Green, Green Leaves
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I've used two of my favorite colors, chartreuse and olive green, in a new spiral bead. The spirals frame the focal bead of the necklace, which is a Flutterby variation. The strands embellish a basic bead made with 11/0 seeds and 10/0 triangles. Make a basic bead five Triangles high, using 11/0 seed beads instead of Delicas. Strand A: Needle to the first Triangle and create a strand with five 15/0s, a tiny green leaf bead, a 15/0, and back through the leaf and 15/0s. Continue adding the strands around the first row of Triangle beads. Strand B: Needle to a Triangle in the middle row and create a strand with eight 15/0s, a 10mm green leaf bead, a 15/0, and back through the leaf and 15/0s. Continue adding the strands around the middle row of Triangle beads.* Strand C: Needle to a Triangle in the last row and repeat the instructions for Strand A. *Tip: If you don't have enough leaf beads, substitute a cube bead. When you come back through the beads, proceed through the first four beads. Create a "stem" by creating a small strand of three beads also topped by a cube. Come back through the remaining four beads and proceed to the next Triangle.
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Beads: 11/0 and 15/0 seed beads, 10/0 Tojo Triangles, Miyuki fringees. Divide the fringees into groups as shown in the photo: 2 groups of four, 2 groups of three, single bead. Dividing the beads this way helps keep track of the increases and decreases on the spiral and serves as a row counter. Rows 1-3: Put four 11/0s, two triangles, two 15/0s, and one fringee (taken from a group of 3) on your thread. Come back around and place the needle through every other bead as shown on the new beginnings page. Pull thread tight and place the ring on a toothpick. Put on a fringee and go into the 11/0. Always place the same bead on the thread as the one you exited. Work around until you have exhausted the first group of three and have returned to the fringee bead. Rows 4-7(increases): Put on a fringee from a group of four. Work up through the triangle bead. Place the triangle bead AND three 15/0s on your needle. Take the needle through the fringee. Increase one 15/0 on each round until you exhaust the group of four. |
Row 8(increase): Put on the single fringee and increase one bead at the 15/0s (seven 15/0s). Rows 9-12(decreases): Put on a fringee from the remaining group of four. Work up through the triangle bead. Place the triangle bead AND six 15/0s on your needle. Take the needle through the fringee. Decrease one 15/0 on each round until you exhaust the group of four (triangle plus 3 beads on row 12). Rows 13-15(worked even): Put on a fringee from the last group of three. Work up through the triangle bead. Place the triangle bead on your needle and take it through the last 15/0 from the previous row. Work even until all fringee beads are exhausted. End by working around and through the last fringee bead. To use these beads in a necklace, string your beads up to the spiral bead. Add enough seed beads to fill the bead, then pull the spiral bead over these seed beads before proceeding. Someone once asked me for the recipe for one of my spiral necklaces, and I've used that convention ever since to describe the spirals. Hence, the recipe for the bead shown here is four 11/0s, two 10/0 triangles, two 15/0s increasing to seven, one fringee.
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