Basic Beaded Cabochon Part 3

Step 6: To begin your second row string one bead, skip one bead on your first row and bring needle through the next bead on the first row. You are doing a peyote stitch. You do NOT go back through the backing fabric. Continue around adding one bead, skipping a bead on the first row and going through the next bead. Keep beading flat against the side of the cab and snug.

Step 7: Depending on the shape of your cab, you may have to decrease in order to keep your beads snug against the cab. To decrease, if you have the same beads in a smaller size (size 15 in this case), you may use one of these, or simply skip two beads on the first row instead of one. In the next row, following the second photo above, add one bead into this space for a decrease.

Step 8: Stitch through all beads of your final row once bringing your thread snug as possible, and ending with your needle near one eyebrow. To cover the forehead, we will be stitching from eyebrow to eyebrow. To turn your needle around, stitch in to a bead one row below and come back up into the last bead you applied in the top row, now facing the other direction. Continue your peyote stitch from eyebrow to eyebrow taking care that your row is even on each side. Following the directions above, turn your needle around and continue back and forth, decreasing as needed until you are pleased with the coverage. Your final row or two will need a great deal of decreasing. If you have been able to cull smaller beads from your stash, use these, or I’ve found that keeping a stash of smaller silver lined crystal or smoke beads and using these in the final row gives a nice appearance to just about any design.

Sooner or later you will need to add a new thread. There are several ways to do this. On a pendant style as in our examples, you can hide a knot in the backing behind your cab. Bring your needle down through the lower rows, changing direction at least once to keep your thread snug, until you reach your base fabric. Bring the needle through the base fabric inside the stitching line, knot off in the back of the fabric under your cab and attach your new thread in the same manner and bring your needle back up to where you left off. If you cannot get behind the cab in your design, then knot off in the fabric someplace that will be covered with beads. As a last resort, if there is no place in the design to hide a knot you can bury the thread by working it back and forth in the beading, changing direction often and passing through the beads as often as possible. This will hold the thread tight and it will not need to be knotted.