How is a French bead flower made?
One of the "founding mothers" of French bead flowers in America, Virginia Nathanson, wondered the same thing when she saw some potted arrangements in the gift shop of Bonwit Teller in Manhattan several decades ago.
She used a rather drastic forensic method to get her answer.
She bought one of the large, lovely arrangements and took it home. Unlike other customers of that gift shop, she did not put the arrangement on a coffee table to admire it. She didn’t want visitors to gasp in delight, exclaim over the workmanship and ask where she had found such a treasure.
Instead, Virginia took it apart. Completely dismantled it. She disassembled the sprays and unwrapped all the silk stem wrapping and floral tape. She separated each leaf and sepal from its stem. She broke up each flower, unwound each petal's wires, counting and measuring lengths and quantities of beads that had been used. She examined what materials were used for stemming, supporting and potting the flowers.
By this straightforward method, Ms. Nathanson discovered the French bead flower construction techniques and learned them well. She taught them for many years and wrote several exhaustive books on the subject. These books comprised one of the first series of French bead flower pattern books to be published in the U.S.
The destruction of that arrangement from Bonwit was the beginning of the development of many, many new bead flower artists. From the information Virginia Nathanson provided came hundreds of bouquets, arrangements, headbands, corsages and countless other items. Artists in America, and now the world over, have been inspired to learn this art, to teach it to others, and to make lovely creations with improved and refined materials. In the last few years, many excellent new pattern books and other instructional materials have been produced by artists who learned the art from Ms. Nathanson's books.
New bead flower artists from around the world worked together to make a wreath for each crash site from the 9/11/01 disaster. One of these wreaths now hangs in the Pentagon, one is on permanent display in the Liberty Museum in Philadelphia, and the third will be a part of the future permanent memorial at Ground Zero.
Ms. Nathanson passed away in the Spring of 2008. Thank you, Ms. Nathanson, for dismantling that Bonwit arrangement. You've been an inspiration, and you were one great lady.
My French Bead Flower website
My French Bead Flower Squidoo lens
My Wreaths Project video
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Saturday, January 24, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Wire Gauge FAQ
The type of wire you use for your bead flowers depends in part on what style of flower beader you are.
If you do primarily Victorian flower beading, you will most likely use 26 gauge wire. This is especially true if you tend to use Czech beads and not Japanese. Japanese beads have a larger hole in the middle, so the wire can pass through more times; the Czech beads, having a smaller hole, will allow no more than two passes of wire to go through.
If you are a French flower beader, the gauge of wire you use can also depend on the size of flower you are making. If you are making miniatures, 26 gauge wire will serve you well. This gauge of wire will also usually be fine for flowers that are not miniatures but are not very large or heavy.
However, once you start getting into the larger lilies, heavy roses, peonies, or other very complicated flowers, probably a 24 gauge wire will be best. This gauge is thicker and stiffer, and will give your flowers and leaves plenty of body to hold up their own mass. Remember that the beads are made of glass, and a mass of them together can be surprisingly heavy.
I use 24 gauge green paddle wire for almost all my leaves, sepals, and other green flower parts. This wire is available at craft stores such as Michael’s, and is inexpensive. You will need to straighten it out from being wrapped on the paddle, but this is a testament to its firmness. The last thing you want is floppy leaves; leaves are the visual backbone of your arrangement and they should frame the flowers pertly.
Stemwire is also available at craft stores. I suggest 16- or 18-gauge wire, which will come in precut lengths. For quite large or heavy flowers, you will want to combine several lengths in one stem for extra support.
If you are making very long leaves for your French bead flowers, it is a good idea to use a stem-stiffening method. One of these involves stemwires. The stemwire is built right into the construction of the leaf itself, and it’s quite effective. You would use regular 16-or 18-gauge stemwire for this process. Here is how it’s done: As you begin to make the leaf, hold a length of taped stemwire together with the basic loop. As you wrap the spool wire to build the leaf, incorporate the stemwire into the wrapping so it is actually part of the leaf. The top of the stemwire can reach almost to the top rows of the leaf, or it can end at the bottom of the basic row, depending on how large the leaf is.
