Introduction: Beaded Box
I have been seeing a lot of beaded boxes on the internet. They are beautiful but most of them do not come with directions. The ones that do have instructions, do not give you much to follow. I decided to try my own design.
I choose 3 mms beads rather than the seed beads that most of the boxes were made of. I wanted to have a decent size to the box without spending forever on the project.
The box is soft and flexible. I use them to hold jewelry--I have lost rings down the drain so I need to put them inside something--in the bathroom and kitchen. Because I staggered the sizes, they best nicely when they are not in use.
I choose 3 mms beads rather than the seed beads that most of the boxes were made of. I wanted to have a decent size to the box without spending forever on the project.
The box is soft and flexible. I use them to hold jewelry--I have lost rings down the drain so I need to put them inside something--in the bathroom and kitchen. Because I staggered the sizes, they best nicely when they are not in use.
Step 1: Materials:
Beads
Needle and thread
Scissors
If you decide to use seed beads, you will need a beading needle. They are very thin and will fit through the holes in those tiny beads. The 3 mm beads have decent sized holes and you can use a regular sewing needle as long as it is small enough.
The thread should be the strongest that you can find. You do not want to put in a whole lot of effort and have it break easily.
Needle and thread
Scissors
If you decide to use seed beads, you will need a beading needle. They are very thin and will fit through the holes in those tiny beads. The 3 mm beads have decent sized holes and you can use a regular sewing needle as long as it is small enough.
The thread should be the strongest that you can find. You do not want to put in a whole lot of effort and have it break easily.
Step 2: Start at the Bottom
Thread a nice long piece of thread in your needle. You will need more thread later, no matter how long of a piece you start with. I still use a long thread to start--I hate attaching new threads too often.
Start with 4 beads. Bring all 4 to the far end of the thread. Pass the needle through all the beads a second time. You can tie a knot using the needle end and the loose end. I leave the loose end tail attached until I am done. That way I have something to tie the ending thread to before clipping it off.
Thread 3 beads on the needle and then through the last bead of the first cluster. You can pass the needle through this 2nd cluster of 4 again--this helps tighten things up a bit.
Keep adding beads--always in clusters of 4--until the bottom of the box is the size and shape you want. I made the largest box a 7 cluster by 7 cluster square. The medium one is 6 by 6. The small one is 5 by 5.
Start with 4 beads. Bring all 4 to the far end of the thread. Pass the needle through all the beads a second time. You can tie a knot using the needle end and the loose end. I leave the loose end tail attached until I am done. That way I have something to tie the ending thread to before clipping it off.
Thread 3 beads on the needle and then through the last bead of the first cluster. You can pass the needle through this 2nd cluster of 4 again--this helps tighten things up a bit.
Keep adding beads--always in clusters of 4--until the bottom of the box is the size and shape you want. I made the largest box a 7 cluster by 7 cluster square. The medium one is 6 by 6. The small one is 5 by 5.
Step 3: Sides of the Box
The sides continue to be simply more clusters of 4 beads. The first cluster of this round will use 3 new beads and one from the previous round. After this, you will only need 2 new beads--the remaining beads come from the previous cluster and the previous round.
When you reach the corners, you have to remember to continue to use only 2 new beads. This will prevent the corner from laying flat.
The second round of the sides are easier--the farther you get from the actual corner, the more flexible the beaded fabric becomes.
When you reach the corners, you have to remember to continue to use only 2 new beads. This will prevent the corner from laying flat.
The second round of the sides are easier--the farther you get from the actual corner, the more flexible the beaded fabric becomes.
Step 4: Finishing
When you get the box as tall as you want, weave the thread back to the bottom of the box to where the original tail is waiting to be tied off. Clip the threads.