unit structure, we need to go all the way around the unit until we are better positioned to make that turn.