Bead a Beaded Bottle Obtain a Glass Bottle and Choose your Seed Bead Colors Finished Beaded Bottle Emily Hackbarth An easy to find glass bottle for this project is the bottle used to hold a product called Panax Ginseng Extractum. Look for them at your local health food or liquor store.
It is easier to get the hang of covering bottles with beads if you don't have to deal with a pattern, so we are not going to use one. Instead, we will use a mixture of colors and sizes in a freeform design made up as we go along.
First empty the bottle, rinse it and soak if necessary to remove the label. I used my bag of mixed seed beads (a mix of small amounts of seed bead leftovers from other projects) for this project. If you don't have a bag of mixed beads, just choose several colors that you think would look good together. There are two ways you can go with this. Either choose a selection of colors that harmonize with each other such as a range of blues, for example, or colors that contrast strongly. Begin Beading with Flat Round Peyote Stitch To begin, make a piece of Flat Round Peyote to cover the bottom of the bottle. It should be 8 rows, beginning with a six bead base. The eighth row should be 36 beads around. It will seem a bit big but that will change in the next round when you stop Step One - Make your Base Row Begin Flat Round Peyote stitch by placing 6 beads on your thread. Pass the needle back through the 6 beads, making sure that your thread exits the first bead on the strand. You now have a circle of 6 beads; see the illustration below. 
Flat Round Peyote Bead Stitch Step One - Make a Circle of Six Beads Step Two - Add your Second Row of Beads 
Flat Round Peyote Bead Stitch Step Two - Place a Bead Between Each of the Base Row Beads Paula S. Morgan Place one bead between each of the six beads in the first row, passing back through and exiting the first bead of this row. You will have added six beads to this second row Step Three- Add the Increase Beads in this Row (double bead row) 
Flat Round Peyote Bead Stitch Step Three - Add the Increase Beads Paula S. Morgan The third row of Flat Round Peyote will add on twice as many beads as you added in Row One. This is the row that will expand the size of the flat round Peyote outward.
Place 2 beads on your needle and pass through the second bead added in Row Two. Repeat this for the entire row, adding a total of 12 beads to the row. When you have added all the beads for this row, make sure your needle exits the first bead added for this row. Don't worry of the beading looks like it is puckering or buckling. The next row will smooth things Step Four - Add a "Flattening" Row (single bead row) 
Flat Round Peyote Bead Stitch Step Four - Add Another Double Bead Row Paula S. Morgan On Row Four, you will repeat the steps from Row Two, adding a single bead between each of the two beads you added in Row Three. This row will consist of twice as many beads as Row Two for a total of 12 beads. Remember, when you complete this row, be sure your thread exits the first bead added for this row. Also, if your tension is consistent and not too tight, this row will cause any of the bumps or puckering to flatten out. Step Five - Repeat As Rows Three and Four 
Flat Round Peyote Bead Stitch Step Five - Repeat Double and Single Rows Paula S. Morgan For the rest of the Flat Round Peyote bead item, alternate between rows of double beads (as Step Three) and rows of single beads (as Step Two) until your item reaches the required size. Make sure you keep an even and not too tight thread tension or you may have trouble passing the needle through some of the previous row beads. Also, an even tension will help keep the stitch flat. Build the Base of the Beaded Bottle Now we will start building up from this base. Normally, this would be an increase row if we were continuing the flat round peyote pattern. Do not increase, instead, put only one bead in each of the spaces where you would have put two. This will cause the peyote round to start to cup up as you pull it tight. It will look something like this: 
Bottom of Bottle Cover Step Four - Change the Beading to Tubular Peyote Stitch From this point you will simply continue normal Tubular Peyote Stitch. After you have added 5 or 6 more rows, slip the bottle into the work. While it's easier to work on when it's not on the bottle, your work will be more even and fit better if you work directly on the bottle. Keep your tension tight so that the beading will not fall off the bottle spontaneously.
How To Do Tubular Peyote Stitch - Even Count An easy, step-by-step instruction guide to doing Tubular Peyote stitch, Even Count. This stitch creates a cylinder of beadwork and is one of the most popular for creating Amulet Bags. Difficulty: Average Time Required: 60 minutes to learn the stitch Here's How: -
String all of the beads for both Round 1 and Round 2, leaving a 6 inch tail of thread, making sure you have an even number of beads strung. Remember that each completion is called a 'round', rather than a 'row'. -
Holding the tail in your left hand (for righties), pass through the first bead strung to make a circle. -
String the first bead for round 3, then pass through the next bead in line below from Row 2. -
Continue in this manner until all of the rounds in your graph have been completed. -
Finish by weaving any loose threads back into the piece. -
If you are making an Amulet Bag out of your cylinder, stitch the bottom of the bag up (the beads will fit together like the teeth of a zipper), then add a strap and some fringe, as you like. Tips: -
When starting the first round of this stitch, remember that in your pattern, the first bead strung will be a Round 2 bead. -
When you finish a round and are ready to move up to the next level, don't forget to pass through the last bead of the round you are ending and then add your first bead for the next round. -
Use a paper tube (from bathroom tissue or paper towels) as a work holder for this stitch. Just cut it up the middle and re-size it to fit inside your circle of beads. It makes this stitch easier to work on. What You Need: -
Size 11/0 Seed Beads -
#12 Beading Needle -
Nymo "D" Thread -
Cylinder to hold work -
Peyote Sitich pattern
Continue adding rows until you reach the portion of the bottle that tapers at the top. When you get to the point where there is space between your beadwork and the bottle, it's time to decrease. Space your decreases evenly around the bottle. You shouldn't need to skip more than 4 or 5 spaces in this row. Add one or two more rows, decreasing as necessary. Sorry I can't be more specific, this all depends on what beads you are using.
