Free Seed Bead Patterns: Beading Q And A (10/10/2011)

BeadGal answers:

I found this site:

http://beadwork.about.com/od/beadedornamentsandcharms/Beaded_Holidays_Beaded_Holiday_Ornaments_and_Jewelry.htm

They have a lot of different patterns (like poinsettas, etc.) and more than just Christmas. To get to the Christmas patterns you have to scroll down past the autumn ones, but they’re there! Hope they help!

BeadGal answers:

Some common seed bead stitch names are peyote (odd and even count), right angle weave, netting, etc. What you do with those stitches are endless… I find right angle weave to be very easy to do. And once you have the basic stitch down, you can get more and more elaborate.

There are a couple of free online catalogs and some places that have patterns for free or purchase. One of the best ones is www.bead-patterns.com

BeadGal answers:

The Yahoo Group is “BeadChat For Lefties“.

Beading for Southpaws sells patterns:  http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/mrsmo48

BeadGal answers:

BeadGal answers:

There are a few things to help you figure out how many you will need.

The size of the bead — (the most common is a size 11 seed bead) – will affect how many you need, as well as how many beads you will get per gram.

Just a note: most say the bead size number will usually let you know how many seed beeds when lined up on a needle will make an inch. However in the real world world the number of beads it takes to make an inch, is usually a bit more. Either way, the larger the number – the smaller the bead.

Often a pattern will be kind enough to tell you how many beads will be needed to complete a project.

I find that 10 grams of Delicas will cover a goodly decent amount. If I have a small amulet bag – say 3×3 inches – I know that if there four colors and I have 5 grams of each color – it will be enough for the project and still have beads left over.

If you want to be a bit more precise, a good way to figure for each pattern is to see how many inches your project is in length and width. Then based on what size bead, you will have a guess-estimate on how many beads total you will need to make the project.

Take an estimate of what percent of the project is each color. (For example most of your background is about forty percent of the project – so you can get an estimate of forty percent of your total beads. That will give you a good rule.)

Then you can have an idea of how many grams of each color you will need. Whoever you are purchasing from can give you an idea of how many beads of a given size will be in a gram.

Here’s some charts that are handy:

http://www.beadnook.com/BeadSizeCharts.html

https://beading-frenzy.dbslash.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=11

This one has the number of beads per grams:
http://beadstuff.com/beadersinfo.htm