Famous Jewelry Collections: THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

Saturday, April 16, 2011

THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

Book Review - Stitch Workshop : Peyote Stitch

Posted: 16 Apr 2011 04:30 AM PDT

Peyote stitch is arguably the most popular one with beaders. No wonder as it is not only easy but versatile. The latter can be proved by the latest book I received from Kalmbach Publishing.

The Stitch Workshop: Peyote Stitch: Basic Techniques, Advanced Results is a collection of the best 27 peyote patterns from the Bead and Button magazine. The range is astonishing from a simple pair of beaded hoop earrings to spirals, wheels, waves, balls, bezels, collars and even sculptural beaded containers.

Yes, the peyote is well worth mastering. The book has an excellent explanatory section which covers how to do flat even and odd count, circular and tubular peyote as well as how to increase and decrease. Of enormous help are the instructions of how to bead a bezel not just for a round stone but square, triangular and navette ones where decreasing at the corners becomes necessary.

Individual projects are not rated for difficulty but generally, the projects get harder further into the book. I wish there were more than the one project each for a ring, brooch and earrings. However, time-challenged individuals can select the patterns which featured balls or smaller sections to convert into earrings.

The tube beads as well as the ruffled edged beads shown below are examples of projects where one can complete the jewelry in easy stages. These are also the kind of beading one can pack and go!

One outstanding innovation is the Bead Around the Bend necklace design by Linda Gettings. She used sections of curvy drinking straws to do tubular peyote on! As you can see, the necklace maintains its shape in the focal area.

The beaded butterfly brooch was outstanding as the wings were so realistically rendered. But the highlight of the book surely are the Decorative Vessels by Wendy Ellsworth. Beading a container to hold one's beaded jewelry would be fun. The project uses 8 aught beads so it should go pretty quick.

If you love peyote stitch and use it often, then this book is for you!

To see a preview of the book and a closer look at the above projects, click here.

Before You Go:

For more tutorials check out my Jewelry Making Tips

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