Beading Tutorials: Daisy Chain

Simple garlands of flowers have been used throughout history as decoration by many different cultures.

In Ancient Egypt, many tomb carvings and paintings depicted members of royal families wearing flower garlands before and after burial. Until 2006, no such garlands had ever been found intact during tomb excavations.

The first discovery of an Egyptian floral necklace was made in the Valley of Kings near the tomb of Tutankhamum. Ironically, this unique find was part of an enormous collection of artifacts that contained not a single mummy.

The daisy is one of the most commonly used flowers for garlands, particularly in North America and Europe. This simple white and yellow flower is associated with innocence and modesty. Many superstitions and traditions surround the daisy, including the well known practice of plucking petals to determine if a person returns one's affection. The daisy is also thought to be a sign of spring.

Creating chains or garlands with daisy flowers is a cherished past-time for many young girls and even boys. To create such a chain, the stems of the flowers are split in the centre, allowing another daisy to be threaded through. Once enough flowers have been added, a daisy chain can be worn as a necklace or crown.

Beads are a wonderful way to recreate this simple and beautiful adornment at any time of the year, and without bugs!

This is the traditional daisy chain stitch that many people remember from their childhood. Each flower is spaced by a row of beads, imitating a real chain of daisies. These directions use the classic daisy chain colors. Adapt the design to your tastes by using different shades and colors of beads.

Materials:

Seed beads in Green, White and Yellow
Beading Thread
Needle
Jump rings
Clasp

Stitching:

Step 1) Attach a stop-bead to a comfortable length of thread, leaving a 6 inch tail.

Step 2) Pick up 3 green beads and 6 white beads, and slide them down to the stop-bead.

Step 3) Stitch back up through the first white bead in the stack, and pull tight to form a ring of white beads.

Step 4) Pick up one yellow bead, and stitch through the white bead on the opposite side of the ring. There should be two white beads on either side of the beads in the thread path.

Step 5) Pull the thread snug and make sure that the yellow bead is secure inside the white ring.

Repeat steps 2-5 until the chain is the desired length.

Finishing:

1) To make a continuous chain, remove the stop-bead and sew into the beadwork, tying a knot inside the first two or three flowers. Trim the excess thread, and repeat with the tail thread, stitching in the opposite direction.

2) For a short necklace or bracelet, finish the ends with bead loops, then attach jump rings and a clasp.

"Daisy" by Craig Tuttle

This technique uses the same type of daisy stitch as the classic chain, but does not include 'stems' to separate the flowers. This style is only slightly more difficult, and it is important to maintain even tension to make sure that the flowers are even with no spaces between beads.

These directions use a daisy and brown-eyed-susan pattern. Adapt the design to your tastes by using different shades and colors of beads.

Materials:

Seed beads in white, yellow and brown.
Beading Thread
Needle
Jump rings
Clasp

Stitching:

Step1) Attach a stop-bead to a comfortable length of thread, leaving a 6 inch tail.

Step 2) Pick up 6 white beads and slide them down to the stop-bead.

Stitch up through the first white bead, and pull tight to form a ring.

Step 3) Pick up one yellow bead, and stitch through the white bead on the opposite side of the ring. There should be two white beads on either side of the beads in the thread path.

Step 4) Pull the thread snug and make sure that the yellow bead is secure inside the white ring.

Step5) Pick up 6 yellow beads and slide them down. Stitch up through the first bead again. Pull tight.

Step 6)Pick up 1 brown bead and stitch through the yellow bead on the opposite side of the yellow ring. Pull snug to form the flower.

Repeat steps 2-6 until the chain is the desired length.

Finishing:

1) To make a continuous chain, remove the stop-bead and sew into the beadwork, tying knots along the flowers. Trim excess thread and repeat with the tail thread, stitching in the opposite direction.

2) For a short necklace or bracelet, finish the ends with bead loops, then attach jump rings and a clasp.

"Margherite Danzanti"

This method uses alternating rows of two and three beads, rather than loops, to create flower shapes. The technique can be confusing at first, but after completing a few stitches, the steps become fairly intuitive.

A visual aid can really help to master this daisy chain. Try drawing your pattern on a scrap of paper for reference when you begin. It is also important to think of the beadwork not only as flowers, but of rows of beads as well.


Materials:

Seed beads in 3 or more colors
Beading thread
Beading needle

Stitching:

Step 1) Attach a stop bead to a comfortable length of thread, leaving a 6 inch tail. Pick up 1 color A bead, 1 B, and 3 A, and slide them down to the stop bead. Stitch back through the first bead added.

Step 2) Pick up 2 A beads, and stitch through the third seed bead added in Step 1.

Step 3) Pick up 1 color C bead, 1 A and 1 C. Stitch up through the top A bead in the previous row (bead #4 from step 1). Pull snug.

Step 4) Pick up 1 C bead and 1 A bead. Stitch down through the A bead picked up in Step 3.

Step 5) Pick up 2 color A beads and 1 C. Stitch up through the top A in the previous row. Pull snug.

Step 6) Pick up 2 color A beads, and stitch through the second A bead picked up in Step 5.

Step 7) Continue adding flowers, repeating Steps 3-5. When the chain reaches the desired length, finish the ends as desired, secure the tail threads with a few knots between beads, and trim.

"Daisies" by Masao Ota

Like right angle weave, the criss-cross daisy chain can be increased by adding additional rows, incorporating beads from the previous stitches. By adapting the pattern used, tiny hearts emerge in place of flowers.

Materials:

Seed beads in white and red
Beading thread
Beading needle

Stitching:

Step 1) Begin by creating a daisy chain of the desired length. Use the following pattern to create one half of the hearts:

Step 2) Weave around and exit the red bead from the last 3-bead row. Pick up 5 white beads, and stitch through the first bead picked up, as well as the red bead from the previous row again.

Step 3) Continue adding beads normally, substituting one bead from the previous row for each 2-bead row. These beads are shown in gray in the pattern for completing the heart shape:

Step 4) To add three or more rows, you will need to weave through the beadwork, so that the working thread is facing away from the beads at the starting position. Remember that if you flip your work and stitch from left to right, the patterns will be reversed.

"A Heart Made Out of Daisies"

This fun bracelet can be made with any style of daisy chain. Experiment with different colors and patterns for an interesting floral accessory.

Matierals:

Size 10o or 11o seed beads in three or more colors
2 size 6o seed beads
Clasp
Beading thread
Beading needle

Stitching:

Step 1) Create three daisy chains that are about 6 inches long, leaving a 6 inch tail thread at either end.

Step 2) On one tail thread, pick up 3 seed beads, a 6o bead, 4 seed beads, one half of the clasp, and 4 seed beads. Slide them down to the beadwork.

Step 3) Stitch back down through the 6o bead, the first 3 seed beads, and into the daisy chain. Pull the thread tight, and make sure all of the beads are snug.

Step 4) Weave through the daisy chain and secure the thread with a few knots. Trim the excess.

Step 5) Repeat for the other end of the chain.

Step 6) Pick up a second daisy chain and thread the needle. Pick up 3 seed beads, and stitch up into the 6o seed bead at one end of the first chain.

Step 7) Weave through the bead loop and clasp, and stitch back down into the daisy chain. Secure the thread and trim.

Repeat for the other end of the chain.

Step 8)Add the third daisy chain in the same manner, picking up 3 new seed beads at each end.

Secure the threads and trim.

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