It didn’t go so well. I started with green floral wire, probably about 28 gauge, maybe 26, which was stiff with its coating. Second round was 30 gauge gold wire. Both were with a size 1 steel hook (2.75mm). My tension was all over the place – with the gold wire especially, it was impossible to get a grip on it without bending it and risking kinks. Not that I didn’t get kinks regardless. After the fact it occurred to me that finger cots on two or three fingers of my left hand might be a help, but by then I was getting ready for bed.

I did feel like I was starting to get the hang of it, as uneven as that second round is, but by then I was kind of over the whole granny square idea and decided to make a chained chain. I used the same hook, and red wire that was unlabeled, but probably 28-30 gauge. That went better, especially because the unevenness of my loops is not as apparent as the uneven height of the double crochet stitches.

Speaking of kinks, as we were a while ago, I tried to reel the wire straight off the spool instead of letting it come off the end, coiled, because I read a hint somewhere that I’d get fewer kinks that way. I didn’t have much luck getting the gold wire to unreel like that, but the red wire was better behaved. I think it did result in fewer kinks, but not their complete elimination.

I thought about trying beaded wire crochet, but it was getting late and I didn’t have any ideas that appealed to me much. Instead, in honor of how birds-nest-y my wire crochet is (especially the granny), I made a wrapped wire bird’s nest.

Frigid rain all day yesterday. I do like winter, but not that aspect.

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At the time I was interested in bead weaving, and the necklace, bracelet, and anklet are all more or less woven. The bag is sewn, but with a woven look, short spans of beads connecting zigzags of decorative cord to make a flat face. I lined it with leftover fabric from my dress (of course I made the dress).

My style nowadays is more reserved, even for dressy occasions, though the saying “once a costumer, always a costumer” certainly still applies. Have you even gone over the top decking yourself out?

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• Diagrams and wire gauge added to beaded bobby pins post so it could finally go up. According to WordPress I began that blog post ten months ago.

Totals:

1. Mending: 2
2. Non-mend sewing: 2
3. Elimination: 7
4. Website updates: 3

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For a while I had a haircut that looked good with bobby pins, and I started collecting interesting pins to wear. It didn’t take long to start coming up with my own. For each pin you need an 8-10″ length of 32-gauge wire (less if you are skilled at working with wire; they don’t take nearly that much, it’s just hard to manipulate much less), a bobby pin, and epoxy. Gorilla glue or similar should work in place of epoxy, although be careful not to use much since it expands as it sets.

For the 5-point star: 10 small seed beads.
Make a bend in the wire about 1.5″ in from the end. String a bead onto that bend and take both ends of the wire through a second bead. *String two beads onto the longer end and take the wire back through the first of the two* four times for a total of 5 points (see diagram below left). Twist wire ends together. Wire to bobby pin, trim ends, secure with epoxy.

For the diamond: 4 bugle beads, 1 large rocaille.
String 4 bugles on wire and loop one end back through the farthest 2 bugles to form a closed diamond with the wire ends sticking out at opposite points. Pull taut and pass the wire ends through the rocaille from opposite directions (see diagram above right). Wire to bobby pin, trim ends, and secure with epoxy.

With the bobby pins in the photo are two beaded combs; at times my hair is a good length for those. I didn’t wrap the thread in the same way on each, but on both each bead is secured by two separate stitches.

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I was in love with some cranberry-colored beads, smooth and gleaming, with some internal shimmer like opals. I had only a few. This is what I came up with to display them, calling them “focus beads.” They are 8mm in diameter and the necklace is about 17 1/2 inches long. If your facet beads are light, you’ll want heavy focus beads to get the necklace to lie nicely.

Materials:
at least 45″ beading thread
123 5mm facet beads (black in sample)
5 focus beads (cranberry in sample)
clasp

Tie one half of the clasp to the middle of the beading thread. On both strands, thread
36 facet beads
focus bead

On one strand, continue as follows:
6 facet beads
focus bead
9 facet beads
focus bead
6 facet beads
focus bead
36 facet beads

Attach other half of clasp to this strand but leave the loose end dangling.

The second strand will share the focus beads and the final 36 facets with the first, but have more facets in between the focus beads to form the drops. It is threaded as follows:
9 facet beads
second focus bead above
6 facet beads
unused focus bead
6 facet beads
third focus bead above
9 facet beads
fourth focus bead above
final 36 facet beads above

Tie second strand to second side of clasp and run both strands back through final line of facet beads. Trim.

