Holiday Beaded Bead

This blog's been a little sparse as of late because I've working on several exciting upcoming projects that I'll be able to talk about more in the coming months. In the meantime, I carved out a little bit of time to weave something from my growing collection of beading patterns that I've purchased in the past but that haven't actually made anything from. This one is Carol Dean Sharpe's Blooming Beaded Bead.

I made a couple of discoveries when I made this beaded bead. One, that I had Delica beads in my stash! Specifically, I used the slightly-larger-than-usual size 10° Delicas for this beaded bead, in sort-of-Christmasy colors for the upcoming holiday season.

Two, that this is a clever, deceptively simple design that's quite fun to bead. There's something so elegant about a beaded bead design that can be woven using the odd-count peyote stitch from just two colors of the same size of bead. Don't get me wrong; I'm a big fan of all the new bead shapes that have come out in the past few years, and I love using them in my work, but it's nice to try something outside of my usual comfort zone.

The beaded bead measures about 1 3/4" long and just under an inch thick. I may put it in another, more complicated piece at some point, but for now it's going to sit solo on a nylon cord.

Carol's pattern for this design is available in her Etsy shop, and the pattern describes how to weave four different kinds of Blooming Beaded Beads. The pattern is full of tips and tricks on how to successfully weave the design, including key pointers on thread tension, what the design should look like at midpoint steps, and lots of encouraging words to help you get through the project. Thanks Carol!