SRAW Puffy Heart & LOVE Letters by Gwen Fisher

This tutorial was inspired by Chris Prussing’s Puffy Heart and Marcia De Coster’s Love Letters, stitched with right angle weave (RAW) and cubic RAW. I wrote this tutorial expressly to be given freely on this Bead Love blog, a blog of inspirations on love and beads. I have been so inspired by so many other wonderful designers in the bead weaving community, and this is a little way for me to say "thank you" to all of you who have inspired me. Here you can learn to bead hearts and the letters in LOVE with just one size of seed beads in two colors. Since you only need one bead size, you can use any size you want. The hearts above use 15° or 11°.  The heart below uses 8° on the back (shown) and 3 mm bicone crystals on the front.

This tutorial starts with step-by-step instructions for weaving hearts using a stitch that I call super right angle weave (SRAW) because of its relationship to RAW. Both SRAW and RAW are made with loops of four beads, but SRAW also has loops of eight. You can learn more about SRAW on my blog, gwenbeads. This tutorial ends with charts for the letters in LOVE to get you started using SRAW to weave an alphabet.  What better place to start, anything really, than with love?

Materials
One size of seed beads in two colors
Beading Thread
Beading Needle

SRAW Puffy Hearts in 3 Sizes
The smallest heart uses size 15° seed beads. The medium heart uses size 11° plus other beads  for the arrow and hanger. The largest heart I made uses metal size 8° seed beads on both sides and 3 mm Swarovski bicone beads on the front. This large heart has 2 mm holes, making them large enough for a thin cord or chain. Of course, you could use plastic pony beads or even larger bead to make beaded hearts as large as you want.

Seed Bead Size     Heart Size
                            Height x Width x Thickness
15°                       16 mm x 19 mm x 4 mm
11°                       22 mm x 25 mm x 6 mm
8° with 3mm         33 mm x 40 mm x 7 mm

1. Use moderately tight tension all the way through this project.  Don’t apply a death grip, but snug is good.   Figure 1 shows the chart for the heart up through loop 61.  This chart is explained in detail in steps 2 through 12. After you complete the 61 loops in Figures 1 and 12, you can skip to step 13.

2. Thread your needle. Loop 1: Pick up 4R.  Pass through the first two beads again in the same direction to make a loop. Slide the beads down the thread leaving a tail that is long enough to rethread and weave into the beadwork.
Loops 2-3: * Pick up
     • 5 beads: G, 4 R.
Pass through the first R you just picked up. Repeat from *.
Loop 4: Pick up
     • 3 beads: G R G.
Close the loop by passing through the 2nd R bead in the first loop.  Then pass through 3 beads: G RR to position yourself to start the next stitch.  You just stitched an irregular starting unit of SRAW.

3. Loops 5-6: * Pick up
     • G, 4 R.
Pass through the first R you just picked up. Repeat from *.
Loop 7: Pick up
     • G.
Pass through RG RG RR. You just stitched a regular unit of SRAW.

4. Repeat step 3, 6 more times.

5. End First Row of SRAW:
Loop 26: Pick up
     • G, 4 R.
Pass through the first R you just picked up. 
Loop 27: Pick up
     • G R G.
Pass though RG RR.

6. Start Second Row of SRAW:
Loop 28: Pick up
     • G, 4 R.
Pass through the first R you just picked up. 
Loop 29: Pick up
     • G R G.
Pass through RG RR GR.

 

7. New Repeat:
Loop 30: Pick up
     • G, 4 R.
Pass through the first R you just picked up.
Loop 31: Pick up
     • G.
Pass through RG RG RR GR.

 8. Repeat step 7, 6 times.
 
9. End Second Row of SRAW:
Loop 44: Pick up
     • G R G.
Pass through RG RG RG RG R.

10. Start Third Row of SRAW:
Loop 45-46: *Pick up
     • G, 4 R.
Pass through the first R you just picked up.  Repeat from *.
Loop 47: Pick up
     • G.
Pass through RG RR GR.

11. Repeat step 7, 4 times, ending loop 55 as shown in Figure 11.

12. Loop 56: Pick up
     • G, 4 R.
Pass through the first R you just picked up.
Loop 57: Pick up
     • G R G.
Pass through RG RR GR.
Loop 58: Pick up
     • G R G.
Pass through RG RG RRG RRG R.
Loop 59: Repeat Loop 60.
Loop 60: Repeat Loop 61.
Loop 61: Pick up
     • G R G.
Pass through RG RG RG RG
RRG RG RG RG.

13. The Zip!
Now fold the beadwork in half to make a heart.  You will now zip up the seam between the two layers. Starting on right: Pick up
     • R.
Pass through R on left.  Pick up
     • R.
Pass through GR on right.
Pick up
     • G.
Pass through RG on left.

14. Continue zipping...
Starting on bottom layer: Pick up
     • R.
Pass through R on top.  Pick up
     • R.
Pass through GR on bottom. Pick up
     • G.
Pass through RG R GR on top. Pick up
     • G.
Pass through R G on bottom.  Pick up
     • R.
Pass through R on top. Pick up
     • R.
Pass through GR on bottom.

