Loom End Treatments

My appologies to my cross stitching friends, I know I've done a lot of bead related posts lately. I promise a cross stitch related post next.

In the new beading forum I joined we were talking about the end treatments of bead loom work, particularly the warp threads. I mentioned that I use a weave and then super glue. I've tried to get some photos, but they aren't that great.

Ok, this first one shows the threads woven through the warp threads and glued so that they hold, but no other treatment yet. I'll be cutitng the warp threads and then sewing this to felt to finish it into a cuff. The warp threads and the woven threads are both 2 strands of stranded cotton (DMC). There is no fear of it falling apart when I cut as everythign is held firm by the glue.

This one shows one of the first treatments I tried. The warp threads are crochet cotton. I made a feature of the weaving by using a pink stranded cotton (two strands). Then glued it in place. Then I made three groups of the warp thread and plaited them. I held the plait in place by adding a small amount of glue to the first criss cross. The rest of the plait is soft.

In the photo below you can see the 'clasp' which is actually just the two plaited ends passed through a glued knot. The ends have white pony beads glued over the knots. It can be tightened with just one hand. There is no felt on the back of this one. It means it feels a bit stiffer ont he wrist, but it is still comfortable.

By the way, this cuff is available in my etsy store.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/89287828/butterfly-bead-weaving-cuff

 This photo shows a finished piece (though I can see a few threads I should trim :). The warp threads were purple stranded cotton. I then wove through them with the same thread and glued. The warp threads were cut and the whole thing was sewn to a purple felt (Maybe I could trim the felt a bit closer to the weave). Then I added the ring of beads to hold the gold toggle. This is VERY soft to wear.

And here is the magic glue.I buy it from the Reject shop. It's $2 for about 18 tubes of the stuff. And it is POWERFUL, so don't get it on your skin. One drop is all you need to secure threads for beading. I use it for all my beading projects (in rounds, peyote, and now square stitch. It keeps knots from pulling lose and you can then trim right down to the knot in your thread (with a sharp pair of scissors).

I hope this has been helpful. I find bead looming so quick and effective and it would be nice to share that passion with more people. It seems to be an undervalued craft at the moment.

Sorry I can't show you more of the finished works, one of them is for my upcoming book and the other one is hopefully goign to be published in Beading Australia Magazine.

Any questions? You can leave a comment or email me jenni@exemail.com.au

Square Stitch Beading

I had a go at square stitching with this little design I knocked up. The oen is there to show you scale.

I did enjoy it once I got going. And it is neat, even in thise beginner project. But it is much slower than the loom. This tiny project (10 by 40) took me nearly two hours when I can do a cuff in about the same time (20 by 60).

I want to try Delica beads (the really tiny ones) so I thought I may have to do it square stitch. But I'm not sure now. I do so like the speed of the loom.

Mermaids and swirls

I should finish the little mermaid today. All I have to do is sew the beads into her hair and the beads she is holding. Then all I have to do is paint the box she will sit on. She is for Cross Stitch and Embroidery Magazine.

Yesterday I completed a work on the bead loom for a new magazine (well new for me). I need to get it made up into a finished piece today and sent to the editor for approval. It's an art nouveau type piece with a fan in the middle and swirls out to the side. Here's the cartoon I made to help design the chart and pick colours.

I chose a much lighter purple for the bead inside the fan in the end. It's going to be a cuff bracelet. I'll elt you know if it's chosen for publication.