In this lesson, I will expand on the Five Petaled Flower tutorial from a few weeks ago. I made two flowers of different size. And then I stitched them together using the sections of herringbone for an easier technique.
I also changed the start of each petal from the original version to make it less crowded and easier to connect the petals. This also eliminated that loose bead I talked about in the original video tutorial.
Materials List
I chose to use the materials listed here for my flowers but you can use any you like. The size of beads is specific to this tutorial and should not be changed or you outcome will be dramatically different. These are my affiliate links and I make a very small commission if you decide to purchase using them. This helps to support my site and YouTube channel.
Flower One
Stretch and condition a wingspan of nylon beading thread. Using one of the Delicas, add a stop bead, leaving a few inches of tail. Pick up 20 more Delicas.
Skip over the last bead and sew back through the next bead.
Peyote using the Delicas back down to the tail end of the bead work.
Remove the Delica you used as a stop bead. Pick up that Delica and sew back through the next bead. Step up into the sticking out bead for the first decrease of the bead work. This is different from the original 5 Petaled Flower tutorial. You should have a bead sitting sideways on each end of the peyote strip.
For this row, pick up a silver lined amethyst seed bead for the first two and last two stitches.
For the remaining peyote stitches use the crystal lined pink seed beads.
Pass through the single bead, as shown above and then through the sideways bead at the top.
Come back through the single bead again. and then push through one of the Delicas and the amethyst bead to decrease this end of the bead work and step up for the next pass.
These steps are identical to the video with the exceptions being the color of beads and the initial pick up.
On the next row peyote with the amethyst beads in the first and last stitch and the crystal lined pink for all the middle stitches.
From here on out, do the turn around and decrease the bead work just like I demonstrated in the original video, which I will post at the bottom of this lesson. Pass down the three beads on the diagonal line.
Pass up two beads on the diagonal to be exiting the bead next to the last bead added.
then pass down through that last bead to be in position to add new beads.
Peyote stitch the remaining rows using all crystal lined pink beads.
Remember to turn and decrease at the end of each row.
Work rows until you have only two beads to add in the final row.
Sew to the other side of the Delica beads and repeat all the steps for the other half of the petal.
Make four more petals for this flower. Stitch all five petals together by passing through sideways Delica beads at the bottom of the five petals. Sew through the five beads 3 times to make the secure. Note* Lay the petals out on your mat so that they do not flip around as you work. Sew up to the side of the last petal you passed through.
In this project, I only square stitched the crystal lined pink seed beads together for my connection points between the petals.
See the video, if you need help with this portion of the tutorial.
Flower Two
Flower two is stitched in the same manner as the first. The main difference is the color of beads and the amount of beads in the initial pick up. We want this flower to be slightly larger than the first so that we can layer it.
Stretch and condition a wingspan of nylon beading thread. Using one of the Delicas, add a stop bead, leaving a few inches of tail. Pick up 24 more Delicas.
Skip over the last bead and sew back through the next bead.
Peyote using the Delicas back down to the tail end of the bead work.
Remove the stop bead from the tail thread and pick it back up. Sew through the next bead to situate the bead sideways just as before. Step up into the first delica bead sticking out.
Peyote using the crystal lined pink beads for the first and last two stitches of the row. Used the garnet beads for all the stitches in between. Turn around and do the decrease on this end of the bead work.
On the next row, use the pink beads for the first and last stitches with garnet beads for the remaining stitches. Turn around and decrease again.
Peyote stitch all the remaining rows with garnet beads until the last row, which again you will add only two beads.
Make a total of five petals and stitch them together using the sideways beads at the bottom of each.
Square stitch the sides of the petals using the 7 garnet beads along the slanted edge.
Connecting the Flowers
I wanted to position the points of the petals from one flower between two petals of the other as shown.
The easiest way to create connections was to sew one of the side by side pair of delicas on the petal of the large flower to the top two sets of square stitched beads between the petals of the smaller flower.
In essence, I will be square stitching one delica to two seed beads.
Add a thread to the smaller flower and sew through the beads until you are exiting the top of your square stitched beads. Being left handed, I found it was best to start from the beads on the right hand column of pink beads.
Find the pair of Delicas that are behind the top beads and sew down through the delica bead.
Sew back up through the top two beads of the column you started from. Reinforce the connection by repeating the steps once more.
This photo demonstrates what your threads should look like as you sew back down the delica bead. Sew back up through the two top beads on the same column.
Sew down the two pink beads of the other column.
Sew through to the back of the smaller flower.
Then sew up through the second delica of the pair.
Repeat the last three steps to reinforce the connection.
Sew over to the next columns of pink beads on the other side of the petal and repeat all the steps to connect the two layers at this point.
Keep working in this manner until you have connected the five pairs of delica beads to the corresponding pink beads.
Decide which layer you like best for the top of your complex flower and then you can add a pearl, crystal or button to the center for additional accent.
The original video should help you to grasp all the essential details of the project. If you can decrease peyote stitch and do square stitch, you should be able to complete this complex flower with ease.
The Original Video
I hope you have enjoyed this lesson and will explore varying the size and colors of your flowers.