Introduction to Right Angle Weave (R.A.W.)

So, I get this question every now and then on whether my tutorials uses 'cross weave'. So, I thought it apt that I write a post on this subject. (Actually, I wrote about  this before, just not here. I can't believe I've not touched on this topic before here!)

Yes, I use mainly the 'cross weave' technique or what some might call it as two-needle
Right Angle Weave (R.A.W). However, in my very early stages of doing R.A.W, I used to Use
the one-needle R.A.W but once I learnt about the two-needle one, I've not look back ever since.

The pendant above was actually one of the few earliest project I did on R.A.W. which I thought was rather easy to follow and understand. I reckon most of you would have been familiar with this stitch already but for those of you who have not tried making jewelry before, you might want to give this a shot. I've always think this to be a very simple yet effective project.

Before i jump straight into the project and also for the benefit of those not in the know, let me share with you my interpretation of what is a 'cross weave'.

Now, I use this phrase a lot --> "Cross both thread ends at ......"

This is the literal way of explaining the position of the thread for this stitch. Now, what happens is both the ends (hence, the two-needle idea) of a thread crosses in the opposite directions through the beads.

I will zoom out a little to show you the bigger picture. It is normally done in sets of four beads but it can also be more than that, but that's another story.

So, what happens as you pull the two thread ends in the opposite direction is the bring all the beads close together and more often than not, in a full circle.

Alright, now that you kinda get an idea what it's about, let's give this stitch a try.

Okay, first things first. You will need:

• (8) approx. 5X8 mm rice shaped freshwater pearl
• (4) 5mm Swarovski bicone bead
• Fishing line
• Scissors

Step 1
Cut out approximately 50cm long fishing line and string on 1 pearl, 1 bicone, 1 pearl and 1 bicone

Step 2

Cross both thread ends at the last bicone bead you added. You will see that the beads now form a circle, or rather rectangular-ish since the 4 beads form 4 sides.

Step 3
String on 1 rice bead and 1 crystal bicone on the left thread. String on 1 rice bead on the right thread.

Step 4
Cross both thread ends at the crystal bicone.

Step 5
Repeat step 3 and 4 one more time.

Step 6
String on 1 rice bead on the right thread and bring the thread end down and pass through the crystal bicone right at the bottom.

Step 7
Repeat step 6 on the left thread.

Step 8 
Pull tight and you will see the barrel forming.

Step 9
Bring the right thread up and through the rice bead, to the left through the crystal bicone and down through the rice bead so that the two thread ends meet.

Step 10
Tie a knot and you're done! Well, not quite. :) There's still some finishing off to do!

We need to end the threads and it's not like we can cut off the excess thread just like that. Even with a knot, the material of the fishing line itself is such that the knot will tend to 'slide' open if left in the 'open'.

So, this is what we need to do.

Step 11
Pass both thread ends through the surrounding beads before cutting off the excess. There's really no rule on how you should pass the thread around but as a rule of thumb, if there is one, pass it through along the thread path and the more beads you pass through, the more secure it is. And passing the thread in a 'zig zag' fashion will be more secured than say, in a 'straight' fashion.

Did I hear a "Huh?"

LOL .... okay, that's another story I'll leave it for next time.

Alright, back to finishing off the threads. Like what you see in the pictures above. I started with passing both threads down through the pearl bead. And you can continue by passing through the bicone bead on the right and thereafter the pearl bead below it on the sides and on and on,  up to you.

But since this Is only a small project/object, I think I'll just stop here and cut off the excess.

For the technicality of finishing off thread, you can refer to this post here.

Now, using the same stitch, try experimenting with different sizes and shapes of bead and see how it turns out to be.

Have fun! ;)

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Quick and easy beaded heart tutorial

 

Since it's also the Valentine's, I thought it would be apt to share this quick and easy beaded heart tutorial with you guys! ;) Yes, it's quick and yes, it's easy! :)

Okay, this is what you'll need.

21 4mm Swarovski crystal bicones or other beads of your choice and thread of your choice. I would strongly recommend fishing line if you are using crystal beads because other threading materials like nymo will be susceptible to breakage because the edges of these crystals are sharp and will cut through nymo.

String on 4 beads onto the thread and cross at the first bead.

String on another 4 beads onto the right thread and cross at the first bead to make another group of four beads.

Make sure to group these two sets of beads close to each other and pass the right thread through the next bead on the right.

 

String on another 4 more beads and cross at the bead where the thread was coming out from.

Repeat the above on the other thread. See how the two sides of the heart is forming already?

To finish it off, all you have to do is string on 1 bead on either thread and cross both thread ends at this bead. You now have a heart! Ermmm....lol, of course you've already had a heart! Let me rephrase that. You now have a beaded heart. :)

At this point, you may notice that the heart shape is a bit flimsy. To reinforce the shape, all you have to do is just to run each thread end through the beads around the edge.

