Free Bead Pattern in Peyote Stitch

This Sacred Heart free bead pattern should be worked from the top down. It can be embellished with beaded fringe and would be a wonderful way to use an assortment of Milagros, those little silver and gold religious charms used extensively in Hispanic culture. I have, occasionally, seen Milagros for sale in bead shops.

The plan for this bag is to include Milagros in the beaded fringe. Milagros come in a amazing variety of shapes including body parts, cars, people, hearts; all kinds of stuff. They are used as offerings to saints in Mexico and they represent a wish or prayer related to the object represented by the charm. The image below shows a few of the shapes they come in:

I have included a second version of the pattern for those of you who prefer to bead a square bag.