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Make a Beaded Daisy Chain

September 21st, 2008 in patterns & designs, jewelry making
susanstars Susan Beal, contributor
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These blue-and-gold daisies are made with contrast petals, centers, and background beads.
Begin by adding seven small background beads to your strand.
Next, add four petal beads (mine are blue) and one center bead (gold).
Bring the needle back through the first petal bead.
Add three more petal beads, then bring the needle back through the petal bead on the far right of the flower.
For a variation, string six background beads, four petal beads, and a center bead to match the background one. Finish by adding just two more petal beads instead of three.
The variation has six petals instead of seven.
These blue-and-gold daisies are made with contrast petals, centers, and background beads.

These blue-and-gold daisies are made with contrast petals, centers, and background beads.

Photo: Susan Beal
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Just in time for this month's Flower Power Challenge, I wanted to post a fun little project to bead up: making daisy chains! You can customize these in any colors you like, and play with scale and bead size to make tiny, delicate flowers or larger, graphic ones. Here's an easy tutorial on how to whip up a bracelet, necklace, or embellishment using seed beads!

You'll need:

  • Beading needle and nylon beading thread
  • Scissors
  • Seed beads of your choice in several colors: for the blue daisies, I used 6/0s in blue and gold for the flowers, and 11/0s in silver/clear for the background
  • Optional, depending on your project: bead tips, tweezers, clasp

1. Cut a long piece of beading thread and place your beading needle on it. Double it and knot securely at one end. If you are using bead tips or other finishers, add them to the beginning of the strand.

2. Working from left to right, thread your first background beads: I used seven silver-clear beads, in a noticeably smaller size than my flowers for contrast. Next, add four "petal" beads (mine were blue) and a center bead (mine was gold).

3. Bring your needle back through the first "petal" bead as shown in the photo. Pull your thread taut so that the "petals" circle around one side of the center.

4. Now add three more petal beads and then bring your needle through the far-right petal bead to complete the flower, as shown in the photo.

5. Continue beading by repeating steps 2–4, adding another round of background beads and then creating a second flower the same way. You can end your strand at any time; for a bracelet, a length of about 6–7 inches is usually ideal, and for a necklace, consider making a 14-inch or longer design. Add a second bead tip to finish your piece, if you are using one, and then add a clasp and ring, one on each side.

Variation: You can make a more symmetrical six-petal flower, or use the same color for background and center, if you like—I made a version like that in bright pink and orange, too. Just use two "petal" beads instead of three in step 4, and use the same beads for background and center. The photos show details of the differences.

Happy daisy-chaining!

 

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posted in: patterns & designs, jewelry making, beads, thread, flower, beading, needle, daisy chain, flower power
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Comments (4)

ElainePDX writes: You recognized Rimsky's!!! When I make some new Daisy Chains, I'll definitely post the pics, but I'll also post some pics of my "vintage" Daisy Chains if I can find them! They're around here, somewhere :~) Posted: 7:57 pm on September 22nd
susanstars writes: cool, Elaine! I'd love to see your third round of daisy chains if you'd like to post some pics :)

btw, I love your avatar - hooray for Rimsky's and long live Church of Craft! Posted: 1:40 pm on September 22nd
ElainePDX writes: Oops~~"your", not "you're" I'm picky about things like that :~) Posted: 12:35 am on September 22nd
ElainePDX writes: Cute project, Susan!
I made Daisy Chain necklaces in high school, way back in the 1960's, then after not beading for many years, Daisy Chains are what got me back into beading in the early 1990's! You're article makes me want to dig out my seed beads! Posted: 12:33 am on September 22nd
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