 

Tie a knot. Pass both thread ends through your work again to reinforce the knot before cutting the excess off.

If you are thinking of turning this into a pendant, one layer of beads may appear to be too flimsy for a pendant. What you can do is to bead another heart and stitch the two together for a sturdier shape.

I hope you enjoy this tutorial! :)

Happy Valentine's Day and Gong Xi Fa Cai!

新年快乐 !

 

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Rosette ring tutorial revisited

I posted a video from YouTube on this ring some time ago. But here's a pictorial instructions of how I did mine. It's the same but just a little tips here and there which I think you might want to take note.

I call this the fool proof ring in that there’s no way anyone could mess this up! LOL.... :P

It’s so simple and straightforward that anyone can make it. Not to mention that it’s also really fun to make!

This would also be great practice for anyone who hasn’t done any wire wrapped ring before.

These are some of the stuffs you'll need :

• Wires of any gauge although I do think the thicker it is, the better it is since it would be more prominent when you are doing the swirls. I used 24 ga wire in this tutorial.
• Ring mandrel
• Cutter
• Chain nose pliers

Cut out about 15” of wire and wrap it around the ring mandrel. You might want to make it about two sizes bigger than the intended size because the shank will tighten and shrunk smaller as you wrap the ring.

This would be how the back would look like.

Wrap each wire end one time around the mandrel. And this is how the back will look like now.

This would be how the front would look like. Three strands of wire forming the shank.

Now, turning to the back.

Twist the two wire ends together.

Continue twisting around the centre point.

While doing so, use your thumb to press the centre point down ......

so that you’ll have the rosette spread out flatly and not bulk up in the centre like this.

You should be seeing the rosette forming in the centre of the ring already.

Stop when you feel that your rosette is big enough already. Just be sure that the two wire ends stop at the side of the shank for you to finish off the ring.

Take your ring out from the mandrel.

Wrap the wire ends on the side around the shank a few time. Here, I wrap the wire around twice. You may use a chain nose pliers here to help you pull the wire tight.

Cut off the excess and tuck any protruding wire in. You wouldn’t want to scratch the wearer!

Do the same for the other side.

And you have a rosette ring! :D

Tip: You can also wrap the entire shank if you wanted to. Just cut out a longer wire to start with! :)

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One bead ring

This is another wire wrapped ring I made, but this time, incorporating a single round 8mm turqouise gemstone bead. I really like how the silver colour brings out the blue colour of the turqouise bead. This is similarly another fool proof piece and I do think they'll make a really nice gift. Especially when you needed one in a hurry! ;)

Here'a the video I referred to:



I hope you'll enjoy them just as much as I did! ;)

Ouh.....and in case you're wondering, I used 0.6mm wires for all the wire wrapped rings that I've made thus far. I reckon you could also use 0.4mm ones but you might just need to go around a few times more or 0.8mm if you want to try out Joan's version. 0.8mm might be too thick for wrappings.

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The curious case of button rings

The buttons I'm referring to here those sewing buttons; bottons for your clothes.


Yes, these are the type of buttons I'm talking about. But then, I'm not interested in those. I'm interested in buttons of this type.



Notice the difference between the two types of button? The ways in which you'll be sewing the button onto the garment are different. For those buttons in the first picture, the thread actually shows through the holes but for those bottons in the second picture, the thread is hidden from view, behind the button because your thread goes through the loop thing behind the button to attach the button onto the garment.

Ok, I'll stop yakking about the different ways buttons are attached to a piece of garment here or this shall turn into a discussion of sewing techniques. Lol..... XD

My point is, you'd be surprised at how amazingly beautiful and intricate the design of some of these buttons are. Did you know that some buttons are even collectors item? Cool or what?





So beautiful that you can even turn them to a piece of jewellery, like what Joan did with this piece of a beatiful button here.





Joan recently bought some of those European made silver plated wires from me and told me about this ring that she made.



But what I thought was really clever about this ring was how she made the ring band an adjustable one.



A one size fist all ring! How ingenius! :)

I actually came across this video on YouTube some time back already. Wire wrapped ring but with a button as its focal. The same wire wrapping method with the two rings I made earlier on.



28 gauge is approximately 0.3mm and I personally do think that it's way too thin for wire wrapped rings and I don't quite like the finishing. Well, I believe you can also use 0.4mm for this since wires do harden after working on them but the problem with working with such fine wire is to be very careful not to kink them or they'll break easily. And also, since 0.4mm is thicker, presumably you would probably not need to go as many round as you would with the 0.3mm ones?

I still think Joan's idea of making the band adjustable a much cleverer one though....

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