You will want to lace pieces that are 13 rows or larger for stability and neatness. For the lacing process I use 32-gauge wire that matches the color of the beads. I have found that it is easiest to thread this wire onto an ordinary sewing needle for this process; wrap the lacing wire around the basic row, and work outwards on either side of the piece to do the lacing. Of course, you do this on the back side of the piece! Lacing may seem optional, but believe me, if you have any question about it, do the lacing. It will make your flowers look that much better for years and years to come!
I buy most of my wire from Paramount Wire, or Parawire, in New Jersey. They have a great selection of colored flower beading wires. Click here for their website.
My French bead flower website - Instructional DVDs and my own patterns available
My French bead flower Squidoo lens
My French bead flower Hubpage
9/11/01 Wreaths Project video
I am creating a recession-proof online income. Join me?
If you do primarily Victorian flower beading, you will most likely use 26 gauge wire. This is especially true if you tend to use Czech beads and not Japanese. Japanese beads have a larger hole in the middle, so the wire can pass through more times; the Czech beads, having a smaller hole, will allow no more than two passes of wire to go through.
If you are a French flower beader, the gauge of wire you use can also depend on the size of flower you are making. If you are making miniatures, 26 gauge wire will serve you well. This gauge of wire will also usually be fine for flowers that are not miniatures but are not very large or heavy.
However, once you start getting into the larger lilies, heavy roses, peonies, or other very complicated flowers, probably a 24 gauge wire will be best. This gauge is thicker and stiffer, and will give your flowers and leaves plenty of body to hold up their own mass. Remember that the beads are made of glass, and a mass of them together can be surprisingly heavy.
I use 24 gauge green paddle wire for almost all my leaves, sepals, and other green flower parts. This wire is available at craft stores such as Michael’s, and is inexpensive. You will need to straighten it out from being wrapped on the paddle, but this is a testament to its firmness. The last thing you want is floppy leaves; leaves are the visual backbone of your arrangement and they should frame the flowers pertly.
Stemwire is also available at craft stores. I suggest 16- or 18-gauge wire, which will come in precut lengths. For quite large or heavy flowers, you will want to combine several lengths in one stem for extra support.
If you are making very long leaves for your French bead flowers, it is a good idea to use a stem-stiffening method. One of these involves stemwires. The stemwire is built right into the construction of the leaf itself, and it’s quite effective. You would use regular 16-or 18-gauge stemwire for this process. Here is how it’s done: As you begin to make the leaf, hold a length of taped stemwire together with the basic loop. As you wrap the spool wire to build the leaf, incorporate the stemwire into the wrapping so it is actually part of the leaf. The top of the stemwire can reach almost to the top rows of the leaf, or it can end at the bottom of the basic row, depending on how large the leaf is.
You will want to lace pieces that are 13 rows or larger for stability and neatness. For the lacing process I use 32-gauge wire that matches the color of the beads. I have found that it is easiest to thread this wire onto an ordinary sewing needle for this process; wrap the lacing wire around the basic row, and work outwards on either side of the piece to do the lacing. Of course, you do this on the back side of the piece! Lacing may seem optional, but believe me, if you have any question about it, do the lacing. It will make your flowers look that much better for years and years to come!
I buy most of my wire from Paramount Wire, or Parawire, in New Jersey. They have a great selection of colored flower beading wires. Click here for their website.
My French bead flower website - Instructional DVDs and my own patterns available
My French bead flower Squidoo lens
My French bead flower Hubpage
9/11/01 Wreaths Project video
I am creating a recession-proof online income. Join me?
Sunday, January 4, 2009
French Bead Flower Making – Rule # 1 Is Like Ballet
What could French bead flower making have in common with ballet?
