Christmas bells

We continue making products of our "winter" series and today we will make Christmas bells out of beads and wire. These bells will be with fir-tree twigs on the background and with a bow-knot.

To make these bells we will need:
- size 8 seed beads of five colors: yellow, red, white, light green and dark green;
- three round beads 6 mm in diameter of garnet color;
- wire 0.2 mm in diameter.


First, we should make bells. We already have an experience of making bellflowers, so now we will use the similar technique.

Each bell consists of five petals. For each petal use only yellow seed beads and a wire of 30 cm in length.

For the first petal use the parallel weaving technique. String onto the wire 11 seed beads and place them on the middle of the wire.

Hold 5 consecutive beads at one end of the wire and pass the other end of the wire through them, starting from the extreme bead.

Tighten the wire trying the beads to stay on the middle of the wire. We've got the first two rows of beads.

For the 3rd row string onto any end of the wire 4 seed beads,

pass the other end of the wire through these beads

and after that tighten the wire.

In the same manner make all the other rows of this petal:
4th row: 4 beads;
5th row: 4 beads;
6th row: 3 beads;
7th row: 2 beads;
8th row: 1 bead.

For your convenience twist together both ends of the wire under the petal.

The other petals we will weave while plaiting them to the previous petals.

Take another piece of wire 30 cm long, put the first petal on the worktable and pass one end of the new wire between the 1st and the 2nd rows of the first petal, starting from above the petal and then pulling the wire from between the petal and the worktable.

Then string 6 seed beads onto the upper end of the wire and string 5 seed beads onto the lower end of that wire.

Pass the upper end of the wire through all the 5 beads at the other end of the wire.

Tighten the wire trying to keep its ends of the equal length. We've made the first two rows of the 2nd petal.

Before we start making the 3rd row of the 2nd petal, we should plait the wire of the 2nd petal in the 1st petal. To do so, take the end of the wire that is closest to the 1st petal and pass it between the 2nd and the 3rd rows of the 1st petal.

Then make the 3rd row of the 2nd petal. String onto any end of the wire 4 seed beads,

pass the other end of the wire through these beads

and tighten the wire.

In this way continue weaving the other rows of the 2nd petal. Before you start making the each new row, don’t forget to plait the wire of the 2nd petal in the 1st petal.

The quantity of beads in the rows of each petal are exactly the same as in the 1st petal. So, for the next rows of the 2nd petal use the following quantity of beads:
4th row: 4 beads;
5th row: 4 beads;
6th row: 3 beads;
7th row: 2 beads;
8th row: 1 bead.

For your convenience twist together both ends of the wire under the petal.

In the same way make one after another the 3rd and the 4th petals of the bell.

The last - 5th - petal we should plait in the bell between the 1st and 4th petals. To make it easier, bend a bell so that its extreme petals stay close to each other.

Take the bell and put in on the worktable, the inside part down. Then take the wire for the 5th petal and pass it between the 1st and the 2nd rows of either one of the extreme petals, starting from above the petal and then pulling the wire from between the petal and the worktable.

Next, string 6 seed beads onto the upper end of the wire.

Overturn the bell so that its inside part faces up and after that pass the other end of the wire between the 1st and the 2nd rows of the opposite extreme petal, starting from the worktable and then pulling the wire upwards.

Tighten the wire trying to keep its ends of the equal length. We've made the 1st row of the 5th petal.

Next, make the 2nd row of the 5th petal. String onto any end of the wire 5 seed beads,

pass the other end of the wire through these beads

and tighten the wire.

Before we start making the 3rd row of the 5th petal, we should plait both ends of the wire in the adjacent petals.

Continue weaving the next rows of the 5th petal.

Before you start making the each new row, don’t forget to plait both ends of the wire in the adjacent petals.

So weave the petal until the completion of the 8th row.

The base part of the bell is finished. At this moment don’t twist together all the wires coming from the petals.

Next, make a bell clapper. Take a wire 15 cm long and string onto it 9 red seed beads, one round bead and one more red seed bead. Place the set on the middle of the wire.

Hold the last seed bead, take the end of the wire from the side of this seed bead and pass it in the opposite direction through the round bead and further through 9 seed beads.

Fold both ends of the wire, adjusting them to be of the equal length and move the set of beads till the bend of the wire. The clapper is finished.

Now insert the clapper inside the bell

and twist together all the wires coming out of it. The bell is finished.

For my Christmas decoration I made two such bells.

Next, we should make fir-tree twigs. To make them use the pattern that is described in detail in our tutorial on making the Christmas tree. Use the pattern of the biggest twigs in that tutorial. For the each twig take a piece of wire 60 cm long.

For my Christmas decoration I made four such twigs.

After that we should make a bow-knot. Take a wire of 35 cm in length, string onto it one round bead, place this bead on the middle of the wire and then string onto the wire 20 red seed beads.

Take the end of the wire from the side of seed beads and pass it in the opposite direction through the round bead.

Pull this end of the wire tight.

Take the other end of the wire and string onto it 20 red seed beads.

Pass this end of the wire in the opposite direction through the round bead

and pull the wire tight.

Then string onto any end of the wire 12 red seed beads.

Hold the last seed bead and pass this end of the wire in the opposite direction through all the other 11 seed beads of the current set.

Move all the beads close to the bow-knot and tighten the wire. We’ve got the end of the bow.

The same way make another end of the bow on the other end of the wire.

Twist together both ends of the wire. The bow-knot is finished.

Now we’ve got all the parts needed for our Christmas decoration. So, let’s assemble it!

Take the twigs and stack them one above another.

Then twist together all their wires.

Next, take the bells, put them crosswise

and twist together their wires, leaving untwisted only small parts of the wires directly above the bells.

Next, take the bow-knot and attach it above the bells by twisting its wire to the bells’ wire.

After that put the bells on the twigs so that their wires lie close to each other

and then twist the wires together.

Bend the wire, hide it behind the composition and then cut off the excess wire.
Straighten the twigs and place the bells in the middle of the twigs.

Beaded Christmas bells are finished!

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