| Cubular Right Angle Weave |
I have been noticing a lot of right angle weave with beads added into the spaces in the squares lately and I thought I would try putting beads inside a cube of right angle weave instead. It works great! I especially like the effect of using matte beads on the outside with AB or silver-lined (or both!) beads inside.
I called this a bracelet, but it could also be used as an amulet bag strap, a stand alone necklace, or you could even use short lengths as part of an earring design.
You'll need one color of size 11 seed beads and one color of size 6 "E" beads. First weave 3 rows of right angle weave using two beads per side. Make the 3 row strip as long as you want the finished piece to be.
When you get to the end, weave around so that your thread is coming out from in between the two beads in the center row at the end. Pick up enough E beads to reach from one end of the strip of RAW to the other. Then enter the corresponding bead on the same side of the other end of the strip. Thread through the stitch until your thread is coming out in between the two center beads again but from the other side. Then go back through the E beads and go into the bead next to the one you originally left. Don't pull it too tight or it will buckle. Here is what it should look like at this point:
Now we need to complete the fouth row connecting the first and 3rd rows and by so doing close up the RAW over the E beads. Weave your thread over to the edge and up through the first set of two beads on one side. Pick up two beads (they are shown pink here so you can distinguish them from the existing beads) and go down through the two corresponding beads on the other side of the strip. Then pick up two more beads and go up through the two beads you originally left. Continue in this manner until you have a solid 4 sided tube. Remember to follow the rules of right angle weave. The easiest way is to just remember that your thread must take a 90° turn for each two beads (2 in this case, it can be more or less) you add or go through, thus the name "right angle" weave.
I closed the ends of my tube by adding beads in each corner of the end square then peyoteing two rows using only one bead in the gap made by the two beads on each side of the square. This forms a natural decrease and fills up the end of the tube so that the E bead won't get squeezed out for any reason.
For extra strength you may wish to run a piece of Softflex or other stringing medium (kinking won't be much of a problem here) through the E beads then use that to add your clasp.
Dainty earring lovers can make earrings from a single cube of RAW with an E bead inside. You may also wish to add a dagger or other drop bead below the cube to finish it off. Here's what a single cube looks like:
Here is the tube in matte black and metallic green:
Have fun!
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