- 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457D)
- 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457D)
- 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457D)
- Half Tila beads "Metallic Matte Khaki Iris" (TLH-2035)
Yesterday I watched Cris LavoriDiFata's free YouTube tutorial which you can watch HERE. I'm always on the lookout for ways to use Tila and Half Tila beads and I thought these were really cute. Although the video is in Italian, I didn't have any trouble following along. She lists the beads you'll need near the beginning of the video and you can see above that you'll need three sizes of seed beads and some Half Tila beads.
I ran into a problem while making sample earrings. No matter what I tried, my earrings kept coming out warped. After making numerous samples, I eventually came up with a method that does work but it alters the design slightly. The Half Tilas around the outer edge of Cris's earrings sort of flare out and they don't so much with my version. I wish I knew what her secret is because I think I've tried everything. At first I thought maybe it had to do with Miyuki seed beads vs Toho seed beads but both kinds make warped earrings. My tweaked method works with both kinds.
Below are a couple of screenshots of Cris's earrings from the video so you can see how nice and flat hers look:
Below are some photos of various things that I tried without success.
You can't really see in the photo below how badly the earring on the far left is warped. I used my tweak on the other two but I wasn't happy with the loops at the top. I eventually settled for making a loop to hang the earring wire on instead of attaching it to a jump ring.
Here is a successful earring motif made with my method:
Other than the loop at the top, the only thing that I had to change was the step where she adds the seed beads between the pairs of Half Tilas around the outer edge of the earring. She uses a 15/0, 11/0 and 15/0 between each pair of Half Tilas and I omit the 11/0 seed bead. That removes just enough beads to allow the motif to stay nice and flat. I was afraid that this tweak might not work with Toho beads but it works just fine. Below is a photo showing two sample made with Toho seed beads. I made the one on the left as directed in the video and it's a wonky mess. Besides warping like a potato chip, the shape is all wrong. I made the one on the right with my method and it came out just right.
If anyone has successfully made these earring according to the video, I'd love to hear how you did it. I like my earrings but I would like them even better if the Half Tilas were flared like they're supposed to be.
Linda, this is an amazing design. It's a pity you weren't able to make it right the first time. I've watched the video, to see for myself with my own eyes, and the finished earrings really stay flat. I can't help you with this one as I don't have half tilas. Maybe the seed beads used weren't Toho nor Miyuki. Maybe other brands like Matsuno or Preciosa-Ornela. Today I did some beadweaving with Czech beads, I was impressed not by the inconsistency among the same colour because one expects that, but by the difference in size from one colour to another. Two colours were the same size, but a third was always smaller. All of them were marked 11/0. Good luck and happy beading!
ReplyDeleteAna
Hi Ana. Someone else mentioned that Cris might be using Czech seed beads in the video and it had crossed my mind too. I tried a couple more ideas this afternoon but wasn't happy with either of them. In any case, I've only got two colors of Half Tilas that I'd like to use for these earrings so it's not a big deal.
DeleteAfter I took those sample earrings apart, I made myself one of Deb Roberti's "Bobble Bangles" to go with a top that I bought last week. I love how it turned out and I'll take photos and post them as soon as I can. I think that everyone will be surprised at my choice of colors this time. I used some very sparkly purple iridescent rondelles. The top that I made the bracelet to go with is a very bold magenta color so I needed to use colorful beads.