African Stripes ~ Mud Cloth Necklaces

 I think you are going to really like what some of the finished pieces look like. I'm in awe of what such a divergent group beaders can do with my patterns. 

We have a new model who says, "you all are absolutely crazy!"

Mel's earthy, archaeological looking Mud Cloth Necklace turned out quite well and looks great... even if the Princess was unhappy to have a camera pointed her way.



Barbara had to add to each section to make her necklace come out to the right length.  It's nice to know that the patterns still look just great in smaller beads and more section repeats.














Maria decided to finish hers as a lariat and added a reverse-color, extra triangular section for a bit of symmetry at the ends.  She's still deciding just how to finish off the ends.  Don't the 10/0 Delicas make a nice crisp pattern? A lariat is a perfect way to showcase this rope.













Marcie added a hint of red with the transparent drops.  Between the drops and the dyed bone rings, she has a unique necklace.









Terri did her necklace in 11/0 seed beads and kept the drops going throughout the whole piece. Very nice touch of subtle texture throughout.   She also kindly kept track of what she did and we now have a record of what it takes to make a 50" Mud Cloth in 11/0 seed beads. Terri, you're awesome!

 This is a fantastic color combination.  Rossana's use of a more mud colored background bead shows how you can choose colors that you like and still maintain the spirit of the project.

One of our wilder British beaders vowed to only use beads she already had for this project.  I think I'd like to be able to rummage around in Toni's bead box.  I think it pulls together for a delightfully different look.  The small piece is a test of the colors she is going to add into the second necklace. I do like the look of lime green in most anything.

Victoria tells us that she crochets on the train while commuting.  It's given her the time to make three separate necklaces in different colorways. They are all beautiful, but I'm particularly drawn to the subtly of the one on the right. Now that's little black dress elegant.  Also, look at all three together (far right) -  the same pattern, how different they all look, but also how good they would look together.



As you can see, some have finished and others are at different stages of completing their Mud Cloth Necklaces.  Meanwhile we have just started on the second necklace, Love Letters.  Adding in 4 more colors is exciting after working with only 2 colors. I can't wait to see what colors everyone has picked.

Mud Cloth Necklace Finishing Up

Six weeks, six sections and the Mud Cloth Necklace is ready to close up and wear.  The 2-color design wasn't an easy String-Along to pull together as pattern was more important than color.  However, I'm ever so pleased with the final results of this necklace.  When I step back and look at the overall piece, I like how the negative and positive spaces work with each other.



Cathey has been doing her necklace in 15/0 beads.  She shared a photo of the size difference against her 8/0 Urban Stripes necklace.  What a difference the size of the beads make.







Elena M. is doing two necklaces in beige and black, one the negative of the other.  What is fantastic is the fact that she just taught herself to bead crochet.  This is going to be stunning as a pair.





Susan Beth finally got her necklace long enough to curl up into Olympic Rings. She is following along with my published size and colors.










Terri fell in love with the drops in section #1 and has continued to substitute drops into the pattern  in every section.  As she is using 11/0 beads, it adds that bit of texture to the whole piece.

I thought you might like to see how Peggy's blue necklace is progressing with the 10/0 Delica beads.  It makes the patterns so nice and crisp.









Marlene ran into a glitch after getting 2 necklaces quite far along.  She had to pull out a lot of work to correct them.  I wanted you to see what bright color could do to a basic black and white pattern set.  Of course, if you look at her other work, you'll see that this is just her style.


We are now ready to close up the black and whites and move onto the second necklace.  Love Letters will be brightly colored in the African beadwork tradition.

African Stripes - Mud Cloth Variations

 We're almost finished with the first necklace.  You can see how the light half is going to look against the dark half.  I've found that it's a bit more difficult to design with only two colors as I've had to take negative space into consideration.  However, this one is exceeding my expectations.  I really like how it is pulling together.


This is my necklace, designed and crocheted with 8/0 beads.  However, look at what some of the participants are doing......

Can you believe this?  Cathey is doing the necklace in 15/0 beads with dark thread.  The smaller size coupled with more design repeats gives it a whole new look.

 Terri has opted to do hers in 11/0 beads.  Enlarge the photo to see that she's added extra drops to some of the patterns - extra texture.

 Peggy and at least one other participant is crocheting with 10/0 Delicas.  Her rope still looks African, but even more reminds me of Delft Tiles.  Look at how crisp the patterns come out.










Here is another royal blue beauty done with 8's.  Karen decided she liked the blue background so much that she wasn't swapping to a light background for the second half.  This cobalt and silver combination is just regal.






Victoria is the speedy beader and has three ropes going at the same time. She's trying out a couple of different color combinations.  Look at how beautifully subtle the right hand rope is.

So, what do you do when you need a necklace in a hurry to go with a particular outfit?   Amy grabbed the color swatch pattern and did up a necklace in black and yellow.  Bumblebees?  Honeycomb?  Whatever you call it, it's a great adaptation of one small pattern piece.


Once again.... one pattern and so many interpretations.... I love it when people don't hesitate to try different things and make  it their own.

Stringing Error or Crocheting Error?

See the pattern on the left?  It doesn't look like what I designed.  It should look like the rope on the right. So, I take it out.  Crochet again and get the same problem in another part of the pattern.  It's the twist factor that seems to crop up when crocheting with beads larger than 11/0. How do you fix it?  Try the following before you rip any work out.  It might just need a push/pull/squish to put it all right.

click to enlarge and save the photo if you want a copy