11/0 seed beads Miyuki/Czech "Vintage Copper" (55003)
11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4222)
8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4222)
About a year ago I emailed the link to THIS video by Sidonia to myself for future reference. I completely forgot about it until the other day when I finally gave it a try. You'll notice that I only made a single motif for my earrings so they're super tiny and very adorable. They measure 3/4" long by just over 3/4" wide at the widest point.
I've only made them in these two colorways so far but I'd also like to try making them in other colors and also with Toho seed beads to see if they will work with this design. I have so many pretty colors in Toho seed beads that it would silly not to try them.
I have one suggestion that Sidonia doesn't mention in her video. After completing the earrings as directed, you really need to reinforce them several times to give them some body. Otherwise I don't think they will hold their shape while wearing them. I wove around and around until I had used up the excess thread that was on my needle or until I could no longer get through the beads. Another option would be to brush clear nail polish on the backs to stiffen them.
- 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Opaque Dark Beige" (493)
- 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
- 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
These petite earrings look very much like crocheted or tatted lace.
I love these And your colors, as always, are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jeanie. I think you were the one who told me about this video.
DeleteI did something similar when I made a pair for my mother for Mother's Day this year. I used 15/0 seed beads because I wanted them miniaturized, and then added a motif at the top to make them dangle a bit longer. I am always so inspired by your work, so I love to see I shared your thoughts on making it a single motif.
ReplyDeleteWow! Those must have been VERY tiny. I already thought they were pretty much mini earrings with 11/0 beads. Did you have any trouble getting through the beads?
DeleteTo answer your question about using Toho, it looks just as good, and the bonus is that you can use a size 10 needle.
ReplyDeleteTo make it even faster, I use a skinny cord like eight pound spiderwire, tie a knot after the first loop, and then merrily yank around the rest of the pattern. If you occasionally tug on the knot tail, it won't advance through the top bead, the one that you make a loop upon, avoiding the proble where it gets too stuffed, for multiple more passes.
To nudge the style a little bit more towards micro-chandelier, I make the top loop more defined by adding a couple (top sides) of pop out beads (and one on top if I have to use a stamped-loop post earring), and then lastly, going once around the outside all the way around, making sure to skip/pop out the middle bead of each picot on the bottom.
I haven't even started fooling around with making This design with multiple components, which really do make it a lacy and light weight dangle. I'm still fooling around with color combinations.
This really is a GREAT pattern by Sidonia, even better because you can do it quickly and it's so well thought out and balanced, that you can modify it a little (I'm thinking of making the first, middle picot inside not an 11/0 but maybe a tiny tiny crystal), so thank you very much for making sure that I did not miss the potential of this pattern!
Unfortunately, I didn't have any luck using Toho beads. The bottom lacy edge came out all warped for me.
Deletehmmm. I'll have to make some more (yay!) to make sure I wasn't just lucky so far. Maybe popping out the middle bead of each bottom picot helped, but I'll have to get back to you, after exploring this pattern some more.
ReplyDeleteAgain, thank you for insuring I got this really good pattern, one Id never have ever thought of myself.
Maybe I was just unlucky with the colors that I tried.
DeleteIt does seem like Toho beads are at the edge, depending on luck, because my yellows looked fine, but were a little more tube shaped and didn't hang as flatly. But all the other Toho beads worked well, and also Miyuki for center and bottom picots, so long as it looked like a big Myuki. I am not on social media or have a blog, so I don't know how to show you photos. Hubby said he can create a temp email for you to email your own email address to, then delete his temp email as soon as I know how to email you a photo from my real email. I don't know enough to know if this is a good idea, in your view, but it sounds logical. The temp email is fannykuken-jane@yahoo.com.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, using Toho or a really big looking Miyuki allows me to enjoy this pattern even as a new beader (just retired) with cataracts, because it allows me to use a size 10 needle I can thread. Thanks again for a great blog and pattern.
If you use the "Send me an email" form on the right side of my blog, I will reply to you. Once you have my reply, you can reply back to me and attach your photo.
DeleteLove these earrings. I made them with size 8 turquoise and white beads I had left over from another project.
ReplyDeleteThey do have a pretty shape, don't they?
DeleteI love the shape of these earrings but I found them to be way too tiny when made with 11/0 beads. I tried them with 8/0 and love them. Haven't tried any alterations yet, but might do so soon.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea. Did you use Miyuki or Toho 8/0 seed beads?
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