Search This Blog

Monday, September 1, 2014

Swarovski #4627 Octagon Fancy Jewel Bezel

I got such a cool e-mail!  I am going to share it, but remove the name to protect the innocent.

"Hi Marsha,
My name is X and I was reading your blog post about square beaded bezels.  Your tutorial is the most thorough I have come across!  I consider myself to be a fairly competent beader, but the beaded bezel technique including corners has completely eluded me!  Before I attempt this for the seventh time, I have a question for you...  I am trying this technique on a 27mm Swarovski Fancy Octagon.  I assume this technique would be the same for rectangular shapes, but the bead count would be more on the longer sides.  For the corners, once I have skipped a bead on the first round of creating the corner, would I skip it again on the next round of peyote stitch? Or do I just skip each corner once, then proceed as usual on the following rounds?  I hope that I am trying to describe makes sense.  :)  I am currently building a bit of a bead embroidery collection and it simply would not be complete with out bezelled cabochons of varying shapes!
Thanks so much for your blog posts.  Your beadwork is exquisite!
-X"

This felt like such a fun challenge to me that I raced out to my local bead shop yesterday and picked out one of the jewels.  It's a Swarovski "Fancy Jewel" #4627, 27x18mm.
I got it out this morning while water boiled for my coffee, and gave it a go.  I did it initially in silver delicas, with silver 15/0 rounds as needed.  I felt that the angles were too small to to skip a bead, which results in a 90 degree corner, so I just replaced the eight corners with 15/0 seeds, along the facets. I did do some decreases on the last row of the face. I thought it worked well, and after finishing the face, I realized it would be hard to see here in a picture, so I did it again in black and silver, to take pictures.  Then I looked at my clock and realized it was 9:30 and I had not ever made that coffee!  Time FLIES when you are having fun!

Here is the thinking I used.  I am sure there are other ways to do this, but, you can follow along if you like!

I strung a few cylinder (using delicas in the first effort and Aikos in the second, both work fine) beads and took a look at how many each side of the jewel would require.

The two short sides, top and bottom - 8 beads each x 2 = 16 beads
The two long sides, 14 beads each x 2 = 28 beads
The four diagonal corners, 4 beads each x 4 = 16 beads
16+28+16=60  So...

Rows 1 and 2 - I strung 60 beads on about 2 yards of fireline, and stitched through the first bead again, in the same direction.  I left about a 12 inch tail, which I used later.
Row 3 - I worked one row in peyote stitch, holding the work FLAT on my hand,so the outside row was larger than the inside one, trying to create the basic shape of the jewel, without any structural stitching, just thinking and shaping.
Then I stepped up into the inside of the oval shape.
Row 4 - Peyote stitch 6 11/0 cylinder beads , 1 15/0 seed. 1 cylinder, 1 15/0 seed, 3 cylinders, 1 15/0 seed, one cylinder, 1 15/0 seed, 6 cylinders, 1 15/0 seed, one cylinder, 1 15/0 seed, 3 cylinders, 1 15/0 seed, one cylinder, 1 15/0 seed, and step up into the next round.  (That is the pattern, but I don't work it in that order.  I started in the middle of a 6 cylinder side. When I do geometrically shaped bezels, I like to start in the middle of a long straight side, because starting at or near a corner is just too difficult and confusing.  I think it is easier to understand the pattern if it is written this way though. so in the picture, I am in the middle of the long side when I step up.)
See the eight 15/0 beads, and how they begin to create the shape?  My fingers and tension help this along.

Row 5 - Peyote stitch 7 11/0 cylinder beads, 2 15/0 seeds, 4 cylinders, 2 seeds, 7 cylinders, 2 seeds, 4 cylinders, 2 seeds, and step up in to the new round.
Row 6 - Switch to all 15/0 seeds and stitch 6, (I used black but they could have been silver) take one stitch without adding a bead, and add the one 15/0 seed corner bead, followed by a stitch with no bead.  Then stitch 3 15/0 seeds, one stitch with no bead, 1 15/0 seed and one stitch with no bead.  Repeat the 6 15/0 seeds, one skip, one seed, one skip and 3 15/0 seed, and the face is done and fits our shape nicely!  Has kind of a cool deco shape too.  Which I got all excited about and decided to finish a necklace with my little victory!

