Tubular even count peyote, ready to cry :-(((

[tstacy]

Hi all!

I am so embarrassed. I have watched countless hours of tutorial videos on tubular peyote. Still, it is not clicking. My work is loose, and I can see the thread, yet I so carefully measure the number of beads to go around the dowel (I want to make beaded keychains).

Any hints or tips?

I work from top to bottom. Stepping down is very scary and I am sure I am messing it up, but my beadwork is so sparse and loose, I can't even tell.

The video I learned from (called Full Circle), teaches to have the number divisible by 6, and when you calculate that number, to remove 1/3 of the beads and loop the rest around the object. Other folks use 3, yet other things I've seen say as long as the amount of beads are even. Does it matter and do you need to follow a different method depending on what count you choose?

The first time I tried it, I tried it with all the beads on the object the first round, instead of removing 1/3 like Full Circle suggests. Yet I could not step down, everything was even and no new rows were forming.

Any help is appreciated. And if anyone is particularly good at this, and wants to do a video for me, I am happy to pay via PayPal or a donate link.

[Flia]

Could you post a picture of the piece? Maybe we can see where you went wrong.

[Feast Your Eyes]

Pictures would help, indeed. A couple of questions, too. What kinds of beads are you using? How uniform are they? What kind of thread are you using? It also sounds like it could be a tension problem. You really have to pull that peyote tight! Mine tends to start out loose and tighten as I get into the swing of things, so I sometimes do a few base rows in an off color and take them out later.

[tstacy]

Hi All,

I would post a picture, but I ripped it out :-(  It was only practice and I got frustrated. I tried two samples, one with size 11 delicas, and one with size 11 seed beads. I am using Nymo and a size 11 beading needle.

The first time it was not loose. I  threaded on 24 size 11 seed beads and it looked great, except I messed up the stepup and everything looked too even, so I ripped it out.

Second time I did the Full Circle method, with the # of beads divisible by 6, and then removed 1/3 of the beads as a reminder of when I was coming to the rows end. That's how they teach it. That is when it looked really loose...

I'll keep trying...thanks all!

[crazydoc]

My best tip for tubular peyote is to . . . not do it as a tube (at least not until the very, very end)!

Bead your peyote piece flat - the whole thing. Just keep on adding rows until it fits around the object you want it to fit around. After that,  just "zip up" the edges (join the "up" beads of one edge to the "up" beads of the other edge) when you're done. It forms a tube (a perfect one), without all the tears and hassle of having to bead it in tube fashion the whole time.

Here's a link to a tut:

http://www.beadandbutton.com/How%20To/Basics/Peyote%20Stitch/2006/08/~/media/import/files/pdf/9/3/0/peyotebasics.ashx

Best of luck,
~CD~

[tstacy]

Thanks for the link! I appreciate it!

[tcmatteson]

I agree with crazydoc's method with beading the peyote flat and then zipping it up around your dowel. The original way you were trying will allow the string to show between the beads because the beads have to separate a little in order to fit around the dowel. By sewing the beads flat and then wrapping, you allow the beads to curve in a more natural direction. Plus, you won't have to deal with the dowel getting in the way of your needle all the time ^_^

Good luck!