Fall 2020 Princeton Adult School Bead Weaving class

SuperDuo Twist Set

We've finished the Princeton Adult School Bead Weaving class for Fall, 2020. We taught the class entirely on Zoom, which worked surprisingly well! The students said they really liked being able to see us demonstrate every step, up close! We used a camera mounted right over the beading tray. It was great to see our "regulars" again and we welcomed some new bead weavers as well. Because the class was online, we were delighted to have some students from far away!

We made a set (necklace, bracelet, and earrings) using SuperDuo beads, seed beads, and faceted crystal rondelles. The patterns are available from our Etsy store, along with the last couple of kits.

The SuperDuo Twist Necklace has a central twisted section that uses a twisted tubular herringbone variation that we devised and which we haven't seen anywhere else. Usually, herringbone variation using SuperDuo beads has the beads oriented in a different way. This version looks like knitting. The stitch variation creates not only a twist in the tube but also an undulation that is very attractive. If you like it, check out the pattern on Etsy!

The SuperDuo Wrap Bracelet works up quickly and is super easy! We've designed it to wrap around the wrist three times and the instructions provide detailed row counts for every bracelet size.

The SuperDuo Swirl Earrings feature three colors of SuperDuos swirling around the beaded bead, which is embellished with a faceted rondelle at the bottom. This earring is also quick and easy.

We offered three different color palettes to the students. The purple and indigo combination was by far the most popular!

Bead Weaving at Princeton Adult School--Spring 2020

I started the Spring 2020 Bead Weaving course at the Princeton Adult School, but only got the first class in before everything shut down because of COVID-19. I hope to use this post, along with some new YouTube videos, to keep the class connected so everyone can finish their projects.

Russian Spiral Necklace--detail

First, a look at the projects for Spring 2020!

Russian Spiral Necklace:
Metallic Purple,Matte Gunmetal,
and Silver-lined crystal

Russian Spiral Necklace:
Metallic Teal Green, Matte Copper, and
Copper-lined Opal

I wanted to design a versatile piece that everyone could use in their wardrobe, so I decided on a rope necklace and two different pendants. The Russian Spiral rope necklace can be worn on its own, or you can slide on one of the pendants that I designed to go with it.

Oglala Pendant--metallic purple

The pendants are very different! The Oglala ruffle pendant is frilly and romantic; the Warped Square pendant is edgy and a little futuristic. Because sometimes we feel frilly and sometimes we feel edgy, right?

The Oglala Pendant gets gradually wider at the bottom. The Oglala netting creates a layer of beaded ruffles. The pendant slides easily onto the Russian Spiral rope necklace.
The YouTube video is available at: https://youtu.be/Xb0y52c1su4

Oglala Pendant--metallic teal

  

Warped Square Pendant (metallic teal)
with a herringbone-stitch bail

The warped squares used in the Warped Square Pendant create a wing-shaped element with a front and back triangular shape. The Warped Square Pendant can be completed in several different ways, although only two are pictured here.

In the metallic teal version, a herringbone-stitch bail is added to a pendant with a smaller warped square atop a large warped square.

In the metallic purple version, the smaller warped square is still atop the large warped square; the small square is used as the bail, with the Russian Spiral rope necklace slid inside.

Warped Square Pendant (metallic purple)
with the smaller warped square as the bail

If you want to make a shorter pendant, you could make just one warped square instead of two. Either attach a herringbone-stitch bail or slide the single warped square onto the rope necklace. I think it would look great any way you make it!

I'm very excited by the fact the several students opted to mix the color choices to create even more color combinations. For example, teal with gunmetal and crystal; purple with copper and opal; purple with gunmetal and opal; and teal with copper and crystal! So many possibilities. I hope we can post photos of the students' completed projects here, so we can admire all of the work.
The YouTube video tutorial is available:
Warped Square part 1