How to Bead Cabochons
A cabochon is a convex elliptical or elongated oval shaped pendant that can be made with gemstones, small pieces of glass or porcelain. Cabochons are highly polished and are used to make pendants, charms and other types of decorative pieces of jewelry. You can bead a cabochon with small seed beads by sewing them to a backing material with a needle and thread in a tubular peyote seed beading technique to frame the outer edge of the cabochon.
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Things You'll Need
- Cabochon
- Soft leather scrap or sewing interfacing
- Jewelry glue or E6000 glue
- Size 11 leather needle
- Bead thread
- 2 different solid colored tubes seed beads
Instructions
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Place a small dab of glue onto the center of the back of the cabochon. Set the cabochon, glue side down onto the soft leather scrap or sewing interfacing.
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Pull out 2 feet or an arm's length of beading thread and cut it. Make a square knot at the end of the thread. Insert the other end of the thread into the needle.
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Hold the cabochon and leather or sewing interface in your left thumb and index finger, and the threaded needle in your right hand. Insert the needle through the backside of the leather or interface, running the needle right up against the side of the cabochon. Use the needle to pick up a bead and slide it off the needle and onto the thread. Insert the needle into the front of the leather or interface and pull it all the way through to sew the bead to the material.
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4
Insert the needle through the back of the material, right next to the first bead. Pick up another bead with your needle, slide it onto the thread, and insert the needle through the front of the material. Pull the needle and thread all the way through the material to sew the second bead on. Sew an even number of beads around the cabochon in this manner until it has been completely edged by the beads to complete the first row.
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Insert the needle from the back of the material, up through it and angle the needle's tip to insert it into a bead of the first row. Thread the needle through all of the beads of the first row, pulling the beading thread taught as you do so to straighten out the beads. Insert the needle into the front of the material and pull the thread all the way through to the back.
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Start the second row of beads at the top center of the cabochon. Insert the needle up through the back of the material between the top two beads of the first row. Use the needle to pick up the second color seed bead and slide it down on the thread. Insert the needle through the first row bead that is two over from the second row bead you just threaded, and pull the thread through it to start sewing in the tubular peyote beading technique. Pick up another bead with your needle and slide it down on the thread. Insert the needle into the bead that is two over on the first row from the thread's current position and pull the thread all the way through it. Pull the thread tight every time you add a bead so that it pushes on the bead of the first row. Continue adding beads, skipping a space between each bead of the second row to make another even row of beads around the cabochon.
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Make the third row of beads. Pick up a bead with your needle, count over two beads and insert the needle into a second row bead and pull the thread through it. Continue adding beads onto the third row, skipping a bead on the second row between each third row bead until it makes another even row of beads around the cabochon. Pull the thread taught as you thread your beads to make the beads push down on each other and flatten against the cabochon. Make a fourth row of beads in the same manner.
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8
Insert your needle into a bead of the fourth row that touches a bead of the third row and pull the thread through. Use your needle to pick up a bead, slide the bead down onto the thread, insert the needle through a bead two over from the thread's current position on the third row and pull the thread through. Insert the needle into a bead in the fourth row that is two over from the thread's current position that touches a bead that is in the third row and pull it through. Continue adding beads in this pattern, alternating between threading through a bead on the third and fourth row until you bead all the way around the cabochon.
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Insert the needle and thread down through the beads and into the material. Make a square knot on the back of the material and cut off the extra thread. Trim the leather or sewing interface off of the cabochon, taking care not to cut off the thread of the beads in the first row.
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Tips & Warnings
Make the soft leather scrap or sewing interfacing just big enough for you to glue a cabochon onto it and hold it comfortably in your hands while you sew the beads.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