15. Continue zipping...
Starting on right layer: Pick up
     • G.
Pass through RG on left.  Pick up
     • R.
Pass through R on right. Pick up
     • R.
Pass through GR on left.

16. You just added the first 3 beads in the figure below.  Continue zipping:
*Pick up
     • G.
Pass through R G R on other size.  Repeat from * 3 more times. 
All the beads are now added.  Follow the green line below to balance the weave and make it symmetric.

17. Stitch around the top of the heart, using the thread path shown in figure 14,  but do not add any beads this time. The extra thread will balance the weave and help the beads sit straight.

18. Weave the last little bit by stitching the thread path shown in figure 13, but going in the opposite direction, and do not add any beads. 
Note. Start from the red bead near the arrow.

19. Tie off by weaving both ends of thread through the loops of beadwork. You don’t generally need to tie knots in SRAW if you secure your ends by weaving through 5 or 6 loops.  

Variations and Inspirations...
Now bead yourself some love letters.

Below are the charts to get you started, but I'm not going to tell you how to do the zips. You will have to figure out how to do that part yourself. Think of them as little puzzles. One of the things I have always enjoyed about bead weaving different designs is that they are each their own little puzzle, and when you solve it, you win that thing.   

If you would like to download a printable PDF of this tutorial, click here.

See more of Gwen Fisher's work on her website Bead Infinitum, and in her Etsy shop gwenbeads.

You can also follow Gwen's beadwork on Facebook.

Bead Bombing by Laura Zeiner

I'm a knitter as well as a beader. In fact I've knitted since I was ten and beaded since I was somewhere around forty.  I say this because I'm familiar with and have come across yarn bombings in various places in my travels and they always make me smile.  

Apparently they made this week's artist Laura smile as well, but then she brilliantly took it further and decided to bead bomb.  I find this idea extremely exciting and I think we could certainly create smiles and introduce more people to the allure of bead weaving if we were all to undertake just a little bit of bead bombing. 

At first I lamented how I would fit anything like this in.....and then it occurred to me that I have loads and loads of odd bits of beadwork.  Some early pieces that didn't quite work out, or maybe a piece that didn't stand up well to wear.  These would be perfect for Bead Bombing.  

Since I live near the ocean, I think some ocean bead bombing is in order!  If you're inclined to join in with Laura's wonderful idea, please send photos!  Let's share our craft and bring a few smiles at the same time.  Laura

Coincidently a few weeks back I wrote about Nancy Dale's Beady prompt blog.  This months blog is beaded rocks and many people are following along.  I'm not sure everyone is prepared to cast their beady rocks into a public space, but ....it's an idea....wouldn't coming across beaded rocks in your environment be a thrill?  I'm going to the coast of Maine soon, can I bead a rock in time?    Consider joining the bead bomb movement, I think it's a great idea.   

Marcia

Bead Bombing!

Several years ago, a grouping of blue panels with reflective arrows that looked like street signs were erected under a bridge in Austin. No one could figure out what the signs were supposed to indicate, and it turned out to be an art installation that the city paid $45,000 for, and which no one (including the artist) really liked. Turns out the project ran out of time and money, so we paid a ridiculous amount of money for a confusing eyesore that we all just agreed to never speak of again. 

The point of this story… One day, those panels were all wearing fun sweaters and everyone suddenly loved them! Someone or some group had come along and covered them with crocheting or knitting and I was introduced to a new concept - Yarn Bombing. Also known as yarn storming, guerrilla knitting, urban knitting, or graffiti knitting, yarn bombing is a non-permanent way to create urban art by covering objects with … um, sweaters.

When Marcia DeCoster came to us with the idea of Bead Love, my mind flew almost immediately to this concept and I knew I wanted to do something that expressed my love of beads in places that meant something to me. So, I came up with the idea of Bead Bombing; I’m going to bead the places I love.

Beads do not work up as large or as quickly as knitting, so my installations were going to have to be smaller than what I had come to expect from this guerrilla art form.

The first place I wanted to infect was Bull Creek hike and bike trail. I take my dogs here all the time and it is our special place to “go in the car.” 

I had passed this bench many times and it seemed like the perfect place to start.

I decided that circular concentric brick stitch was the stitch for this project. I created a bunch of circles, sewed them together, and filled them in with blossoms until I had a “fabric” of beads long enough to fit around one of the slats in the bench. 

Under cover of full daylight in the rain with my mom (stealth is NOT my strong suit), I snuck out to the park and stitched my beadwork to the bench.

A small group of appreciative daddy long leg spiders (sadly, not pictured here) ambled up to see what was going on and, perhaps, if I needed any help (I did not). It felt kind of thrilling to be performing this act of affirmative vandalism, and we left in a fine mood.

The next victim in my lawless crusade would be Pure Austin Gym. I am trying to get myself back into healthy shape. Hours of beading, while emotionally rewarding, isn’t the waist-slimming exercise I fantasize it should be, so I am spending more time at this wonderful gym which features its own LAKE! 

