Peyote Beaded Beads

For a while now I have been wanting to learn to make peyote beaded beads around a wooden core, but was lacking a good tutorial. While blog hopping recently, I found a link to one, finally! It was in Hungarian, but had what I needed - a chart that listed how many beads in each round for what size core bead! Here is the site that had this information. Below I have translated it to English for you. If you translate the original site, their next post goes over some information on how bead type and finish impact these numbers. I really suggest visiting it for more informaiton!



While doing the first couple of beaded beads, I found it very difficult to hold everything together while I stitched. So I came up with a nifty way to stablize. I took a headpin, put a rubber earring back on it. I then started my beadwork. Once I have the first few rows, I sew in the tail thread, then I add the bead work to the headpin. Next add the bead, then another earing back. The rubber earing backs stay in place and hold everything firmly together. Plus, they are soft on the beadwork!



I found that this configuration not only kept my hands from cramping, but allowed me to easily set the work down if I need to take a break! If you don't have the rubber earring backs available, you could try cutting the erasers off of pencils and using those.



Really handy for the tiny 6 and 8 mm beads! Also of note, you don't have to use a wooden core. You can use any old round bead. Above you will see that I am using a glass pearl. My first attempt (not pictured) was over some plastic beads!

Quote: Life is like one big Mardi Gras. But instead of showing your boobs, show people your brain, and if they like what they'll see, you'll have more beads than you know what to do with.
Ellen DeGeneres, Tulane Commencement Speech, 2009