RAW / PEYOTE STITCH / BRICK STITCH / HERRINGBONE

Safeguard a favorite bead, coin, or button with a protective dragon worked in four

stitching techniques.

designed by Nicola Spickenreither

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©2016 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

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Supply notesThe ideal focal for this piece is an 18–22 mm flat round bead, coin, or button. The focal should be between 1.5 and 3 mm thick; if thinner, you may be able to layer two focals. If your focal has a decoration on it, be aware that the outer edge of the focal will be obscured by the bezel. If using a button, a shank button is an excellent choice because it doesn’t have thread holes at the center. On the other hand, thread holes give you the option of attaching an embellishment, like beads or chains. Choose your color A 110 seed beads to coordinate with the color D 150s, as these will create the bezel/lower half of the dragon body. Try to match your

Difficulty rating

Materialsblue dragon 13⁄4 in. (4.4 cm)• 1 18 mm flat round bead (blue shell;

craft and hobby stores)• 5 3 x 10 mm dagger beads (Czech,

black with AB peacock/grating pattern; www.amazon.com)

• 2 3 mm round fire-polished beads (Czech, full-coated metallic silver)

• 2 g 80 seed beads (Miyuki 1827, sparkle amethyst-lined light blue) 110 seed beads - 3 g color A (Miyuki 28, silver-lined

cornflower blue) - 1 g color B (Miyuki 1020, silver-lined

cobalt AB) - 2 color C (Miyuki 401F, matte black)

• 150 seed beads - 1 g color D (Miyuki 339, blue-lined

aqua AB) - 9 color E (Miyuki 458, metallic brown iris)

• Fireline, 6 lb. test• beading needles, #12• plastic wrap (optional)

gray/green dragon colors• 20 mm coin (Euro 10 cent piece)• 3 x 10 mm dagger beads (Czech, olivine; www.fusionbeads.com) • 3 mm round fire-polished beads (Czech, black)• 80 seed beads (SB0989, silver-lined matte greenish blue; www.fusionbeads.com)• 110 seed beads

- color A (Miyuki 2091, matte metallic tarnished silver) - color B (Miyuki 2031, matte metallic

sage green luster) - color C (Miyuki 457L, metallic light

bronze)• 150 seed beads

- color D (T15-378C, Montana color-lined metallic antique gold; www.whimbeads.com) - color E (Miyuki 1522, sparkle honey

beige-lined crystal)

color B 110 seed beads to the 80s; together they will form a continuous line of color from the snout of the dragon to its tail. The two color C 110 seed beads will be for the nostrils, and the color E 150s will make the tongue.

Bezel1 On 2 yd. (1.8 m) of thread, pick up four color A 110 seed beads. Tie the beads into a ring with a square knot, leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail, and sew through the first three A 110s again to exit opposite the tail. This ring will count as the first stitch of right-angle weave (RAW).2 Using A 110s, work in flat RAW until the beadwork is long enough to wrap around the edge of your focal. Leave just enough space between the first and last stitches to work a joining stitch.3 Remove the focal from the bezel. Making sure the beadwork isn’t twisted, work a joining stitch: Pick up an 110, and sew through the end 110 in the first RAW stitch. Pick up an 110, and sew through the end 110 in the last RAW stitch (figure 1, a–b). Retrace the thread path of the join, and exit an A 110 along one edge (b–c).4 Working in tubular peyote stitch, pick up an A 110, and sew through the next edge A 110 (figure 2, a–b). Repeat this stitch to complete the round, and step up through the first A 110 added in this round (b–c).5 Work in tubular peyote stitch using a tight tension to work two rounds using color D 150 seed beads (figure 3).6 Sew through the beadwork to exit an A 110 along the other edge of the RAW strip. Holding the focal inside the bezel, work as in steps 4–5 to complete the other side of the bezel. End the tail but not the working thread.

FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2 FIGURE 3

18-22 mm flat round bead, coin, or button

3 x 11 mm or3 x 10 mm dagger bead

3 mm roundfire-polished bead

80 seed bead

110 seed bead, color A

110 seed bead, color B

110 seed bead, color C

150 seed bead, color D

150 seed bead, color E

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Body1 Decide which side of the focal you would like to have face forward. Sew through the beadwork to exit an A 110 along the edge of the original RAW strip, positioning your thread to stitch clock-wise around the front of the bezel.

note If your focal has a scene or decoration requiring proper orien-tation, be sure to position your thread so that the A 110s you will add in step 2 will be centered at the top of the decoration.

2 Pick up an A 110, and sew through the next edge A 110 in the RAW strip. The new A 110 will sit on top of the bezel. Repeat this stitch for a total of 11 A 110s (photo a). 3 Work rows of peyote stitch as follows:Row 1: Pick up an A 110, and sew back through the last A 110 added in the pre-vious step (figure 4, a–b). Using A 110s and tight tension, work ten more stitches off of the remaining 110s added in the previous step (b–c).Row 2: Turn, and work 11 stitches using A 110s (figure 5, a–b).

purple dragon colors• 22 mm vintage button• 3 x 10 mm dagger beads (Czech, amethyst; www.fusionbeads.com)• 3 mm round fire-polished beads (Czech, black)• 80 seed beads (Toho 704, matte Andromeda)• 110 seed beads

- color A (Toho 166F, matte transparent light amethyst AB) - color B (Toho 704, matte Andromeda) - color C (Miyuki 457L, metallic light bronze;

www.caravanbeads.com)• 150 seed beads

- color D (SB3341, matte transparent light amethyst AB) - color E (Miyuki 1522, sparkle honey beige-

lined crystal)

Nicola Spickenreither has been beading for four years and loves projects that require nothing but seed beads, a needle, and some thread. Peyote stitch and herringbone are her favorite techniques, which explains how both came to be fea-tured prominently in this project. Outside of beading, she is an assistant professor of psychology and economics at a university in Bavaria, Germany. Contact Nicola at www.westmonster.eu.

Row 3: Work 11 stitches using 80 seed beads (b–c).Row 4: Work 11 stitches, alternating an 80 and a 3 x 10 mm dagger bead. End with an 80 (c–d). 4 Flip the bezel to work on the back side. Sew counterclockwise around the bezel to exit the 110 in the original RAW strip that is directly opposite the one you exited in step 1. This ensures that both halves of the dragon body will match up.5 Work as in step 2 and then work rows 1–3 of step 3 on this side of the bezel. 6 If desired, cut a small piece of plastic wrap, and roll it to fit inside the two halves of the dragon body. Zip up the two halves of the body, and retrace the thread path twice.7 Hold the beadwork so you are looking down through the body, with the front of the focal facing to the left. On this end of the body, you should have five thread bridges:• one between the bezel and the left A 110 (figure 6, a–b)• one between the left A 110 and the left 80 (c–d)

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• one between the left and right 80s (e–f)• one between the right 80 and the right A 110 (g–h)• one between the right A 110 and the bezel (i–j)These thread bridges should already be in place as a result of stitching the body and zipping the halves. However, if any thread bridges are missing, sew through the beadwork as necessary to create them. Exit the right 80, between the 80 and the 110, on this end.

Tail1 Continue holding the beadwork so you are looking down through the body, with the front of the focal facing to the left. Going counterclockwise, work round 1 of the tail in tubular brick stitch as follows:• Pick up two 80s, sew under the thread bridge between the right and left 80s, and sew up through the second 80 just added (figure 7, a–b). Position the new 80s so they are side by side.• Pick up an A 110, sew under the thread bridge between the left 80 and A 110, and sew up through the A 110 just added (b–c).• Pick up an A 110, sew under the thread bridge between the left A 110 and the bezel, and sew up through the A 110 just added (c–d).• Pick up an A 110, sew under the thread bridge between the bezel and the right A 110, and sew up through the A 110 just added (d–e).

