Friday, February 3, 2012

Adventures into using a Bead Loom

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of using a bead loom since I was eight. After seeing a bead loom for sale at my local craft supplies store (Lincraft), I finally took the plunge to take one home to play with. In terms of designing things to make, I figured it wouldn’t be too difficult since my mum had bought me cross-stitch kits since I was 7. I also thought having one could be a vital tool in fueling my passion for making jewelry since wearing cross-stitch items feels kinda ‘wrong’ to me…

So let’s see…

Attempt 1: The actual bead work turned out to be a lot easier than I expected, although there was the issue of getting the threads (warp?) to stay in place whilst setting up the loom. Slight issue in that the end threads and knots would not stay in place and kept unraveling.









Attempt 2: Attempted to fix the unraveling issue by using craft glue. It works pretty well although it looks rather lumpy and not ‘neat’.









Attempt 3: Lack of ‘neatness’ in fixing loose threads and knots finally fixed by replacing glue with clear nail varnish – inspired by a brainwave over using clear nail varnish to fix unraveling tights to prevent the holes from getting any bigger.











Attempt 4: Now experimenting with new designs. Due to limited availability of black beads, decided to use green for the background. In hindsight, maybe I should have used brown….