Description
Make these Dahlia Beaded Beads by adding petals around a pearl or round bead. The petals are made in Peyote stitch. The hole through the central round bead remains accessible so that it can be strung as a beaded bead to make dainty, colourful jewellery.
This pattern can be stitched in a single colour or in two shades. It is suitable for anyone with a basic knowledge of peyote stitch.
Origins of the Dahlia Beaded Beads
I love making different beaded beads. Whether they are geometric constructions using shaped seed beads, or structures that have the appearance of another object, like my chocolates. Beaded beads are wonderful because they are quick to make and give so many jewellery design options.
I designed the Dahlia Beaded Beads pattern to teach in a one hour taster workshop at the Beads Up North beading festival. I wanted a project that would allow people to achieve something worthwhile in an hour. Of course this isn’t a long time if you are learning a new technique. So, I developed the dahlia design. The petals were simply a repetition of one another.
I could focus on teaching the diamond Peyote technique in the workshop and ensure that all the students understood what they were doing. Then they would be free to complete the actual flower on their own at home.
About the Technique
If you have never tried this technique, the diamond is a different way to shape Peyote stitch. It doesn’t involve any increasing or decreasing. You just work round and round a shape, adding beads in a particular order to end up with a diamond.
Once you have mastered the technique, you can start playing with colouring and pattern. I talk about this in the project instructions for these beaded beads. I have given notes on how to create either a single coloured petal, or a petal with a coloured tip. You can develop this idea further to create different patterns.
Materials for the Project
The dahlia beaded beads use size 11 seed beads. In this case I worked with both Toho brand and Matsuno brand (on different flowers!).
The design will also work with Delica beads. This gives you petals with much ‘straighter’ edges, so the look will be a little different.
If you are using a different brand of seed beads, you may find you need to alter the number of beads in your initial circle around the central pearl. However, this is no problem: the number of flower petals will simply change accordingly. It’s really easy to do!
You can also vary the size of the central pearl. I used a 10mm pearl. If you want to try a different size, just alter the number of seed beads in your initial circle and then work the petals as normal. So, you might already have beads in your stash that you can use for this dahlia beaded beads project. You can of course substitute the pearl for another round bead.
More Helpful Advice
You can buy this pattern as a kit. It is available in a choice of three colours. So, if you are just starting out, that gives you a great way to get all the materials and instructions in one package. You can also buy materials from me. Just visit the beading supplies department in the BeadShop.
So, I hope you feel confident to give this simple technique a try. I am on hand to help if necessary. You can also download free tutorials to cover the basics if you wish. Beyond that, I hope you have fun creating your own style and please do share some photos to show me how you get on!
