Pinecone Earrings stitched by Judi T.
- Check your holes! Any bead can get clogged with debris – but when you’re working with two holes, and the first hole is clear, you may do a lot of stitching before you get to use the second hole in a two-hole bead. And if it’s clogged? Frog stitch time. Rip-it, rip-it, rip-it!
- Be aware of the brand. Genuine Super Duos (which we carry at White Fox Beads, of course!) were the first to come to market, and have a more defined diamond shape, and will lock together more nicely than successors.
- Twin beads are NOT SuperDuos. They are awesome, but not necessarily interchangeable. (but sometimes they are – depends on the design.) Twin beads are also extruded beads (like seed beads) rather than pressed, and have more variation in size and shape.
- When using any two-hole bead, you generally have to make a “turn” of some sort to reverse direction when stitching to get where you want to go. A lot of times this is done at the edge where picking up a couple of small seed beads like 11s or 15s will cover the thread. Sometimes the pattern is more of a complicated right angle weave that eliminates turning altogether so you just stitch in circles and figure 8s. And, sometimes you just have to stitch from one hole to the other on the same bead. Keep these stitches in the center of the beadwork, and choose a thread close in color to the SuperDuos.
- SuperDuo Beads are made in the Czech Republic and are made of colored glass with many coating options. They are pressed glass with a guaranteed size and dimensional stability, measuring 2.5x5mm with two .8mm holes.
Two bracelets: same pattern, different beads!
Do you love these patterns? Contact us to request a free Pinecone Earring pattern, presented by The Beadsmith, designed by Good Quill Hunting. AND look for the Rockin’ Rulla bracelet class on the class calendar. (Rockin’ Rulla also available for purchase – just contact us!)
Now, go bead something!
Gail
