Some live flowers have petals that are solid and dark in the center, becoming lighter the further the petal grows from the center. This effect can be replicated in beaded flowers by simply creating petals of progressively lighter shades and then assembling the flower.
This look is really amazing and beautiful, and I use this technique often, but it’s fun and challenging to take it to the next level.
Many live flowers and their petals are not made of one solid color. Some petals have two or more internal colors. It is possible to mimic these effects in beaded flowers.
The necessary techniques are called shading and tipping. They can be used subtly, to create delicate variations in the hue of a petal, or boldly, to create sharp changes in hue or color.
Let us first analyze the subtle forms.
Let’s say you want to gently vary the hue of the petals you’re making. Use two or three similar shades of clear beads. String the beads onto your wire, but after a few inches of one color, switch to another of your three colors. If you are using spinning beads, keep switching to a spinning wheel with a different bead color after loading a few inches on your wire.
Keep changing colors, loading them all on the same spool of wire, until you have enough for one petal or as many petals as you are going to make. Build the petals as usual; do not count beads or do anything that affects the colors. The finished petals will show subtle streaks of all the colors you used.
If you want the color changes to occur only at the tips of the petals, it’s a bit more complicated. Let’s say you want a subtle color change (say, from dark pink to light pink) on the edge of the petals near the tip. Work your dark pink petal until you only have four rows left. Push the pink beads back onto the spool, measure out enough wire to finish the entire petal, and cut the wire.
Transfer the beads from the spool wire to the working petal wire until there is about an inch of bare wire left before you reach the top basic wire. Now add your second color beads onto the petal wire. Wrap the cable around the upper basic cable as usual. On the working petal wire, add about the same number of beads of the second color as in the previous row. Then add enough of the first color of beads again to get to the bottom basic wire. To wrap. Repeat with the last two rows, but this time use about half of the second color beads for both sides of the petal.
This petal will now have a different colored tip than the rest of the petal. You can vary this technique in countless ways to achieve different looks for your flowers.
Now let’s try a bolder look and a slightly different technique. Let’s say you’re making a purple petal with a yellow “center”. Start making the petal with yellow beads. Make up to 9 rows of this color. For a large petal, you can wrap the wire around the stem and cut it off, then wrap new wire loaded with several strands of purple beads. The finished petal will be a purple piece with a striking yellow center.
If you are making a small or medium sized petal, you do not need to cut the wire in the middle of the petal. When you’re ready to change colors, measure enough wire to finish the petal and cut. Then add the new color to the cut petal wire and keep working.
With these techniques you can make dew-tipped roses, two-tone flowers, beautiful orchids, even colorful tie-dye flowers.
Thanks for reading and happy accounts!
