How to Make a Beaded Rose Flower Beadalon Thread

French beading, the art of creating beaded flowers, is thought to date back as far as the 15th century. The craft became extremely popular in France in the 1800, where it became known as "French beading." This beautiful craft, now considered an art form, is still popular today. Making a beaded rose with Beadalon cording or wire is a great way to learn the art of French beading.

Things You'll Need

• Beadalon cording (either wire or thread)
• Bead needles
• Beads
• Floral wire
• Floral tape
• Wire cutters
• Scissors

Instructions

Petals

1. Cut 30 cm Beadalon cording. The 26-gauge wire is a good size, but if you prefer to work with Beadalon thread instead, choose a stiffer one that is still thin enough to go through the beads multiple times.

2. String three beads onto the wire/thread. Thread the wire back into the second and third beads to form a loop and pull tight, keeping equal lengths on both ends of the free wire.

3. String four beads onto one free end of the wire. Thread the other free end of the wire back through all four beads, creating a loop. Pull tight. Continue this way adding six, eight, 10, 12 and 14 beads for each subsequent row. For the larger petals, add another row of 16 beads.

4. Repeat to make five petals of 14 beads and four petals of 16 beads.

Sepals

1. Cut 25 cm Beadalon wire/thread.

2. Using a 1-2-3-3-3-2-1 beading pattern for the sepal forms, repeat the basic beading technique from the "Petals" section.

3. Thread three beads onto the wire. Cross the free ends through beads two and three and pull tight. Thread three beads onto one of the free ends of the wire, thread the other free end through all three beads and pull tight.

Leaves

1. Cut 30 cm Beadalon wire/thread.

2. Repeat the steps from the "Sepals" section using a 2-3-4-5-5-4-3-2-1 beading pattern. Make five leaves.

3. Take three leaves, with the center one a little higher than the other two. Twist the free ends of their wires into a single wire.

4. Add the two remaining leaves about 1 cm down from the top three, and twist their free wires into the stem wire formed by the first three leaves.

5. Repeat to create as many leaf branches as you wish your roses to have.

Put the Rose Together

1. Take two small petals and situate them on the floral wire as the bud. Twist their free wires around the floral wire and cover with floral tape to secure.

2. Add three more small petals around the bud, again twisting the free ends of their wires around the stem.

3. Continue until all the petals are secured to the floral wire.

4. Place the sepals under the petals, and twist the free wires to the stem and secure with the floral tape. Bring the floral tape all the way down the floral wire to cover all of it.

5. About 2 cm from the sepals, add a leaf branch. Twist their free ends onto the stem and secure with floral tape. Wrap the floral tape down another few centimeters and add another leaf branch, taking the floral tape the end of the floral wire.

Tips & Warnings

• Beadalon cording comes in many colors, making it easy to match the cording to the beads for a more blended look.

• The ends of the cut wires will be sharp. Hammer them a little to help dull them but be careful not to hammer too much or they will not slide through the beads.

References

• French Beaded Flowers I: A Guide for Beginners; Helen McCall; 1995.
• The Art of French Beaded Flowers: Creative Techniques for Making 30 Beautiful Blooms; Carol Benner Doelp; 2005.
• The Basics of Bead Stringing: A Complete Illustrated Approach for Beginner and Advanced Designers; Debbie Kanan; 2001.

Resources

• Images of Beaded Flowers
• Images of Beaded Flowers