If you wanted to be a jazz dancer, tap dancer, modern-dance dancer, gymnast, or even an Irish step dancer – you must first learn excellent technique. For all these forms of dance, the best place to develop good technique is in ballet class. There, you will learn to point your toes, stretch your spine, how to carry your head and how to make your arms move like the fronds of a weeping willow. After you have mastered the techniques, you will be able to take a classic arabesque and change it into a wild jazz leap - because you know how to control it.
For making French bead flowers, you also must learn excellent technique. And, in my opinion, what is the one most important technique in this art?
Rule # 1 - Keep your basic wire straight.
It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Of course you will keep your basic wire straight, you say. Easiest thing in the world, isn’t it? You might be surprised. For someone new to the art, this can be a challenge.
How do you prevent a crooked basic wire? Here are a few hints. 1 – Have a tack or nail fastened into your working surface, and wrap the top of a very long basic wire around that. Keep tension on the piece as you begin to wrap the spool wire. 2 – As you are fitting the rows of beads into place, give the top basic wire a tug. Wrap the spool wire, and give the top basic wire another tug. Flip the piece over and check if the wire is straying off-course. 3 – Learn to “finesse” the beads. If you can’t fit another bead in the row, the top wire can reach over ever so slightly on that row, as long as you compensate for it the next time you come up to the top basic wire, and if the overall impression of the piece is straight.
Once you have made several rows on your piece, turn the piece over and see if the wire really is straight. If it isn’t, the answer is to take it out and try it again. Practice. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; that’s the best way to teach yourself. It’s only beads and wire – they are gentle teachers and won’t lose patience with you. This is a new endeavor for your mind, your heart and your hands. Each of those departments has its own hurdle to overcome with a new undertaking.
After you have mastered the basics, if you want to make a flower that has petals that "grow" in an unusual curve - you will be able to completely control it, and get exactly the effect you want.
Happy beading!
French bead flower Squidoo page
My French bead flower website - Instructional DVDs and pattern CD available
9/11/01 French Bead Flower Wreaths Project Video
My French bead flower Hubpage
I am building a recession-proof online income. Care to join me?
If you wanted to be a jazz dancer, tap dancer, modern-dance dancer, gymnast, or even an Irish step dancer – you must first learn excellent technique. For all these forms of dance, the best place to develop good technique is in ballet class. There, you will learn to point your toes, stretch your spine, how to carry your head and how to make your arms move like the fronds of a weeping willow. After you have mastered the techniques, you will be able to take a classic arabesque and change it into a wild jazz leap - because you know how to control it.
For making French bead flowers, you also must learn excellent technique. And, in my opinion, what is the one most important technique in this art?
Rule # 1 - Keep your basic wire straight.
It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Of course you will keep your basic wire straight, you say. Easiest thing in the world, isn’t it? You might be surprised. For someone new to the art, this can be a challenge.
How do you prevent a crooked basic wire? Here are a few hints. 1 – Have a tack or nail fastened into your working surface, and wrap the top of a very long basic wire around that. Keep tension on the piece as you begin to wrap the spool wire. 2 – As you are fitting the rows of beads into place, give the top basic wire a tug. Wrap the spool wire, and give the top basic wire another tug. Flip the piece over and check if the wire is straying off-course. 3 – Learn to “finesse” the beads. If you can’t fit another bead in the row, the top wire can reach over ever so slightly on that row, as long as you compensate for it the next time you come up to the top basic wire, and if the overall impression of the piece is straight.
Once you have made several rows on your piece, turn the piece over and see if the wire really is straight. If it isn’t, the answer is to take it out and try it again. Practice. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; that’s the best way to teach yourself. It’s only beads and wire – they are gentle teachers and won’t lose patience with you. This is a new endeavor for your mind, your heart and your hands. Each of those departments has its own hurdle to overcome with a new undertaking.
After you have mastered the basics, if you want to make a flower that has petals that "grow" in an unusual curve - you will be able to completely control it, and get exactly the effect you want.
Happy beading!
French bead flower Squidoo page
My French bead flower website - Instructional DVDs and pattern CD available
9/11/01 French Bead Flower Wreaths Project Video
My French bead flower Hubpage
I am building a recession-proof online income. Care to join me?
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