Silk Beads

Here is a little tutorial on making beads from your own painted silk.

You need painted silk, Bondaweb, a metal medium size knitting needle and an iron.

Back your piece of silk with Bondaweb using a silk setting on the iron.   Draw elongated triangles on the paper side of the Bondaweb about 8" long and 2 - 3" wide at the widest end.

Cut these out and when cool peel off the paper - use a pin to release the silk if necessary.

Turn the top inch of the widest part of the silk down on the Bondaweb side so it won't stick to the needle and start to roll around the knitting needle until you get to the narrowest point of the triangle.


The photo here shows the silk being rolled and also a piece of silk being released from the Bondaweb.

Take the rolled silk to the iron on the knitting needle and with the point of the iron, still on a silk setting, gently touch the roll and turn it under the iron so the Bondaweb sticks the silk to itself.

Let it cool for a few seconds then push the bead off the end of the needle.

When cool the beads can be cut to a smaller size if you like.

 Note:  if you roll the silk on to the needle without turning down the top first you may not be able to get it off the needle!