After a particularly grueling workout (Thanks, Ryon!), I snitched a rock from the rock garden out front. I took it home and decided that freeform peyote world be the stitch for this project.

As I began working on the rock, I started thinking about the project as a whole. This is the furthest thing from an instant gratification activity I can think of, and there were a lot of hours to fill in contemplation of this endeavor I had begun. I had been asked several questions about it.

“WHY are you doing this?”

This has been a difficult year personally and politically, and a challenging year career-wise. I needed something to bring up my spirits and recharge me artistically. 

“Wouldn’t your time be better spent doing something that would make you money?”

Perhaps. But I find that when beading becomes all about making money, the delight gets sucked out of it. If I can do something whimsical from time to time, it pulls me back to that happy place where beads take me just by being beads. That sparkly bird place,

“Aren’t you afraid your beadwork is going to get destroyed or stolen?”

The very nature of this project is to bring the joy of beadwork to myself and others. It is an intentionally temporary art form that is designed to bring a brief ping of happiness to anyone who sees or touches it. If someone feels the need to take it, perhaps that person needs some extra happiness in their life for one reason or another, and I hope it brings it to him or her.

This is going to be an ongoing project. I have several more sites (I have come to think of them as my LoveBead places) that I want to bomb here in Austin. And then other places when I travel. Sometimes I will inform the locations and make it a collaborative effort with cross-promotion, and sometimes I will just sneak up on a place and infect it with beads. 

Thank you, Marcia, for bringing this weird and wonderful Bead Love seed to us and allowing us to let it grow in our own ways. I will keep you all updated and post when I can. Please feel free to follow along if you like. Or join in! 

Aaaaaaaaaand … If you would like to create a pair of earrings based on the park bench bead bomb, I have a little tutorial for you.

 http://www.sticklizarddesigns.com/Some-Enchanted-Earrings.html

Peace, Love, And Beads!

Laura Zeiner

For the Love of a Bead - Judith Bertoglio-Giffin

• Judith's name is synonymous with beautiful bead crochet ropes.   I've admired them for as long as I can remember.  Below she talks to us about the love for her mother flowing into one of her many ropes.  She walks us through the making of her freeform 63" necklace using etched beads.  The photography is wonderful.  Have a look at the photo of the custom mix of etched 8's and you may just find yourself looking for some.   The light brilliantly captures the allure of this finish.  Marcia
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• When my Mother was quite ill, I hurriedly flew out to Tucson. I was in such a hurry that I didn't bring anything to keep my hands busy. I finally managed to buy a hank of Czech 11/0 seed beads, a spool of Gutermann Top Stitch thread and a crochet hook. I sat and crocheted beads. It was just calming.

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  My Crayon Lariat started with the unsorted mix of colors and all I could think of was
• Love running down the thread in a continuous flow. That image has stayed with me all these
• years. In later years, this necklace became "Native Stripes" and can be found on Amazon.
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• In the Spring of 2014, I fell in love with a bead finish .... Perry Bookstein, (defunct
• York Beads) imported these etched Farfalles. I couldn't wait to get my hands on as many as I could
• afford. They looked like something from the depths of an archaeological dig. I just had to try and
• crochet with them.
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• Oh, I cussed as these just weren't well-behaved beads. Being little barbells, they stuck
• up, stuck out, got under the slip stitch and sat every which way in the rope. My hands quickly got
• tired, but it was so worth it.
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• I so loved the colors and finish that I started collecting everything that came in from the Czech Republic in that finish.
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• In between life in general, I started a lariat for myself. Can you see the Love flowing down these etched 8/0 beads? It's taken me 3 years to finish and I got to wear it last week.
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• Do yourself a favor if you are bead crocheting a long rope. Only string about 36" of beads at a time. Just add in new beads and thread when you need to. It saves time and wear on the thread.
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• The main body of my necklace was done in a custom mix of etched 8/0's. 
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• Then I interspersed Knobby sections of other shaped, etched beads. It seemed that I had to wait forever for the 4mm etched fire polish beads.
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• These are some of the beads I used to accent the long rope of 8/0's.
• The lentils and daggers didn't work for me in this necklace.
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• I didn't use a pattern as this was as freeform as bead crochet can get. I never knew what I was going to string and crochet next. New etched beads just begged to be tried.
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• You can make your own 63" necklace, as it's an excuse to go bead shopping.
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• It was well worth the 3 years it took to gather the beads, string and crochet this rich looking
• necklace. I can loop it three times around my neck and feel the love of the beads snuggling up.
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• The focal beads are Basha Beads from Barbara Metzger. The necklace is 63 inches long and doesn't have a clasp.
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• For The Love Of a Bead is my journey with these beautiful etched beads and in memory of my mother who is no longer with us. Can you feel the love as each bead slides down the thread and
• gets crocheted into the rope? I find bead crochet very soothing.

Content by Judith Bertoglio-Giffin