Zulu Inspired Beadwork
Weaving techniques and projects
by Diane Fitzgerald
Celebrating the culture of South Africa’s indigenous Zulu population, this jewelry making book by bead master Diane Fitzgerald showcases 25 stunning projects using dozens of previously unpublished beadwork techniques used by the Zulu women to create adornment.
“Zulu beadwork is multifaceted and has been studied, written about, and exhibited for cultural, aesthetic, and historic reasons,” writes Fitzgerald in the book’s introduction. “However, I believe this book is the first to be devoted to the bead weaving techniques used by Zulu women. The skill and intricacy exhibited in Zulu beadwork is unlike that of any culture I have seen.”
Because no written instructions for Zulu beadwork exist, Fitzgerald has penned names for many of the stitches she has discovered. While on a Beadventure trip to South Africa in 2002 with Cheryl Cobern-Browne, she discovered a Zulu piece that uses what she calls the Popcorn Stitch, which she had never seen before. She discovered another novel technique in 2003 at the Russell-Coates Museum in Bournemouth, England, and names it Square Netting. Other techniques published here for the first time are the Zulu Ladder and the Triangle Tube.
The projects in Zulu Inspired Beadwork include netted diamond earrings, a zigzag chain, a netted triangle and swag bracelet, and a Zulu wedding necklace, and they are illustrated with easy-to-follow-diagrams and helpful hits.
Along with novel techniques for netting, wrapping, fringing, and braiding, the history of the Zulu people is also presented. The author shares several dozen unique beading techniques garnered from years of visiting South Africa and countless hours spent examining – and dissecting – Zulu beadwork. Readers will find photos of the region and gorgeous photographs of original Zulu beadwork juxtaposed with author’s interpretation of the design and techniques. Part how-to, part history, part travelogue, Zulu Inspired Beadwork is a beading journey in a book.
Explore the possibilities:
- Tons of techniques include netting, wrapping, fringing, braiding, and weaving
- Projects illustrated with easy-to-follow instructions and tips for success
- Gorgeous photographs of original Zulu beadwork for endless inspiration
~excerpted
Reviewer’s Fav:
- Lace Leaf Chain – Pages 38 to 41
InstaReview
- Zulu Inspired Beadwork
- by Diane Fitzgerald
- Paperback – 8.5” x 9”
- 127 pages, full color
- 22+ techniques
- Published by: Interweave Press
- ISBN: 978-1-59668-034-0
 $24.95- 2007
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