| Seahorse Love Beaded Amulet Bag |
The idea for this cute little bag came as a result of watching a PBS special about seahorses. Seahorses are charming creatures, they sometimes intertwine their tails as part of their mating. This article will teach the constructions on the bag, the second article will cover the completion plus the strap and fringe.
What You'll Need
- 3 colors of size 11 Japanese seed beads. I used matte transparent light brown for the seahorses, black opaque for their eyes, and iridescent matte black for the background.
- Size D white beading thread.
- Size 12 beading needle.
- Bees Wax or Thread Heaven (optional)
TThe stitch used in this project is Tubular brick stitch. is fun to work with and easier for many people than tubular peyote. Keeping proper tension is much less of a problem and the transition from one row to the next is far more obvious. The pattern for the bag is at the bottom of this page; the first section will cover the basics of tubular brick stitch.
As with any brick stitch project, the tubular variation begins with a base row. To start the base row, pick up the first two beads and tie them together in a loop so that the beads sit with their edges flush. Leave a tail several inches long to weave back in later. Pass the needle up through the second bead. Pick up another bead and go back and up through the second bead and down through the new one.
Continue adding beads by picking up one bead at a time and looping through the previous bead from the side opposite where the thread exits. Then, prepare for the next bead by going through the new bead from the side the thread is now on.
When the base row is completed, first match up the two ends making sure that the row is not twisted. Orient the row so that the thread is hanging down on the left hand side. Go up through the first bead, down through the last bead, and up through the first bead again. This will position the work and the thread for the second row.
To start the second row, pick up the first two beads of the second row of the pattern. Pass the needle under the thread that crosses between the second and third beads in the previous row.
Then go up through the second of the two beads just added. This is slightly different than the standard method for brick stitch; it has the advantage of not leaving any thread showing at the beginning of the row.)
Subsequent beads are added by picking up a bead, passing under the thread that stretches between the bead the thread is exiting and the bead next to it, and going back up through the bead just added. For a more detailed explanation see this tutorial How To Do Brick Stitch.
When all of the beads have been added in the second row, connect the last bead to the first by passing the needle down through the first bead and then up through the last bead.
Continue adding rows in the same manner until the pattern has been completed. Here's the link to Seahorse Love Part Two with directions for closing the bottom of the tube and adding fringe, a strap, and further embellishments.
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