These may look like pairs of earrings but each "pair" consists of an earring made with Miyuki seed beads and another made with Toho beads. I made them with Deb Roberti's latest free pattern called "Crosswise Earrings" which you can download HERE.
Both brands of seed beads work with this pattern but you will have to make one change if you want to use Toho beads. In steps 22-29 of the pattern you should add two seed beads in each step instead of three. The Toho version of the earrings will cup a little and they will also come out a little larger than the Miyuki version. If you look closely at my photos, you will see that there is a bit more space between the pairs of druks in the Toho earrings compared to the Miyuki earrings. In each photo, the Miyuki earring is on the left and the Toho earring is on the right.
I don't have any 8lb FireLine so I used Nymo D thread instead and it worked just fine and the earrings have enough structure.
LEFT EARRING:
- 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
- 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
- Ginko beads "Bronze Pale Gold"
- 3mm druks "Red Luster"
- 4mm druks "Red Luster"
RIGHT EARRING:
- 11/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Bronze" (223)
- 8/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Bronze" (223)
- Ginko beads "Bronze Pale Gold"
- 3mm druks "Red Luster"
- 4mm druks "Red Luster"
LEFT EARRING:
- 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Nickel Plated" (190)
- 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Nickel Plated" (190)
- Ginko beads "Purple Vega"
- 3mm druks "Lila Vega Luster"
- 4mm druks "Lila Vega Luster"
RIGHT EARRING:
- 11/0 seed beads Toho "Nickel Plated" (711)
- 8/0 seed beads Toho "Nickel Plated" (711)
- Ginko beads "Purple Vega"
- 3mm druks "Lila Vega Luster"
- 4mm druks "Lila Vega Luster"
I only keep 4 lb Fireline around because I like size 12 Tulip needles and they work nicely together. If I tried to keep every size of Fireline around that would be expensive and take up a lot of space. So thanks for letting us know alternatives also work (I have a ton of Nymo in various sizes, some of it is almost 20 years old but if still on the spool it seems to be in good shape).
ReplyDeleteI do have a spool of 4lb Fireline but I mostly use 6lb Fireline with size 12 Tulip needles. If the Fireline gives me trouble threading it on the needle, I flatten the end with my pliers.
DeleteI should have also said that I use Nymo D most of the time and save my Fireline for when I make beadwork for other people. I also use it for patterns that need some extra stability or that have a lot of 15/0 beads.
DeleteI am challenged when it comes to getting 6 lb Fireline through size 12 needles. Will have to try your flattening trick.
Deletecute pattern, perfect for using up odd ginko beads. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThat's what I was thinking too.
DeleteThanks for showing us the difference between Myuki and Toho seed beads with this pattern. Your earrings are lovely.
ReplyDeleteThank you and you're welcome.
DeleteYou can really see the difference in 11/0 seed bead size between Miyuki and Toho in these photos. Thanks! Deb
ReplyDeleteYes, the Miyuki earrings look more compact than the Toho ones.
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