This book is not a bead jewelry book; it is a book about bead designs, which include using beads to augment clothing and even to make tapestries. That is not to say it’s not worthwhile for a bead jewelry maker to review, since it includes a lot of information about making fringes and whatnot that can be useful in making pendants. And so forth.
The book is forthrightly declared to be a reference book; as such, it mostly does not follow a project format. Instead, it identifies and gives different patterns you can use in your own beading work and gives a gallery of photographs of things using the designs. There is a projects chapter that gives step-by-step instructions for a couple things, however.
So the book focuses on patterns you can use in whatever beading projects you have in mind as well as techniques for cords and fringes, but these books would not be quite the same without step-by-step projects. This book’s projects include:
- A dragon box band
- A fringe for an organdy bag
- A striped bracelet.
- A netting border for a gourd bowl.
- A scissors chatelaine.
- A crochet bracelet and purse.
- A loomwork wall hanging.
And so on. The book suggests a whole world of beading as sewing that escapes the narrow focus of jewelrymaking using beads, but some of the patterns and techniques might come in handy, particularly the fringe strand techniques and the cord making.
