| Beaded Mandala Project and Beaded Mandala Tutorial |
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Mandala stitch, or what is sometimes referred to as "complex netting" is a fun beading stitch to work. It is called complex not because it is difficult to do, but because its thread path is ever changing and infinitely flexible. The purpose of this project is to explore some of the possible beaded netting thread paths and to experience some of the possibilities inherent in this wonderful technique.
The beaded doily that these instructions make is quite small and is intended to be more educational and experiemental rather than ornamental or wearable. This beading stitch can be used to make doilies, table cloths, ornaments, earrings, and intricate wraps for just about anything. It doesn't have to be round, try a square and make an amulet bag out of it, though you might want to line it with silk or something similar.
As you work this bead stitch, pay attention to how changes in the direction of the thread path alter the shapes created.
In this little doily, the beads used are copper-lined clear, silver-lined fuchsia, ab blue charlottes, ab pink, size 14 clear yellow, and silver-lined ab teal seed beads.
Start by tying 16 copper beads in a circle. Go through the bead just ahead of the knot. Pick up 3 fuchsia beads and go through the back of the copper bead your thread is coming out of to make a little triangle. Continue forward through the next 4 copper beads and add another triangle of fuchsia beads. Continue around the circle adding two more triangles in the same manner.
After you complete the 4th triangle, continue through the next two copper beads after the one the 4th triangle is attached to. Pick up 10 copper beads and go back through the 4th from the end. Look at this as the left side and top of your first point. Pick up 6 more copper beads and go through the fourth bead over in the ring from the bead left to begin the point. Now go back up through the 6th bead.
Before going on, examine your point. Note that there are 6 beads in each side and 4 beads that form the diamond shaped tip at the top. The key to understanding this particular kind of point is to realize that once you have completed the first point, you have all the information you need to complete the round. Each additional step is a matter of noting what parts of the point you are about to create are already in place, and which need to be added to complete the section of the point you are working on. Each point is made in two parts, the left side and point, and then the right side.
To begin the second point, note that the bead you just went up through is shared between the first and second points, thus the first bead in your second point is already in place. So count the remaining beads in the left side and tip of the first point (you should come up with 9). Go back through the 4th from the end to form the tip. Now count the beads in the right side of the point - it should still be 6. Pick up 6 and count the beads in the ring between the two side of the point - should be 3. Skip 3 and go through the fourth bead in the ring from the bead the left side is attached to. Go up through the last bead you added and continue from there.
One more tricky part. When you get to the last point you have to connect it to the first point, right? Don't forget about the shared bead between the last point and the first one when counting how many beads to add.
After you've come up through the first bead in the first point, continue up through the next three beads in the right side of the last point. Pick up 4 blue beads, one fuchsia, and one more blue. Go back through the 4th bead from the end to form the tip. Then pick up two more blue beads to match the two on the left side. Now go down through the bead in the left side of the first copper point that corresponds to the bead you left in the last point. Continue down through the side and re-enter the ring through the back of the ring bead that you originally left. Your goal is to keep the thread path symmetrical. Complete the round by adding a blue point between each set of copper points for a total of four.
Now add some daisies. When you complete your final blue point, thread through the ring to the right and up through the right side of the copper point, around the tip and out through the right side of the top bead. Pick up 2 green "stem" beads, 4 pink petal beads and one yellow center bead. Go back through the first pink bead and pull tight.
Pick up two more pink petal beads and go through the fourth pink bead you added in the previous step to complete the daisy. Then pick up two more green stem beads and go through the fuchsia bead at the top of the blue point to the right. Continue around the circle adding a daisy between each set of points.
After you've added the last daisy, continue through the two green beads to the right of the tip bead you entered. Pick up 10 green beads and go back through the second to the last. Pick up 8 more green beads to match the first side. Re-enter through the left side of the first of the two green beads you added at the end of your last daisy. Continue through the next four beads and the first pink petal bead of the next daisy.
Pick up one green bead, one dagger and another green seed. Go forward through the third petal bead and continue through the 2 green beads next to it, the tip bead of the point below and the next two green beads to get into position to add the next big green point as described in the previous paragraph. Complete the round (and the project) by alternating between daggers and points for a total of 8 each.
Hopefully, this project has given you enough information to begin experimenting with this stitch. Add and remove beads to change the shape of points, make up new thread paths, go wild! No need to plan the next row until you get to it, just improvise as you go along. Examine the shape of the spaces you've created and elaborate on them. Make sure you begin with an even number of beads in your base ring, other than that, there are no rules for this fun and ever-chaning bead stitch.
