Not enough hours in the day

 

Not enough hours in the day

You know that feeling, when work is super busy, and you have housework to do, and you actually have to cook, eat and do basic self- care, but you still have the need to bead? Well that’s how I was feeling on Friday night. Work had been very intense for a couple of weeks, and I was just wrung out. I’m getting a kitten in a couple of weeks, so there’s preparation and kitten-proofing to do… but still, I needed to bead. My brain had definitely checked out, so I just let my fingers do the beading. The general aim was to make a circular pendant, I would have sworn up and down there were 12 gemduos in the centre… but I was obviously very tired, and there are only 11. So, there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done, and if my pendant were a clock, there wouldn’t be enough hours on that either! That’s how this pendant was born.

For the two examples I made, I used Miyuki seed beads, I’ll give the colour references at the end.

When I made the purple version, I used 3mm bicones in place of 2mm fire polish beads – it worked, but I didn’t feel like they sat quite right – it’s an alternative if you don’t have any 2mm fire polish in your stash!

 

What you’ll need to make this

A.      Size 11 seed beads (2g) 

B.      Size 11 seed beads (2g)

C.       Size 15 seed beads (3g)

D.      Size 15 seed beads (1g)

E.       Gemduo beads (11) (check that both holes are clear before starting)

F.       3mm fire polish beads (15)

G.      4mm fire polish beads (11)

H.      2mm fire polish beads (11)

I.         Chain and clasp

 

Anything else?

Beading needle (I use Miyuki)
Beading thread (I use fireline 0.10mm)
Bead mat

You'll probably need about a wingspan and a half of thread for this project, if you're comfortable working with a thread that long - go for it! If like me, you're recovering f
rom dislocating your shoulder, or you just prefer a shorter working thread, then you'll probably need to add a second thread part way through. 

1.       Pick up 1(A), 1(E), repeat 11 times. Go though all 22 beads again to form a ring, tie a double knot, go forward through your ring so that your thread is exiting an (E) and step up so that your thread is exiting the top hole of the gemduo.  You’ll notice here that you can see the thread along the side of the gemduo where you’ve stepped up, don’t worry, it’ll get hidden and you won’t be able to see it.  This is also the best time to weave in and cut off your tail thread.

2.       Pick up 1(F), go through the next top hole of the next (E). Repeat all the way around the ring, adding 11 3mm fire polish beads between the tops of the gemduos. Step up so that your thread is exiting from one of the gemduos.

 

3.       Pick up 4(C), go through the (A) between the gemduos and back up 2(C).

 

4.       Pick up 2(C) and go into the next gemduo. This makes a little Y shape of size 15 seed beads between the gemduos.

 

5.       Repeat steps 3 and 4 all the way around the pendant and step up so that your thread is exiting from a 3mm fire polish bead. You will find that the 3mm fire polish beads have been pushed to the back a little, and this is absolutely fine, so don’t worry!

6.       Pick up 4(B), go through the next (F), repeat all the way around the pendant. Step up so that your thread is exiting from the second (B) added in the first group of 4(B) added in this step.

 

7.       Pick up 1(B), go through the next 2(B), 1(F), 2(B). Repeat this all the way around the pendant, adding a point bead to the groups of 4(B). Step up so that your thread is exiting from the first (B) added in this step.

 

8.       Pick up 1(A), 1(G), 1(A), go through the next point (B). Repeat this all the way around the pendant. Do not pull tight in this step, there will be a bit of thread visible between the point (B) beads and the groups of 1(A), 1(G), 1(A), but it will be tightened up as we work through the next steps. Step up so that your thread is exiting from the first (G) added in this step on the reverse side of the pendant.

 

9.       We’re going to carry on working on the back of the pendant, and join the (F) and (G) beads together with little loops of 3(C) beads. Pick up 3(C), go through the (F) underneath the (G), pick up 3(C) and go through 1(G), 1(A), 1(B), 1(A), 1G).

 

10.   Repeat step 9 all the way around the pendant. Step up so that your thread is exiting from an (A) bead facing towards a (G).

 

11.   Use fairly light tension for this step, we will tighten it up in the following steps. Pick up 5(C), go through the (A) on the opposite side of the (G). Pick up 1(H), go through the next (A).

 

12.   Repeat step 11 all the way around the pendant, and step up so that your thread is exiting from the last (C) of the first group of 5(C) we added in step 11.

 

13.   Now we will increase the tension and ensure the loops of 5(C) sit around the outside edge of the pendant. Pick up 1(D), go through the (H). Pick up 1(D), go through the next 5(C). Repeat this all the way around the pendant. The ring of the pendant is now complete. Steps 14 onwards show how to make the bail – the part used to hang the pendant from a chain.

 

14.   With your thread exiting from the second (C) of a group of 5(C), pick up 1(B), 1(F), 1(B), 3(A), 1(B), 1(F), 1(B). Go into the next (C) in the group of 5(C).

 

15.   Pick up 1(B), 1(F), 1(B), 3(A), 1(B), 1(F), 1(B), go back into the middle (C), and then up into the (B) from group added in step 14.

 

16.   Go down into the corresponding (B) from the second group and back up into the (B) from the first group, effectively joining the two (B)s together using square stitch. Step up so that your thread is exiting from the (F).  (I know the photo looks like the thread is coming from the (B), but it should definitely be coming from the (F)).

 

17.   Pick up 3(D), go down the opposite 1(F), 1(B), and then back up through the 1(B), 1(F), 1(B), 2(A).

 

18.  Pick up 3(A), go through the middle (A) on the opposite side, back through the 3(A) you just  added and back through the (A) you started from in this step. GO through (A), 1(B), 1(F), 1(B). Join the two (B) beads together using square stitch as we did on the front side of the bail in step 16, and then step up so that your thread is exiting from 1(F), pointing away from the pendant.

 

19.   Pick up 3(D), go down through the 1(F) on the opposite side.

 

20.   You can reinforce the thread path of the bail and where it joins to the pendant if you feel your connection could do with strengthening. Weave in, tie off and trim your thread ends and add a chain to the bail.

 

21.   If you struggle to get your chain through the bail, try threading some beading thread through the chain end and then pulling this through the bail – it should help encourage your chain to go through.

 

 

I still can’t figure out which side of the pendant I prefer – especially on the purple version!

 

Bead colours used in my examples

		Purple/Silver	Golden
A	Size 11 seed bead	Miyuki 5115	Miyuki 4220
B	Size 11 seed bead	Miyuki 538	Miyuki 1072L
C	Size 15 seed bead	Miyuki 4201	Miyuki 4220
D	Size 15 seed bead	Miyuki 1899	Miyuki 462
E	Gemduo	Purple velvet / small target etched	Rainbow gold
F	3mm fire polish beads	Metallic turquoise	Crystal gold
G	4mm fire polish beads	Metallic dark purple	Etched slipperit
H	Edging beads	3mm Swarovski bicones, Crystal iridescent green	True2 2mm firepolish 24k gold AB