If you’ve been an admirer of beading for very long, you’ve probably wanted to learn how to do it, but been daunted by the complexity of the beautiful articles sold at markets and in artisanal shops around the country. Here’s something easy for those who want to learn.
Materials needed:
30 gauge wire (I used copper, but any color will work). You can get this in any store with a decently stocked beading aisle in their craft section, like Wal-Mart or Crafts Warehouse. Hardware stores will probably also have it, but only in steel or copper. 34 gauge will do, but since it is smaller and not as strong, a finished pin made with 34 gauge wire seems a bit flimsy for me.
Size 10 or 11 seed beads in your choice of color; I used Mill Hill for their uniformity of size.
One 1″ pin back. The one I used had three holes in the metal strip.
Thick glue like Tacky brand (optional).
Wire cutters, and maybe a pair of needle or chain nose pliers to help you pull the wire through.
TO MAKE: cut a piece of wire about 20 inches long. We will be building the pin from the tip of the leaf upwards. Make 3 leaves.
String four beads and move them to the center of your wire. (figure 1) This is easiest to do by holding both ends of the wire in your non-dominant hand (hereafter referred to as the left, since I’m a righty) and pulling the beads down to the middle, causing a bend in the wire. Take the right end of your wire and feed it into the left side of your row of beads, going through only the first two (figure 2). Pull tightly on both ends of your wire so that the first two beads fold over on top of the second two (figure 3). This will create your foundation square. Be sure your wire does not twist as you work the leaf, or it will make a kink that hampers the movement of your beads and won’t come out.
You will be using the top row of your foundation square to build your second row, and for the next few rows we will be increasing. Second row: string one bead on each side of your wire (figure 4). Third row: String 4 beads onto the left side of your wire. You will now have five beads on that side, but the first bead belongs to the second row, not the third. Bring the right side of your wire around and feed through the 4 beads you just strung (figure 5). Pull your wire tight so the row 3 beads fold over row 2 and rest on top of them. String one more bead on each side of your wire to complete row 3 (figure 6).
By now you can see that the beads line up in a gridlike pattern, separated by rows. We have been increasing by one, with the foundation series of each row equaling in number the row below, and securing the prior row as it is laid down. Continue in pattern: add one bead to each side of your wire, then lay down the foundation section of the next row to equal the number of the last row, thus: lay down foundation of 6 beads for row 4, add one per side; lay down a foundation of 8 beads for row 5, add one per side; lay down foundation of 10 for row 6 (figure 7). Be careful to pull your wire tightly enough that you don’t have gaps between the rows, and press them together so the rows sit on top of each other as straight as you can manage. Don’t pull so tightly that you pucker the work.
For rows 7 and 8, work 12 across, no increases or decreases. (figure 8)
Row 9 will be split. String 4 beads onto one end of wire. Fold it back over row 8; skip the first 5 beads of row 8 and thread the wire through the next two beads. Pull tight. (figure 9) Repeat with second wire to make second half of row 9, stringing that wire through the same two beads as the first.
Border: The beads will not be counted for this. You will string as many as needed to make a solid border around each side of the heart. String about 1 1/3 inches of beads on one of the wires. Bring the beads around to the bottom of the leaf, the foundation square. Line the border beads up with the first row and remove any extra; then run the wire through the first row. Repeat with the other side. (figure 10)
You will now have a heart-shaped leaf of solid rows of beads, bordered by strung beads around the outside, with the two ends of your wire coming out both sides of your foundation square. Set this leaf aside and work two more according to these instructions.
ASSEMBLY: Lay the leaves on the table in front of you with the tips of the leaves together in a shamrock pattern. Pick up the first two leaves and twist together the right wire on leaf #1 and the left wire on leaf #2 all down their length. Pick up the third leaf and twist one of its wires to the second wire of leaf #2. You will now have two long twists of wire connecting the three leaves and one single wire coming out each side of the pin. Take all four lengths of wire you now have and give them one or two tight twists right next to the beading to hold all the leaves together; then bend the twists up out of your way. Fold the two untwisted lengths downward between two of the leaves and string about 15 beads on each one for the stem. Twist these two wires together twice to secure them and fold backwards along the underside of the stem. String each wire back through one side of the stem for about ¾ inch to hide the ends, and clip them off close to the work
ATTACHING THE PIN BACK: Bring both twists of wire up through the center hole in the pin back. Trim the ends flush so these are easier to handle. Use your own judgment to stitch these through and around the pin back to hold it onto the pin. You will have to come through to the front of the pin at least a couple of times, but it isn’t too difficult to find places to disguise the wire, like the edges of rows. You should only need a couple of stitches per side. Once this is done, slide the ends under the pin back between it and the pin body, threading the wire through itself a couple of times to hold it securely. Clip close to the work. Add a drop of Tacky glue in each hole of the pin back if you like, but it shouldn’t really be necessary, just a bit of security to keep the wires from shifting. Voila! You’re done! Toss the pin in your jewelry box to wait for the 17th and make three more for people you love.