• Work a joining stitch: Sew down through the first 80 added in this round, sew under the remaining thread bridge, and sew up through the same 80 (figure 8).2 Work rounds 2–10 of the tail in tubular brick stitch as follows. As before, each round is worked counterclockwise and will consist of a stitch with two beads, three stitches with one bead each, and a joining stitch. As you stitch rounds 2–5, the 80s will spiral around the tail. From round 6 on, every other round will include just one 80, causing the tail to twist. Round 2 is illustrated by a figure to get you started.Round 2: Two 80s, three stitches with A 110s, join (figure 9)Rounds 3–5: Two 80s, three stitches with A 110s, joinRound 6: An A 110 and an 80, three stitches with A 110s, joinRound 7: An A 110 and an 80, one stitch with an 80, two stitches with A 110s, joinRound 8: Two A 110s, one stitch with an 80, two stitches with A 110s, joinRound 9: Two A 110s, two stitches with 80s, one stitch with an A 110, joinRound 10: Two A 110s, one stitch with an A 110, one stitch with an 80, one stitch with an A 110, join3 Rounds 11, 14, and 17 are decrease rounds, meaning you will omit one stitch in the round by skipping over the indi-cated thread bridge and sewing under the following one. These rounds are illus-trated by figures to show the correct position of each decrease. The rounds

after a decrease will include one fewer bead, causing the tail to taper.Round 11: Two A 110s (decrease), two stitches with 80s, join (figure 10)Round 12: Two A 110s, one stitch with an A 110, one stitch with an 80, joinRound 13: An 80 and an A 110, one stitch with an A 110, one stitch with an 80, joinRound 14: An 80 and an A 110, one stitch with an A 110 (decrease), join (figure 11)Round 15: Two 80s, one stitch with an A 110, joinRound 16: An A 110 and an 80, one stitch with an A 110, joinRound 17: Two A 110s (figure 12) 4 Your thread should now be exiting the second A 110 picked up in round 17. Pick up an A 110, sew under the thread bridge in round 17, sew back up through the new A 110, and sew down through the other A 110 in round 17. Sew back through the tail, and end the thread.

Snout1 On 2 yd. (1.8 m) of thread, pick up two A 110s and a color B 110 seed bead. Tie the beads into a ring with a square knot, leaving a 10-in. (25 cm) tail. Sew through the two A 110s in the ring. This ring forms round 1 of the dragon snout.2 Work the snout in tubular peyote and tubular herringbone as follows:Round 2: Work two peyote stitches with color C 110 seed beads and one stitch

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with an A 110. Step up through the first C 110 (figure 13).Round 3: Work one stitch with two B 110s (figure 14, a–b), and two stitches with two A 110s each, and step up through the first B 110 added in this round (b–c). Round 4: • Work a herringbone stitch with two B 110s, sewing through the next B 110, C 110, and A 110 (figure 15, a–b).• Work a herringbone stitch with two A 110s, sewing through three A 110s (b–c).• Work a herringbone stitch with two A 110s, sewing through the next A 110, C 110, and B 110. Step up through the first B 110 added in this round (c–d).Round 5: • Work a herringbone stitch with two B 110s (figure 16, a–b).• Work an increase stitch by picking up a B 110 and sewing through the next A 110 (b–c). • Work a herringbone stitch with two A 110s (c–d). • Work an increase stitch with an A 110 (d–e).• Work a herringbone stitch with two A 110s (e–f).• Work an increase stitch with a B 110, and step up through the first B 110 added in this round (f–g). Pull tight so the beadwork begins to cup away from