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This necklace was devised to use some large, colorful, gold-streaked beads I had acquired via a yard sale necklace. The original necklace had them all together, separated by small gold beads if I remember rightly, giving it a loud ’80s vibe. This necklace displays a single large bead against a much more subdued background. With these beads the shortest strand is approximately 16 1/2 inches long.

To make your own:

Materials:
1 centerpiece bead (15mm in sample)
158 small round beads (4mm)
48 large round beads (6mm)
108 large rocailles (2mm)
clasp
about 54″ beading thread

Tie thread to one half of clasp, leaving about 2 1/2″ free. With the long end, string as follows:
*3 small rounds, 1 rocaille, 1 large round, 1 rocaille*, repeat *…* for a total of 8 large round beads
3 small rounds
1 rocaille
1 small round
1 rocaille
centerpiece bead
1 rocaille
1 small round
1 rocaille
*3 small rounds, 1 rocaille, 1 large round, 1 rocaille*, repeat *…* for a total of 8 large round beads
3 small rounds

Thread through the other half of the clasp and back through the last 3 small round beads. Then string:
1 rocaille
*3 small rounds, 1 rocaille, 1 large round, 1 rocaille*, repeat *…* for a total of 8 large round beads
2 small rounds
1 rocaille

Thread through the center 5 beads on the first strand (small, rocaille, centerpiece, rocaille, small) and string:
1 rocaille
2 small rounds
*1 rocaille, 1 large round, 1 rocaille, 3 small rounds*, repeat *…* for a total of 8 large round beads
1 rocaille

Thread through the three small round beads of the first strand closest to the clasp, and through the clasp. Thread back through the first three small round beads and then through the second strand’s initial rocaille and 3 small rounds (sharing with each previous strand the beads prior to the first large round bead). Then string:
1 rocaille
*3 small rounds, 1 rocaille, 1 large round, 1 rocaille*, repeat *…* for a total of 8 large round beads
1 small round
1 rocaille

Thread through the center 5 beads on the first strand (small, rocaille, centerpiece, rocaille, small) and string:
1 rocaille
1 small round
*1 rocaille, 1 large round, 1 rocaille, 3 small rounds*, repeat *…* for a total of 8 large round beads
1 rocaille

Thread through the last 3 small rounds and 1 rocaille on the second strand, and then the last 3 small rounds on the first strand. Tie to the clasp and finish off loose ends.

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I decided to finish the necklace after all this time to discover that not only did I not remember how to make the wrapped loops, I didn’t remember what the technique was even called. I tried a few practice loops and they really didn’t come out. Fortunately for me, its name is straightforward. I found wonderful instructions on Fusion Beads, from a whole index of wire beading techniques. I had been doing it almost right, with two exceptions: I hadn’t been leaving a long enough “tail” of wire to wrap with, and I had missed the movement of the pliers from under the loop to inside it (step 3 in the instructions linked above). Not long after reading those instructions, I had this:

I made up the hook and eye closure since I didn’t have any copper-colored findings. My motivation to start was really just to check it off the list, but I rather like it. I’ll put it with the rest of my underused necklaces!

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I love the colors of this necklace and still have it, despite the fact that it doesn’t really coordinate with anything in my wardrobe. I was experimenting with beaded closures at the time. This is approximately 19 inches long.

Materials:
at least 45″ beading thread
appx 2 grams rocaille beads, background color (dark coppery brown in sample)
9 8mm facet beads, color A (rusty brown in sample)
3 8mm facet beads, color B (straw gold in sample)
4 6mm facet beads, color A
9 6mm facet beads, color B

To make loop of closure, string 20 rocaille beads and feed thread through them a second time so they form a loop, centered on the thread, with both ends of thread emerging between the same two beads. String the rest of the necklace on both strands, as follows:
3 7/8″ (9.9cm) rocailles
*8mm color A, rocaille, 6mm color B, 3 rocailles*, repeat *…* for a total of four pairs of facet beads
22 rocailles (in addition to the final 3 above)
*6mm color A, rocaille, 8mm color B, rocaille*, repeat *…* for a total of three pairs of facet beads
6mm color A
25 rocailles
*6mm color B, rocaille, 8mm color A, 3 rocailles*, repeat *…* for a total of three pairs of facet beads
add rocailles so with the final 3 above the line measures 3 7/8″ (9.9cm)

With a single strand, string 6mm color B, rocaille, 8mm color A, rocaille. Skipping final rocaille, thread back through previous three beads to meet unused strand. Knot together and run back through final rocaille line. Trim.

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