HOLIDAY DECOR Beaded ornaments become keepsakes

The designs and colors of these handcrafted ornaments depend only on your creativity.
By DEBORAH LOHSE
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- If you're hoping to bypass the mall and satisfy your creative side this Christmas season, try creating colorful beaded ornament covers that are great as gifts, stocking stuffers or your very own tree ornaments.
Even beginners can string together these beaded ornament frocks, which look like elaborate lampshades or flapper headpieces. With more time and a bit of study, you can create ornaments that look like hot-air balloons or even three-dimensional art.
I've adapted styles I learned in books to all sorts of themes, from an American Indian-feeling blue and brown, to camouflage for my retired-military father, to one that has the feel of a pale green bridesmaid's dress.
I've given these as gifts for three years to friends and family, who love the intricacy and personal touch. Many say these gifts are family keepsakes.
The covers fit over a standard-sized glass ornament(2 5/8 inches at their widest), available at any large craft store this time of year. You can use colored ornaments, but be aware that some beads scratch the color off. I prefer clear ornaments for that reason.
Craft stores tend to have a limited supply of beads, so for the best selection try your local bead store.
Simple covers probably will take you a few hours, especially the first time. The most elaborate ones I've made have clocked in at more than 30 hours.
Here are the instructions for a simple beaded ornament that uses one main color and one accent color.
UTo start, cut about three feet of string, and run it over beeswax to strengthen it and decrease the chance of fraying.
UString a sort of circular collar for the ornament, generally 45 beads size 11. The collar sits almost snug with the neck of the ornament.
UTo make the collar, take your thread and tie a bulky knot about six inches from the tail end of the thread. Thread a needle and then string on four main beads, then one accent bead, four main, one accent, and so on until you have 45 beads.
U Tie the collar into a circle, leaving the six-inch tail loose. I put the collar on the ornament and work on it, but you can leave the circle on your table.
U At the end of the circle, the needle and thread should be hanging out on the left side of the last accent bead. Start the first row.
UString four main beads, one accent bead and four more main beads. Thread the needle through the next accent bead to your left on the collar. Go up through the right side of the accent, and down through the left, in a sort of U-turn action. Pull the beads you just added taut up to the collar.
U Repeat that (four main-one accent-four main, U-turn) for each accent bead on the collar. At the end, when you do your final U-turn into the final accent bead, continue the needle down through the first four beads you strung on the first row, coming out -- once again -- on the left side of the accent bead.
UContinue doing that, but use six main beads (in the same six-one-six pattern) for the second row; seven main beads for the third row; eight for the fourth row; nine for the fifth row; 10 for the sixth row; 11 for the seventh row; 12 for the eighth row.
UWhen you get to the last row (the eighth), you are going to come out on the left side of an accent bead, as if to start another row. Instead, you will now create the most fun part: the fringe, or "dangle" as some authors call them. Not all covers have fringe.
U To create the fringe, lay out flat on the table what you want each section to look like, using an array of beads that get larger as they go down. I've used bells at the bottom of some, and other options include little heart beads or even charms.
U Opt for light beads. Those that are too heavy may pull the glass part of the bead off its cap and onto the floor. Some teachers recommend that if you use heavy beads, insert a second wire loop under the ornament cap to decrease the chance of overloading accidents.
UUsing the same thread, string the laid out fringe beads from the top down. At the bottom of the fringe, you'll make a U-turn and run the thread back up through the same beads to the top of the fringe strip. If you've used a teardrop bead at the end, simply make your U-turn through the hole in the teardrop, stringing back over the teardrop and then through the beads until you are back at the accent bead you started from again. If you used a round bead for your final large fringe bead, string three seed beads at the bottom, and then start threading back up through the hole in the round bead. Go back up through the fringe beads to the accent bead you started from.
UTo get in position for the next fringe piece, thread toward your left through one accent bead, 12 main color beads, another accent bead, and then back down 12 more main beads. You come out on the left of another accent bead to create the next fringe piece.
UWhen you have added fringe evenly along nine accent beads at the bottom, knot your thread someplace within the pattern, thread a few inches back through some beads and trim the rest. Similarly, go back to the six-inch tail you left at the collar and thread it through the beads to hide it.