Feature
| BEAUTIFUL BEADS
Beautiful
BEADS
Learn more about
crochet beads
and jewellery…
BY ROSEMARY HILL
What is jewellery?
The question of what is jewellery may seem like an
obvious question, but honestly, I had never really
pondered it until I sat down to write my book,
Elements of Style: Knit + Crochet Jewelry with Wire,
Fiber, Felt + Beads. It was the fibre section of the
book that actually helped me to realise that jewellery
didn’t necessarily have to be traditional. And with
that, the scarf necklace was born: little knitted or
crocheted confections made of stainless steel/silk
or merino yarn and beads – plenty of beads to catch
the light and sparkle just so. The scarf necklace
pattern included in this issue (page 48) uses a
stainless steel and silk thread that can be shaped and
molded, crocheted along a spine of beads for a flirty
complement to warm weather outfits.
But what of those beads? If you haven’t beaded or
added beads to your crochet to create jewellery, the
whole bead world may seem a little daunting at first.
All those different numbers, sizes and types: seed
beads, crystal pearls, freshwater pearls, pony beads,
fire-polished glass… where do you start? Well, in the
following paragraphs, I hope to give you a little bit
of insight that will help you to choose beads for your
next project!
Size does matter
The first thing to remember is that not all beads
are created equal, even if they do appear much the
same, and many will simply not be suitable for
needlework. They come in many, many sizes, but
after trying showier and larger beads, I have come
to much prefer smaller beads, of about a 4mm size,
which is a size 6/0 or 'e' in seed beads. These beads
are small and light enough so that they won’t put
any undue stress on your needlework, but add a
nice amount of sparkle to your piece. Larger beads
will tend to stretch stitches and may stress your
yarn to breaking point, not to mention the fact that
they do not fit as nicely into the piece, and can
often hang at odd angles.
»
44 | INSIDE Crochet
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