I am especially fond of this lacy spring/summer design, featuring mini-butterflies and flowers. Besides the 6/0 or 8/0 seed bead at each end for connecting a clasp via jump rings, this pattern requires only Superduos and 4mm round beads of the same color (to form the mini-butterflies), and 3 colors of 11/0 seed beads: one main color (for diamonds or “leaves”), one for the flower petals, and one for the accent (flower center and butterfly head). I found that smaller Czech 11/0 seed beads seemed to work best for the flower petals color, but really Toho will work if that’s all you have. (Delicas are not really round enough for the flowers). Slight size or shape differences in 11/0 seed beads (i.e. Czech vs. Toho) didn’t seem to matter for the other colors. Even though it takes hours to make, I liked this design so much I found myself making 3 of them, just to experiment with different color combinations!
This pattern makes a necklace about 17 inches long. If you need it longer, you can make extra diamond+flower components (steps 8 – 12) in the beginning before the first diamond-with-Superduo component (steps 2 – 3), and after the last/14th diamond-with-Superduo component. Adding an extra diamond+flower component at each end adds about an inch to the whole necklace (1/2-inch each side).
I used 6lb Fireline for these necklaces, and found that the thread shows a tiny bit, so smoke/dark Fireline (as in the blue/green and olive/rust pieces) looked a little better than the white/crystal Fireline (in the pink/red piece). Clear thread of some kind would also probably be good. I hope you enjoy this free beading pattern!
Click on the photos below (or the free beading pattern) to zoom in.
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