you. Be sure to keep the thread tail to the outside of the beadwork.Round 6: • Work a herringbone stitch with two B 110s (figure 17, a–b).• Work an increase stitch with a 3 mm round fire-polished bead (b–c).• Work a herringbone stitch with two A 110s (c–d). • Work two peyote stitches with A 110s (d–e). • Work a herringbone stitch with two A 110s (e–f).• Work an increase stitch with a 3 mm, and step up through the first B 110 (f–g). Pinch the beadwork in half, and pull tight to create a pronounced snout shape.Round 7: • Work a herringbone stitch with two B 110s (figure 18, a–b).• Work a peyote stitch with a B 110 (b–c).• Work a peyote stitch with an A 110 (c–d).• Pick up an A 110, and sew down through the next A 110 in the same herringbone stack (d–e).• Work a peyote stitch with an A 110, sewing through three A 110s (e–f).• Work a peyote stitch with an A 110 (f–g).• Pick up an A 110, and sew down

through the next A 110 in the same herringbone stack (g–h).• Work a peyote stitch with an A 110 (h–i).• Work a peyote stitch with a B 110, and step up through the first B 110 (i–j).Round 8: •Work a herringbone stitch with two B 110s (figure 19, a–b).•Work a peyote stitch with a B 110 (b–c).• Pick up a B 110 and an A 110, and sew through the next A 110 (c–d).• Work five peyote stitches with A 110s (d–e).• Pick up an A 110 and a B 110, and sew through the next B 110 (e–f).• Work a peyote stitch with a B 110, and step up through the first B 110 added in this round (f–g).

Head spike1 Continuing with the working thread, pick up two B 110s, sew through the two 110s below, and continue through the first B 110 just added (figure 20, a–b).2 Pick up five B 110s. Skip the last B 110 just added, and sew down through the next four B 110s (b–c) and the two B 110s added in step 1 (c–d) to form a spike.3 Add two additional spikes as shown in figure 21, and then sew through the beadwork to exit a B 110 at figure 22, point a.

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FIGURE 21FIGURE 18 FIGURE 19

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Ears1 Pick up a B 110 and an A 110, sew through the two 110s below, and continue through the new B 110 (figure 22, a–b). Repeat this stitch twice more (b–c).2 Pick up four B 110s and an A 110, and sew back down through the four Bs just added (figure 23, a–b). Continue through the next four A 110s (b–c).3 Work six peyote stitches using A 110s (figure 24, a–b), and then add an ear on the other side of the head, making sure to reverse the bead colors so that this ear is a mirror image of the first (b–c). Sew through the adjacent B 110 (c–d).

NeckAs you work the following steps, stuff the head and neck with plastic wrap.1 Work round 1 of the neck as follows:

• Pick up two B 110s, pass your thread behind the head spike, and sew through the next B 110 on the other side (figure 25, a–b). Make sure the new beads are positioned behind the spike.• Pick up two A 110s, pass your thread behind the right ear, and sew through the next A 110 on the other side (b–c). Make sure the new beads are posi-tioned behind the ear.• Work two peyote stitches with A 110s (c–d), sew through the next A 110 in the previous round (d–e), and work two more peyote stitches with A 110s (e–f). • Pick up two A 110s, pass your thread behind the left ear, and sew through the next B 110 on the other side (f–g). Make sure the new beads are positioned behind the ear. Step up through the first two B 110s added in this round (g–h).2 Flip the head so you are now working on the back, causing your stitching to

visually reverse direction. Work the fol-lowing rounds in tubular peyote stitch, starting with round 2 as follows:Round 2: (figure 26, a–b) • One stitch with a B 110, sewing through two A 110s.• Four stitches with A 110s.• One stitch with an A 110, sewing through two A 110s.• One stitch with a B 110, sewing through two B 110s. Step up through the first B 110 added in this round. Round 3: • Two peyote stitches with A 110s.• Pick up an A 110, skip the next up-bead, and sew through the following up-bead.• Two stitches with A 110s• One stitch with a B 110. Step up (b–c).Round 4: • Four stitches with A 110s.• Two stitches with B 110s. Step up (c–d).

