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Bagues en Cristal: Dentelles de Perles
(Crystal Rings: Bead Lace)
By Marie le Sueur
![Crystal Rings- Bead Lace[1].pdf - Adobe Reader](../assets/images/Crystal_Rings-_Bead_Lace_1_.pdf_-_Adobe_Reader.JPG "Crystal Rings- Bead Lace[1].pdf - Adobe Reader")
“Why is that crazy Alice recommending books in French!?” I hear you cry. The main reason is that this book (and the next two) by Marie le Sueur is really great – it’s filled with wonderful and unusual circular bead designs. And with the few key words that I’ll translate for you here, you’ll find the patterns easy to follow since they are almost entirely clear line drawings with minimal text. If you’ve been coming to the Bead Bugle for the last 18 months, you may remember Marie’s mind-blowing sunflower on the Brag Page during the latter part of 2004. We’ve been in contact sporadically since then, and when Marie’s newest book was published, her publisher, Stephanie, got in touch with me.
The wonderful designs in this book are woven on filigree and pierced findings or around Swarovski jeweled findings. Marie mounts many of them on shell buttons and uses them as finger rings, brooches, and bead centerpieces for larger pieces of jewelry. None of the patterns is particularly difficult, although sourcing some of the findings may involve some web searching.
Here are the terms and techniques you’ll need to know to work the patterns successfully as explained on pages 4-5: Le fil refers to the thread you should use. Marie recommends Nymo or C-lon D for most of the projects, tells you not to tie knots (noeuds), and instructs you to handle the thread carefully when using crystals and the metal findings. When using crystals larger than 4mm, she suggests that you use fishing line of about 6-lb. test weight. Les aiguilles à perles means beading needles. She recommends that you start with long, thin sizes 10 and 11 but use 12 and 13 when using size 15/0 seed beads. Size 11 needles, she says are a good compromise if you are using fishing line..
Les perles are the beads. Marie recommends Japanese seed beads for their regularity, beauty, and large hole size and Austrian crystals (autrichien), mostly in the bicone (toupies) style. She uses Japanese (japonaise cylinder beads (“Delicas”) in some patterns. In the section, “les aiguillée de fil,” (bead weaving) she suggest leaving a thread tail of about 8 in., starting with an arm’s length of thread, and not cutting the thread from the bobbin until you are finished. She says that in most cases, a meter of thread (40 in.) is sufficient.
For les finitions, the endings, follow the thread path exactly and weave the tails back through the beads. Reinforce the fragile pageareas, especially the places with large crystals. Attach the thread to the mounting by sewing through holes on the mountingthread by weaving it into the beadwork along the original thread paths. Les anneaux de bagues, the ring findings, are of several types. If you can’t find the ones Marie suggests, she recommends that you improvise. You’ll use mostly round metal pierced findings (both one- and two-part varieties) and filigree pieces. When the center of the motif is a metal element or the motif is mounted on a shell button (bouton de nacre), use a ring finding with a soldered metal center and glue the centerpiece in place with a two-part epoxy intended for joining metal and glass. Never apply glue tothe beadwork. When you are attaching a beadwork motif to a pierced finding, reinforce the edge then sew alternately through a bead in the last row and a hole on the edge of the finding. This is shown on the top right of page 5 in the drawing labeled “profil.” Marie shows each finding and lists the designs that she makes with it.
Other important words include:
- trous (hole)
- bague (ring)
- plateau (flat center)
- à 2 trous (with 2 holes)
- bouton à 4 trous (4-hole button)
- perles en cristal imitation perles fines (glass pearls;
- perles fines are real pearls)
- enfilez 8 (pick up 8)
- passez (go)
- coupez-les ras (cut very short)
- reportez-vous pp. 4-5 pour fixer le motif à l’anneau (see pages 4-5 for how to attach the beadwork motif to the ring/finding)
With this quick course in French, you should now be able to make any of the designs in this little book. Have fun.
– Alice Korach
InstaReview
- Bagues en Cristal: Dentelles de Perles (Crystal Rings: Bead Lace) by Marie le Sueur
- Publisher: Le Temps Apprivoisé, Paris, France
- 2005
- Softcover, 56 pp.;
- ISBN: 2-283-58634-8
- 9.90€ (Euros)
 You will find this book at Amazon.com international sites, France
Books available at www.lacis.com in the US
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