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August 08, 2014

New Ases Style Shapes: Brick Stitch Bling Earrings, Pendant

Miguel Ases Style Bling Earrings by Lisa Yang Jewelry: DIY

Bling, Bling... Hello?


My latest Ases-Style earrings is this pair of black and gold sparklers.  A new pattern and color combination - as well as a new technique to hang the brick stitch components.  

I'm feeling more confident with my brick stitch capabilities - and I hope it is showing.  I'm trying to move beyond the simple rounds to drop shapes - either by changing the center bead from a round to a drop or adding different size beads on top of the round bead.

This is the largest pair of stitched earrings I have
made to date - almost 1 inch wide by 1 3/4 inches long including the ear wires.

From a materials perspective, I used black crystal glass center drop beads surrounded by 11/0 beads, then a round of Miyuki 1.8mm cube beads, and a final picot round of 8/0 and 11/0 beads.

I love, love, love the small cube beads.  They snug next to each other perfectly in brick stitch and reflect the light beautifully.  

Not hanging by a thread


What I'm most pleased with is a new technique I've discovered for hanging the beaded components. 

Cute beaded flower charms - Look easy to make, DIY from Lisa Yang's Jewelry Blog

 Normally, I thread a jump ring into a bead or sew in a piece of chain while I am finishing the picot round.  From what I can tell, it's a fairly standard finishing technique for beaded jewelry, but coming from the world of wire work - it looks like a potential weakness to me.  

Ases Style beaded pendant - brick stitch, DIY from Lisa Yang's Jewelry Blog

So, I decided to hang my brick stitch pendants using the technique I would normally use - a head pin.  And it works!  Isn't that cool?

Ases Style beaded pendant - brick stitch, DIY from Lisa Yang's Jewelry Blog

I think it looks about the same, but my peace of mind is much higher.


The other thing I really like about the headpin is that it keeps the beads aligned over the center bead. That was something I really disliked in a design like the one above. In both components, the crystal is slightly off center due to the thread tension.  Putting a headpin down the center keeps that from happening.

Bling earrings similar to Miguel Ases - made by Lisa Yang Jewelry.  Lots of free tutorials at her site.

I also used my wire skills to make coordinating ear wires for these earrings.  Not exactly Ases style - but I'm happy to be taking these components in a direction that uses all of my jewelry making skills.

Want to learn to make something similar - see this post on the basic brick stitch technique to get started.

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9 comments:

  1. Love the head pin idea, it really completes the look beautifully.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! It's a little tricky to work around at first, but like everything else, gets easier the more you do it.

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  2. Yes...the head pin idea is great....good thinking!

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  3. I love this tip! I've never been fond of the beaded loop idea so using a headpin is brilliant!

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  4. I found your site on The Beaded Gem blog. I am going to subscribe now. Live your work!

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  5. Pearl directed me here as well. I've been brick stitching circular designs for years, and have never thought of this. Wirework is my weakness. I'm glad you shared this knowledge and will make great use of it!

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  6. Lisa, I bought some swarovski 5200 barrel/ football beads that are difficult to find nut should made a great center bead around which brick stitch will be made. Will let you know how it comes out. Louise

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  7. Do you sell your jewelry?

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