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Round 5: • Four stitches with A 110s.• One stitch with a B 110.• One stitch with an A 110. Step up (d–e).Round 6: • Three stitches with A 110s.• Two stitches with B 110s.• One stitch with an A 110. Step up (e–f).Round 7: • Three stitches with A 110s. • One stitch with a B 110.• Two stitches with A 110s. Step up (f–g).Round 8: • Two stitches with A 110s (figure 27, a–b).• Two stitches with B 110s (b–c).• One stitch with an A 110, sewing through a total of four A 110s (c–d). This creates a V-shaped divot in the neck that will cause it to turn toward the viewer once stitched to the body.

Round 9: • Two stitches with A 110s (d–e). • One stitch with a B 110 (e–f).• One stitch with an A 110 (f–g). • Skip the next two A 110s in the divot, and sew through the following two A 110s without adding any beads (g–h).3 Round 10 is a partial round, worked as follows: Work one stitch with an A 110 (figure 28, a–b) and two stitches with a B 110 (b–c), and then sew through the beadwork as necessary to turn and exit the last B 110 added, going in the opposite direction (point d). The turn allows you to avoid sewing through the divot and filling those beads with too much thread.4 Round 11 is another partial round, worked as follows: Work one stitch with a B 110 (figure 29, a–b) and one stitch with an A 110 (b–c), and then sew through the beadwork as necessary

to turn and exit this new A 110 in the opposite direction (point d).5 Work a peyote stitch with a B 110. Following the established color pattern, continue around the opening of the neck in peyote stitch. There will not be recognizable up-beads to sew through, so simply pick up an 110, skip the next 110 in the neck, and sew through the following 110 for a total of six 110s in this round. Step up through the first B 110 added in this round. 6 Work two more rounds of peyote, fol-lowing the established color pattern, and step up. Make sure that the last round has two B 110 up-beads. End with your thread exiting one of these two up-beads, with the thread exiting away from the pair of B 110s. Stuff the neck all the way to the top with plastic wrap, and retrace the thread path of the last round. Do not end the working thread.

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Neck-body connectionStitching the head of the dragon to the body requires some ingenuity, since the beads in the last round of the neck are oriented perpendicular to the beads in the last round of the body. However, the wide range of stitching techniques used in this project will serve you well in these final steps.1 Start by orienting the body so that the single 80 on the body falls between the two B 110 up-beads on the neck. Work the thread path shown, exiting the B 110 down-bead between the two up-beads on the neck (figure 30). 2 Work a similar thread path to connect the B 110 down-bead to the single 80 on the end of the body, and exit the next neck bead that isn’t attached to the body — an A 110 down-bead (figure 31).3 Work a similar thread path to connect this A 110 down-bead to the body, and exit the next up-bead.4 Continue connecting each up- and down-bead of the neck to the body.

Where the neck touches the bezel, the beads will be parallel and you can use a square stitch thread path to make the connection. On the back of the neck, if there is a large gap where the neck meets the body, work partial rounds and turns as you did earlier in the neck to add up-beads where you need them.5 When you complete the connection, retrace the thread path anywhere there’s a lot of thread showing between the neck and body. End the thread.

TongueWith the 10-in. (25 cm) tail from the start of the snout, sew through the beadwork to exit one of the two A 110s at the very tip of the snout with your thread point-ing down. Pick up seven color E 150 seed beads, and sew back through the

sixth E 150 added (figure 32, a–b). Pick up two E 150s, and sew back through the first E 150 added, the previous five Es, and the other A 110 at the tip of the snout (b–c). Retrace the thread path of the tongue, and end the tail.

How to tame your dragonTo attach your dragon to a necklace, slide a thin jump ring through an 80, and attach it to a chain or cord. You can also work a peyote loop off of the back to make a bail. Alternatively, make an ornament — string a piece of thread through two 80s and tie the ends together, or make a wire hanger to slide through the 80s. In each case, make sure that the dragon hangs as desired before finalizing the attachment. w

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