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Drill direction key for flower designs By Bethany W. Keiper "Flowers have spoken to me more than I can tell in written words. They are the hieroglyphics of angels, loved by all men for the beauty of the character, though few can decipher even fragments of their meaning." -- Lydia M. ChildFlower beads are some of my favorite. Looking back through my designs, I find a flower bead of some sort, be it metal, plastic, or glass, in many of them. They are one of the most feminine symbols I know of, and the different shapes, sizes, and colors of both bead flowers and the real thing never cease to fascinate me and please my eyes. With one exception - green flowers. I often find green flower beads in stores and in mixes, and last week I actually saw carnations dyed green in a local store. I just can't figure these out. Green flowers? Why? What colors should the corresponding leaves be, then? Perhaps crystal etched or crystal AB pressed glass leaves are good choices.No matter what color the flower beads are, their shape and the direction they are drilled for stringing are two very important factors for planning your designs. Styles vary, but the following list includes some of the most popular styles.
Button flower -- A button flower has a flat flower face, with a hole drilled through the back, forming a tiny loop, like a button you would sew on a garment. It will twirl freely, so you might need some jewelry glue or adhesive to make it stay in place. Tablet or disk flower - Tablet or disk flowers have a flat flower face, and they are drilled from petal to petal or side to side through the bead, so the flower face shows as the bead rests flat. It can be incorporated into a design in a variety of ways, so try placing it between leaves or other decorative beads. Cap or trumpet flower - The cap or trumpet flower has a hole drilled through the center, the thickest part of the bead, so that it looks like a wizard's hat (or, less elegantly, a dunce cap). These look great with an aurora borealis finish.
Cup or star flower - Cups or stars are thin, curved flower beads, which will cup the beads next to them. This is one spot where a green flower bead finds a happy home in my designs. A green cup flower is a good match for a cap or trumpet flower, since it will look like the green sepals - the shorter green petals at the base of a blossom -- that a real flower has. Spacer or disk flower - These spacer flowers are flat disks which are drilled through the center, or the thinnest part of the bead, front to back. These are also sometimes called rondelles. These are available in frost, luster, or AB finishes, and are great for separating sequences in designs. These are also sometimes lined or etched with gold or silver. Although these are common names for these beads, sometimes people do call caps cups and cups caps, and the term disk could be equally applied to both spacer and tablet. So, the key to avoiding confusion is to make sure to find out which way the flower bead is drilled, and the thickness of the bead in question. |
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