A heart of a bead artist is always open to new ideas. When the beading muse visits it feels almost like love…
Love is in the air!
And I don’t know if I’m just dreaming
I don’t know if I feel sane
but it is something that I must believe in…
Being obsessed with two-sided jewelry ideas I continue to explore using any beads that would help me create such designs. Mini duo beads cannot be excluded! They contribute to the design by adding more details in a very elegant way. Largo pattern is the perfect example.
For this project I came up with a semi-freeform pendant in a shape of the heart. Mini duo beads let me create a delicate 3 D form which I decided to fill with freeform beadwork.
Beaded Heart Pendant: Mini Duos And Freeform Beadweaving Technique Explored
Mini duo heart outline will become a base shape. It will allow me to fill the outline twice, beading with two different colors.
After the outline, the first task was to make structural bridges that will hold the heart shape just so the heart will remain a heart.
After the bridges connected all important points of a heart outline, I started filling in gaps. A circular peyote stitch worked better for me in this case. Well, freeform circular peyote, I should say.
At this point I realized, it is a great idea, if only I can keep the same heart outline on the other side of the pendant. After all, it is a double-sided piece of jewelry!
And I don’t know if you’re an illusion
I don’t know if I see it true
but you’re something that I must believe in
and you’re there when I reach out for you!
White seed beads with a pearly finish were chosen for the other side of the heart. I continued making structural bridges and then filling in blanks.
Thread tension, as well as bridges endpoints, are crucial to maintaining the desired shape.
I often strung beads, measured the distance with beads on the thread and only then continued beading. Occasionally, the beads looked fine, but the tension would affect the outline. In that case I either had to change the number of beads, or create another connection.
The Beader’s Heart
The Beader’s Heart came out surprisingly close to the image I drew in my mind before starting the experiment.
Two sides of the pendant will allow me to combine it with red top as well as white. Even though it was challenging to keep the perfect shape of the heart, I felt lucky it is called freeform! After all, nobody is perfect, but we still love each other anyway.
Are you ready to try freeform beadweaving?
A great book that will help you to embark on this journey was just published recently! I find it very inspirational, and what is even more important for me as a self-learner, I feel more confident exploring freeform technique with this particular book: Explorations in Freeform Peyote Beading: Designing Original Art Jewelry and Beyond
Happy beading!
P.S. The quotes are from famous disco song “Love is in the air” written by George Young and Harry Vanda.
