Description
About Beaded Pen Patterns
Beaded pens have been popular for a while and they are great fun to make, fabulous to use and also make perfect gifts for anyone who isn’t really into beaded jewellery. Personally, I’ve found these projects quite addictive, so I have a small collection of beaded pen patterns now. I included one in my book, ‘Beaded Christmas Gifts and Cards‘ and have featured others online.
For anyone who has never tried any beaded pen patterns, they are really simple. You will need a special beadable pen form. Basically this is a normal pen, but the sides have an indentation to allow you to wrap a strip of beadwork around.
There are different ways of making this strip of beadwork, depending on which technique you like to use, but all work best with Delica beads in either size 11, or, if you’re feeling adventurous, in size 15.
From my point of view as a designer, the tricky bit is to get the strip into the right size to fit the pen, then work out how to add the pattern I want. I always recommend a certain pen form and specific bead sizes as I have designed the pattern using these materials. If you are experienced though, you can try using different materials, but be prepared to make small alterations in the pattern to get the beaded strip to fit around the pen.
The Two Beaded Pen Patterns
This tutorial gives instructions for two different beaded pen patterns. If you are very confident working with Peyote stitch patterns, then you should enjoy making the musical notes pen for the music-lover or musician in your life. If you are still working up to following complicated patterns, then you can start out with the simple stripes design. Personalise it with colours of your choice and you have a pen for all occasions from classic to funky!
The pattern includes stitching reminders for the techniques and advice about how to size your beadwork and attach it to the pen. You will need size 11 delica beads and a special beadable pen, but these are available from a lot of good bead shops. This pattern includes a suppliers list as well. Suitable for all levels.
