Peyote Spiral Lessons with seed beads

Copyright Cathy Lampole

Distributed by Crafting-Patterns.com

Supplies: Size 11 Japanese seed beads, at least 4 contrasting colours

Size 8 seed beads Size 6 seed beads Needles and thread (I recommend Silamide for this project)

How this works:

These instructions are not for any particular finished design, but you can use the directions to complete a necklace or bracelet as you wish. Lesson 1 : Basic peyote spiral. This is a narrow version of odd-count tubular peyote. Using complimentary bead colours produces a spiral pattern. You will need to make 4 of these spiral sections about 2 inches long before you proceed with lessons 2,3 and 4. Step one

Step one

Step 2

Cut a length of thread about 2 yards long, and thread the needle. Use 3 colours of seed beads in colours that are different . Thread on 11 beads as shown in step 1 diagram. Leave a long tail, about 8 long and tie a double knot. I will call the beads by colour as in the diagram. Step 2: Pick up one more blue bead, skip the first purple bead after the knot, and sew through the second purple bead. Pick up 1 purple bead, sew through the second green bead. Continue around following the diagram, after you pick up the last green bead, sew through the blue bead that you added at the beginning of step 2.

Diagram A Step 3

Step 3 and all other rows: If your spiral is still flat in your hand at this point, pull up the thread until the beads are tight together, you should see a tubular shape start to form. Continue around, by picking up one bead in the colour of the bead you have just exited. Sew through the next bead that is up You will see, as in the diagram A that every second bead is higher than the one before This is an up bead. Work this spiral till it is about 2 inches long. Lesson 2 : Basic peyote spiral with insert. In this lesson, you will add strands of contrasting beads to the basic spiral.

Begin with a completed spiral from lesson 1. You will need another contrasting bead colour for the insert. At any point in a row, pick up the bead in the same colour as the bead just exited(blue in this diagram ), then add 2 beads of the insert colour (black), sew through the next up bead (purple). Just pretend that the black beads are not there!. Continue around the spiral as you would normally, until you come to the black beads again. Exit the blue bead, add 3 black beads, and continue. You never sew through these black beads, they just lie between the beads of the spiral. On each row add 1 more black bead to the insert. You will find that the spiral will start to lean and be forced up on one side by the inserted beads. Add as many beads as you like , on my example there are 8 beads on the insert. Work this spiral for about 4 inches to see the effect. Variations: Try this spiral with bugles beads for the insert. Also try an assortment of beads in the insert, i.e. seeds, crystals, tiny drop beads. Try this with the insert beads in small size 14 or 15s for a delicate look Make the length of the insert much longer, 15-20 beads for a really open spiral

Copyright Cathy Lampole

Lesson 3 : Basic peyote spiral with insert. Dutch Spiral This spiral is very similar to lesson 2. In lesson 2, the spiral is gentle and may only spiral once in 3 inches of beadwork. The lesson 3 version (sometimes called a Dutch spiral) will spiral tighter. Begin with another completed spiral from lesson 1 Proceed as in lesson 2, BUT replace the blue bead that is JUST before the insert with size 8 bead. Replace this bead on every row. The larger sized bead is necessary for the spiral to turn sharply. You will have to pull the thread tightly when beading past this larger bead. Work about 4 inches of this spiral and you will see the difference to the spiral from lesson 2.

Variations: Use different larger beads in place of the size 8, try a cube bead, or size 8 triangle. Make the insert beads much longer (the black beads) for an open spiral. Add this to some of the variations you may have tried in lesson 2. Lesson 4 : Peyote spiral with various bead sizes (cellini spiral) This lesson gives a completely different look to the spiral, with even more twists. Begin with another completed spiral from lesson 1

As in the above diagram, replace the first blue seed bead with a size 8 bead, the next purple seed with a size 6 bead, and the next green seed with a size 8 bead. The last 3 beads stay the same seed beads. On the next rows, again use the size 8, 6 and 8 beads, and 3 seed beads. You will have to pull the thread quite tightly to close the gaps between the different bead sizes.. Work about 4 inches of spiral .

Variations: Try replacing the center seed bead remaining in the spiral with a small size 14 or 15. This will produce even more sharper waves. Combine the technique from lesson 3 and lesson 4 . Work the cellini spiral, and then add inserts after the second size 8 bead. Finishing the ends: Once you have tried these spirals, you may want to make a necklace or bracelet. The neatest way to add the clasp is to first narrow down the ends of the spiral, then sew on the clasp of your choice. For the basic spiral, work 2-3 rows with only 3 beads. Skip every second up bead. Pull the thread very tight so that there is almost no opening. Sew the clasp from one side of the tube to the other For the spirals in lessons 2,3,4, work about 3 rows of basic spiral (without the insert beads, or larger beads)in seed sizes, the narrow the ends. Have fun with these Spirals!

Copyright Cathy Lampole

Distributed by Crafting-Patterns.com