Notes on the Design of your Beaded Bottle It isn't as easy as you might think to make a freeform design with mixed beads look good. The good part is that it's impossible to make a mistake! The key is to use groupings and lines of color, rather than just picking up random beads. Another consideration is which colors you put next to each other. If you are using mixed colors rather than a range of similar colors, make sure to place contrasting but complimentary colors next to each other. Use a good mixture of bright and dark colors and don't use too many pale colors next to each other or the piece will look washed out. You can mix sizes from 14/0 seed beads to 10/0 seed beads without too much trouble. Just use a majority of 11/0 beads and don't put a bunch of large or small beads next to each other. Adding a Beaded Strap and/or Fringe You have lots of options for fringe and a strap. The fringe on this bottle is meant to echo the organic nature of the pattern. It was arranged around the bottom of the bottle in varying lengths, each with a different dangle. In most cases 3 or 4 layers of staggered fringe with the longest strands in the middle and the shortest at the outside edge would work well. Also, a tassel hanging from the center of the bottom instead of fringe would look great.
The strap is a simple design. The thread is woven to one side of the lip of the bottle, strung on a long strap with groups of ten mixed 11/0 seed beads separated be one larger bead. The strap was attached to the bottle beading at the sides. This is obviously only one option. Another would be to attach jump rings on either side and use a chain or a strung necklace for a strap. Check out this article on Beaded Strap Ideas for more possibilities.
If you'd like to try your hand at designing a pattern for one of these bottles, here are some graphs for you to use. The graph for the body is only 21 beads tall. The height of the bottle is more like 24-25 beads. You might try using several rows of a solid color at the top until you get used to decreasing. That way you won't mess up your pattern. Beaded Straps To Use With Your Beaded Amulet Bags Almost everyone has an amulet bag or two laying around unfinished for want of a strap. How sad! Your beautiful beaded bags deserve straps. You want to be able to show them off in all their beady glory don't you? To that end, here are some strap ideas to get you started (or better yet, finished!).
Idea One: Round Braid
You can braid strands of seed beads, embroidery thread or silk with this method to make an elegant cord.
  
This braid takes four strands. Make them about 3 times as long as you want your strap to be just to be safe. The resulting length will vary according to the thickness of the material you use, so strands that are too long are much better than strands that are too short. Knot the ends of your strands together and secure them to something stable. The braid itself is pretty simple. Take the right-most strand (dark blue in this example) and bring it under the two center strands (green and pink) and over the top of the left hand center strand (the pink one). The dark blue strand should now be the right hand center strand. Then take the left-most strand (the red one) and bring it under the two center strands and up over the right hand center strand. Just repeat these two steps (which are really the same step reversed) until you reach the length you want. This is what it looks like if you use satin rattail.
Idea Two: Chevron Chain
The simplest of the chevron chains makes a nice strap and it's reasonably easy to make.
First pick up 3 beads and tie them in a circle. Pick up 3 more beads and go up through the right-most bead.
Pick up two beads and go up through the new right-most bead. Continue adding 2 beads at a time in this manner until you reach the length you need. Try different combinations of colors to achieve an effect you like. This is what it looks like following the pattern of colors in the diagrams with matte black and red-lined green seed beads.
Idea Three: Two Simple Ladders
The first of these was adapted from two-needle to single-needle because I hate using two needles, I'm just not good at it. You may use two if you like of course.
Decide how long you want your links to be. In the example I used 3 beads on each side in between the accent beads. You can use any number and combination of colors and sizes you like. You can also use several seed beads in place of the accent bead. For the instructions I'll use the number I used in the diagram. Pick up one accent bead, 3 seeds, another accent bead, and 3 more seeds. Tie them in a circle and go through the accent bead next to the knot, the 3 seeds following it and the other accent bead. For all the other links pick up 3 seeds, your accent bead and three more seeds and go through the accent bead on the opposite side from where your thread is coming out to form a loop. Then go up through the 3 seeds on that side plus the accent bead. This is what it looks like with black matte seed beads, red-lined yellow triangles and green crystals. I hangs better with weight on it of course.
The second ladder is made in two parts. Again, you must decide you long you want each link to be. In this example I chose to use bugles and seeds.
 First string as many beads as it takes to make the chain the length you need by alternating between bugles and seeds, being sure to begin and end with a seed. Then turn the corner by picking up 1 seed, 1 bugle, 1 seed, 1 bugle. Go through the 2nd seed on the base to form a square. Go back through the last bugle, and through the back of the seed after it. Continue the chain by adding 1 bugle, 1 seed, 1 bugle, and going through each seed on the base, back through the bugle and through the back of the seed you left. Here's what it looks like with two bugles and one seed in each link. Again, it looks straighter when something is hanging from it.
Some other Ideas and a Few Tips.
Always use the heaviest thread you can get away with in these chains. Always use a seed bead before and after bugles so no weight is placed directly on them. They tend to have sharp edges and can cut the thread. Daisy chains also make great straps. Check out this Daisy Chain Beading Tutorial page for instructions. Also, a simple strand of rattail can be used if it fits with your design. Sometimes less is more. Finally, pick up the book Indian Bead-Weaving Patterns by Horace Goodhue. This book is stuffed with dozens of chain patterns! The instructions and diagrams leave something to be desired, but you will never find a beadwork book that has more beading information in it than this one. It's definitely worth the struggle to translate the beading diagrams!
| Bead a Beaded Bottle Graph |  | Graph Paper for a Beaded Bottle Graph Paper to Design a Pattern for a Beaded Bottle
 |
Free Forum Hosting
Important Announcement
First 
