Last night I wanted to make something with my new "Crystal Lazure Blue" SuperDuo beads and Dragonfly seemed like just the pattern to make with them because I have matching colors in all of the necessary kinds of beads. Since I hadn't tried that pattern before, I decided to make it as the pattern instructs the first time through. The only thing I changed was that I used Tila beads instead of CzechMates and they work perfectly with this pattern.
The pattern is from Eridhan Creations on Etsy. You can buy it HERE for $5.00 (Unfortunately, this pattern is no longer available). Although Justyna is from Poland, the pattern is in English and her illustrations are very good.
Below is the sample that I made last night as the pattern directs but I ran out of thread and had to quit for the night. I've since decided not to finish the sample (there was another step that I hadn't gotten to yet), because I wasn't happy with how all those seed beads look along the edges. As I was working my way through the pattern, I was falling in love with the design until I got to that stage. I think that all those seed beads detracted from the pretty design of the bracelet so I've decided to leave them off. I also liked the bracelet better when it wasn't as wide.
What appears to be a completed bracelet in the photo at the top of this post, is really just another sample that I made today to try out four different combinations of beads without the seed beads on the edge. Just by chance, it came out with 16 motifs and is just my size so I went ahead and added a clasp to see how it would look and fit. I love it! Now I've got the dilemma of deciding which color combination I like the best.
When I made my second sample, I changed a few things. In steps 9-11, Justyna, tells you to add some seed beads to the back of the bracelet to stabilize the tile beads. I've found a way to keep them nice and straight without those extra beads. It works well for Tila beads anyway and I haven't tried making this with CzechMates.
First of all, when I got to the end of step 4, I didn't knot my threads. Instead I circled each thread around through the tile bead on the end and back out to exit as directed. This was enough to secure the work for the next stage of the pattern. Also, you DO want to use both threads and needles for the entire bracelet even though you will work with only one at a time after step 4. Using both threads alternately is the secret to keeping the Tila beads flat. I also found last night that some of them tended to be a bit skewed when I used just one thread as directed.
When I got to steps 5-8, I added the 11/0 seed beads between the SuperDuos with one of my threads for just the length of four motifs. Then, I switched to the other thread on the other side of the bracelet and worked the same four motifs on that side. Then I switched back to the first thread and continued on in that manner, alternating the threads every four motifs for the length of the bracelet. I omitted steps 9-11 from the pattern.
Then, in steps 12-17, I used just one of the threads to add the embellishment for the whole length of the bracelet. I suggest using whichever of the threads is the longest for this stage. At the end of this stage that thread was used up so I wove it in and cut it off. By the way, I started with 4 yards of thread and had just enough. You'll probably need a bit more than that for a bracelet longer than a 5 1/2 to 6 inch wrist size. When I got to steps 18-22, I switched to the other thread to add the final embellishment. I omitted steps 23-28 of the pattern.
Did I mention that I LOVE this pattern? I can't wait to try it with lots of other color combinations.
Here are the beads that I used from left to right in the sample photo at the top of this post:
SAMPLE #1
- 15/0 seed beads "Metallic Chocolate" (see my comment below) *
- 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (11-461)
- 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Transparent Seafoam Picasso" (8-4506)
- Miyuki Tila beads "Light Autumn Jasper/Transparent Cream Picasso" (TL-4505)
- SuperDuo beads "Chocolate Bronze"
- SuperDuo beads "Crystal Lazure Blue"
- 15/0 seed beads "Metallic Chocolate" (see my comment below) *
- 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (11-461)
- 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Transparent Light Smoky Topaz Picasso" (8-4505)
- Miyuki Tila beads "Light Autumn Jasper/Transparent Cream Picasso" (TL-4505)
- SuperDuo beads "Crystal Lazure Blue"
- SuperDuo beads "Chalk Lazure Blue"
- 15/0 seed beads "Metallic Chocolate" (see my comment below) *
- 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (11-461)
- 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Transparent Light Smoky Topaz Picasso" (8-4505)
- Miyuki Tila beads "Light Autumn Jasper/Transparent Cream Picasso" (TL-4505)
- SuperDuo beads "Crystal Lazure Blue"
- SuperDuo beads "Transparent Topaz Gold Luster"
- 15/0 seed beads "Metallic Chocolate" (see my comment below) *
- 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (11-461)
- 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Transparent Light Smoky Topaz Picasso" (8-4505)
- Miyuki Tila beads "Light Autumn Jasper/Transparent Cream Picasso" (TL-4505)
- SuperDuo beads "Crystal Lazure Blue"
- SuperDuo beads "Transparent Topaz Gold Luster"
* I don't have the color information for the 15/0 seed beads that I used. There was no label on them but they match the 11/0 "Metallic Chocolate" seed beads almost perfectly. Unfortunately, Miyuki doesn't make that color in anything but size 11/0. Now that other beads, such as SuperDuo beads, Rulla beads and I think CzechMates, come in the "chocolate" color, hopefully they'll produce some 15/0 and 8/0 beads to match the 11/0's. This is a very pretty and useful color. It's not quite bronze and not quite copper. However, I usually put a copper clasp on my bracelets when I use this color.
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