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Bead Store - 2” Snowflake
A = Miyuki 11° SEED bead, 300 beads
B = Miyuki 15° SEED bead, 36 beads
D = Miyuki 11° DELICA bead, 280 Delica’s
Nymo D Thread or Fireline (6 lb or 8 lb*)
*I used 8 lb for this pattern
#11 or #12 beading needle
Start by waxing and stretching your thread. Use Fireline*, Nymo D or C-Lon and an #11 or #12 beading needle. Tie in a “stopper” bead, leaving about a 8-10” tail and begin at R1. *I have recently started using Fireline® fishing line, too. I like 4lb and 6lb Crystal for bead weaving.
2. a) Pick up 3A, go with thread forward through 1 A bead and skipping over 1 A bead in step #1.
b) Repeat (a) around 5 more times
c) Continue with working thread forward through the 1st and 2nd beads added in the first repeat of (a) this Round.
*Please Note: The peyote sides are marked with S1, S2, S3 and S4
4. Add with peyote, 4 D beads up left side (S1), at the 3 corners add 2A beads, add with peyote top left and top right peyote 1 D beads (S2 and S3), and then add 4 D beads down the right side (S4) as shown. Continue with thread right to left through the 2nd A bead, step #2 as shown and up through the 1st D bead step #3 and the 1st D bead just added in this step.
9. Repeat steps #7 and #8 3 times..
10. Repeat steps #3 through #5. After finishing step #5 repeat, continue with working thread up through the last A bead added in the first step #6 repeat as shown.
11. Add with peyote, 2B beads up left side (S1), nothing is added at corners, instead go with working thread through 4 beads as shown, add with peyote 1 B bead at the top left (S2 ) at the very top add 5A beads, add with peyote 1 B bead at the top right (S3), and then add 2 B beads down the right side (S4) as shown. Continue with working thread down through the 1st A bead added in step #6 repeat as shown and then down through the 3 rows of peyote and left to right through the 2nd A bead, step #2. Weave your working thread into the snowflake and end.
Finishing
After the snowflake is complete, you can stiffen it with SC Johnson Pledge Future Shine. It is a great stiffener; it stays clear even on the crystals. Test it first if you use seed beads with dyed colors to make sure the floor finish doesn’t remove the colors.
Pour enough of the Future Shine into a small container that is wide enough for the ornament. Float the ornament into the Future® Shine and push it around a bit with your finger. (After I am done, I use a funnel and pour the extra back into the bottle).
Take the ornament out and blot both sides with a paper towel.
Put the ornament on a piece of wax paper, shape and flatten it and let it remain on the wax paper to dry. (If you use plastic wrap, the beads can stick a bit to the wrap, so it needs to be moved around a bit to prevent this from happening.) If your ornament needs a little extra flattening, use two pieces of wax paper and sandwich your ornament in between; put a book on top of the wax paper for about an hour. Take the book and the top piece of wax paper off the ornament and let dry overnight on the bottom piece of wax paper.
Gather your Supplies
1 TBSP Corn Starch
1 Cup cold water
1 TBSP White Glue
Wax Paper or plastic Wrap
Paper Towel
Old Pan
Tablespoon
Whisk
Something to swish your beadwork around ( I used a plastic fork)
After the snowflake is complete, you can stiffen it. Test first if you use seed beads with dyed or lined colors to make sure this mix to make sure it doesn’t remove the colors.
Start by whisking together 1 Tablespoon of corn starch with 1 cup of cold water in your pan. Heat just to boiling while whisking in 1 TBSP of white glue. Continue whisking until the mixture starts to boil. Take off of the burner and let cool.
Float your snowflake ornament in the mixture and push it around a bit with your plastic spoon (mine is a fork). Leave for a couple of minutes and then stir around one more time before taking it out to dry.
Take the ornament out and blot both sides with a paper towel. Be especially mindful of your crystals that you rub the mixture off.
Put the ornament on a piece of wax paper, shape and flatten it and let it remain on the wax paper to dry. (If you use plastic wrap, the beads can stick a bit to the wrap, so it needs to be moved around a bit to prevent this from happening.) If your ornament needs a little extra flattening, use two pieces of wax paper and sandwich your ornament in between; put a book on top of the wax paper for about an hour. Take the book and the top piece of wax paper off the ornament and let dry overnight on the bottom piece of wax paper.
Thats it!
Clean up is easy too and no lasting odor.
Enjoy your new snowflakes.
Some other ideas for stiffening your snowflakes, I have not tried any of these but they have been suggested by other beaders and bead designers. Worth a try if nothing else is available. My suggestion is to test it first on a small sample of your beadwork.
ProtectaClear, Permalac NT, and Sally Hansen Hard as Nails nail polish (painted on).
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Sandra D. Halpenny © 2023 All rights reserved
Canadian Intellectual Property Office
This pattern may not be copied or distributed in any way without the express written permission of the author. The purchaser of this pattern may use the finished piece for personal use and for selling at arts and crafts shows, etc. No mass production of this design is permitted without permission from the author. Patterns tested by: Julia Wentz
