Size 8 seed beads and I

Bird in Flight

When I started with my bead weaving career, I used to buy patterns from the web. I would look at the picture on the computer, then buy and make the pattern. Often I would be disappointed with the results. After a lot of effort, the final product would be a tiny version of this picture I had seen on the computer. Most bead weavers seems to prefer using these tiny beads. I find these tiny beads require double the effort to get any reasonable sized necklace and you have to use tiny needles which are virtually impossible to thread. You are also limited in your designs, since you can only pass through the holes of these tiny beads, a limited number of times.

Size 8 seed beads just seem to be that much easier to work with. They are small enough to make fairly complicated designs without the necklace becoming clumsy, yet big enough to use a reasonable sized needle (I use a size 9 needle). Because the holes are bigger you have more scope to do designs and reach an effect that much quicker. This Bird in Flight necklace is one of the designs I made using size 8 seed beads.

White Magic

My most recent design called White Magic

Shapes of Necklaces

Maybe it is my mathematics background that causes me to enjoy the challenge of making necklaces. Unlike a bracelet, a necklace that you weave, needs to be carefully shape to provide for the curve in the front. Here are some ideas from my experience:

• A round shaped necklace has the advantage that it is usually easy to show off with any neckline of a dress. The disadvantage of a round necklace is, it could make you look a bit more round, especially if you are on the plump side. To get the rounding of a round neckline right, add one or more extra beads to the bottom of each section of your bead-weaved necklace. This will depend on what your sections look like. If it is a large section, you will add more beads than when you have lots of small sections.
• A V-shaped necklace is always very flattering. It emphasizes your curvaceous and makes you look slimmer. The length of a v-line is rather crucial and a personal taste. Be careful that the point of the v does not disappear under your dress. If you are making it for a specific gown, decide beforehand whether you are going to wear it over the gown or above it. It will obviously be longer if worn over the gown. This shape is often more difficult to design in bead weaving than the round shape. The St Petersburg stitch is ideal for this shape.
• I find a bulky pendant type necklace useful to wear with winter clothing, when you do not have your neckline exposed. The smaller the pendant, the shorter you can make it. A pendant is often less work to make and also easier since it doesn't have to be shaped around your neckline. 
• Not many people can wear a choker and look good. You have to be quite slim and have a long neckline to look good in a choker. It is an easy necklace to weave, since you do not have to make provision for the rounding in the neckline. It is a bit like a bracelet. I am one of the many people who can't wear it and have therefore never made one.
• The off-centre accent necklace always gives an interesting twist to your necklace and can attract attention. One way of achieving this effect is to weave a straight 'strap' and then joining the one end of the strap to the side of the other end. This will form a right angle and give you the off-centre effect. 

I hope you find something useful in this article to use. Let me know what you think.

Cecilia Rooke