Row 7 - I stepped up through the bezel to the outside of the work, and switched to the tail thread. Then I loosely stitched a row of peyote with the cylinder beads. all the way around the bezel, holding the stone in place.  I needed to leave a little space at the outside corners between beads.  (It might have been possible to add a 15/0 seed at each corner, to be treated as a single bead in the next round, but I did not do that.)
Row 8 - I stepped up again and stitched a second row in peyote, this one more snug, beginning to hold the shape in place.  You must pay attention to having the stone positioned in the center as you work, and tighten carefully to keep things aligned properly.
Rows 9 and 10 - Turn the original thread and stitch two rounds of 15/0 seed beads.  SO here is a lesson.  When a shape does not have 90 degree corners, you could probably get away with just making the essence of an oval bezel. like I did to finish the back. but I really like my shaped front.

Then I got all crazy and spent the rest of the day adding to the top and bottom of the bezel to create a Hexagon, adding a drop and bail and beading a rope. Because I liked it, and I had a free day!!!

I continued with the Deco feeling of the bezel, and used up a cool little cone I got in my goodie bag from Swarovski at "Meet the Teachers" in Wisconsin at the Bead and Button show.  There were loads of pretty awesome things in that bag, but this one I have been trying to use for months!  For those of you who know me, I do not plan to sell this piece.  I consider it an experiment.  I want to see how the backside of the jewel wears, (since I did not completely cover it) and I want to see how permanent the "Permanent Finish" is on those silver beads. 


I liked working fast and crazy for a day, and want to thank my reader that a fabulous time!!!  

16 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for sharing this tutorial ! Beautiful!
    Orly

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you so much for this tutorial ! Very beautiful !!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, thank you very much for this tutorial. I allways "sneaked" around this fancy stones but never knew what to do with them - now I know ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Each shape is unique, and a fresh challenge! But sneaking can work too. :)

      Delete
  4. Vielen Dank das sie uns das zeigen
    ich habe auch so ein stein, wusste nicht wie ich den stein einfassen sollte
    danke
    Lg. Anja.L

    ReplyDelete
  5. Just came across this lovely blog! Is there a pattern available for this pendant?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jan, and welcome to my blog. This is essentially a free pattern for this little pendant, at least up to creating the bezel. After that, you would have to wing it. I am just beginning to write and illustrate tutorials, and will maybe do this one day. You can find my work on Etsy, as Haute Ice Beadwork. Thanks for asking! -Marsha

      Delete
  6. Replies
    1. My pleasure. And it really pleases me to know that tis post is still of use two years later!

      Delete
  7. I also have 3 rectangle crystals i'm having trouble making the corners look square. Instead I end up with an oval...😠 I'm not sure I can follow yours but I'm going to try and it gives me tons of hope so thank you very much! I'm going to have to check out your Etsy shop too. Take care and God bless😇

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ime, and thanks for reading. If you have a real 4 sided rectangle, I just designed a project with rectangular bezels. You might find the tutorial helpful, even if it is not the exact size of your crystals. You can find it in my Etsy shop. Here's a link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/621710538/etutorial-only-vintage-jasper-necklace?ref=shop_home_active_3

      Delete
  8. Good afternoon, I am in the process of doing a 10 x 14 Krakowski octagon Crystal but unfortunately I cannot seem to figure out how many delicacies to begin with. I have ripped it out three times and that perhaps you might be able to assist me in my quest. Thank you..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry to say I don't have that stone in my stash, and since Swarovski has stopped selling their creations to us lowly crafters, I really can't help you. the directions in this post would get you the shape, but you would have to experiment to figure on the number os stones in the base row. Reduce the number of base row beads above my 8 or 16 stones and see if either of those numbers works for you. You would need to reduce by two stones on each of the four long sides, each time you step down in size. Swaro tends to be nicely proportionate, so my guess would be that one of those numbers should work. Good luck!

      Delete