Once you’ve mastered the netting technique learn how to embellish your piece with firepolish beads or crystals and seed beads for a spectacular effect…
Ingredients
Piece of Netted Bead Work (click here for our basic netting tutorial)
6lb Fireline or S-Lon D thread
Size 12 beading needle
Beads for embellishing (try 4mm Firepolish or a combination of 15/0 seed beads and 4mm Crystals)
Scissors and/or Thread Zap
Step 1
Create a netted piece using the basic netting tutorial here. In this tutorial we have used size 11 seed beads – a burgundy colour for our main (A) bead and a pale pink colour for our shared (B) bead.
Step 2
Before you start, make sure the beads you are using will fit into the diamond by holding them up next to the diamond. Using one size 15 seed bead, one 4mm Swarovski Crystal Bicone and one size 15 seed bead in each diamond works well, but have a go at experimenting with other beads too – the pretty blue bracelet in the image above uses 4mm Firepolish beads!
Step 3
Cut a 1 meter length of thread. Starting a few centimeters back from one end of the piece, weave the thread into the piece leaving a 8cm tail. Randomly weave through the beads and exit your needle through the first shared bead of the first row.
Step 4
Pick up 1 size 15 bead, 1 crystal and 1 size 15 bead.
Step 5
Go through the next shared bead in the same row. Pullthe thread tight and the three beads should now fit inside the diamond.
Step 6
Pick up one size 15 bead, one crystal and one size 15 bead.
Step 7
Go through the next shared bead in the same row. Pull the thread tight.
Step 8
Pick up one size 15 bead, one crystal and one size 15 bead.
Step 9
Go through the next shared bead in the same row. Pull the thread tight.
Step 10
The last section of this row is only a partial diamond, so you do not need to embellish it. To make the turn to the next row, go through the two A beads and one B bead.
Step 11
Go through the three edge A beads.
Step 12
Go down through the first shared bead in the next row.
Step 13
Pick up one size 15 bead, one crystal and one size 15 bead.
Step 14
Go through the next shared bead in the same row. Pull the thread tight.
Step 15
Pick up one size 15 bead, one crystal and one size 15 bead.
Step 16
Go through the next shared bead in the same row. Pull the thread tight.
Step 17
Pick up one size 15 bead, one crystal and one size 15 bead.
Step 18
Go through the next shared bead in the same row. Pull the thread tight.
Step 19
The last section of this row is only a partial diamond, so we do not need to embellish it. To make the turn to the next row, go through the two A beads and one B bead.
Step 20
Go through the three edge A beads.
Step 21
Go through the first shared bead in the next row.
Step 22
Continue embellishing your piece by repeating steps 4–21 until you reach the end of your piece or until you run out of thread.
Step 23
To end the thread, weave it back through several rows of netting.
Step 24
Exit through a shared bead along the edge of your piece and cut the thread as close to the beads as possible – there’s no need to knot your thread!
Step 25
If necessary clean up the ends of your thread using a Thread Zapper.
Step 26
To add thread, cut another piece of thread approximately 1 meter long. Weave randomly through the netting and exit out the first shared bead in the next open row in your piece. Repeat steps 4 through 28 until you reach the end of the piece.
Step 27
Congratulations, you have successfully embellished netting!
