Seed Beads - 3D Bicycle

8/13/2019 Seed Beads - 3D Bicycle

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Two wh eelin Build a bicycle wi th seed beads

by Sharon Bateman

Ithink I just did it to see if I could. Ihad an odd-shaped stone bead thatlooked like a bicycle seat and a piece

of vintage plastic that reminded me of a

chain guard. From those two randompieces an entire bicycle emerged. Sincethen I ve adapted the pattern to make itpossible for anyone with access to seedbeads and a few simple craft items tomake her own bike.

stepbystepAfter beading the wheels and makingassorted bicycle parts including the seat,chain guard, gear sprocket, axle, andhead set, you assemble the bicycle body

by lacing the parts together with seedbeads on wire. Final steps includeadding the pedals and handle bars.

wheelsI prefer to use brass rings (sold asmacramrings) because of their weight,but use what you can find in a localcrafts or fabric store. I f desired, coverthe rings with black electr ical tape, or letthe metallic glint provide a naturalwheel frame effect.

If using a white plastic ring, cover itwith black electrical tape, burnishing itto the ring and trimming rough edges.

Thread a needle with 2 yd. (1.8m) of

thread and tie the end onto the ringtightly with a square knot and a few halfhitches (seeBasics).

Transfer 3 strands of black 110 seedbeads to the thread (about 60 in. /1.5m). Run your needle through the lastbead again to secure the strand tem-porarily and keep it snug as you work.

Wrap the strand around and aroundthe ring to cover it. When the endreaches the beginning, go through thefirst few beads (photo a). Then squarestitch (seeBasics) a few beads at the

end and the beginning together tosecure them (photo b). Knot with a fewhalf hitches between beads, go througha few beads after the last knot, and cutoff the thread. Note: If you haventstrung enough beads to reach the begin-ning without gaps, add more; if youhave too many, remove them.

Make the second wheel.To make a hub for each wheel,

string 8 black 110 beads on a 112-yd.(1.35m) thread. Tie the beads into a

tight circle with a square knot andweave the end in later.

Square stitch two beads at a timearound the circle (see Basics and

photo c). Work a second square-stitchrow and leave the thread in place formaking the spokes.

With the hub centered in the tire,alternately str ing black 110 seed beadsand silver 2-cuts to reach the bottominside of the ti re. Go through the beadsaround the outside of the tire and stringa parallel spoke back to the other edgeof the hub (photo d). These are thesouth spokes. Go around through halfthe hub edge beads to the north sideand make the pair of north spokes.

Add the east and west spokes in thesame fashion (photo e). Then add a setof spokes between each compass point.Note: You may be tempted to runthrough the spokes to tighten them asyou go. Dont. Make all the spokes fi rst.If there are any gaps when you are done,run through them again.

Complete the second wheel.

assorted bicycle partsTrace, color with colored pencils,


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cut out, and bake the Shrinky Dinkchain guard and sprocket (figure 1 and2a or b, shown full size), following man-ufacturers directions. (Different brandsshrink to different percentages. If youuse another brand, divide the desiredfinished size by the finished percentageafter shrinking and make the templatethe resulting size.) You can cut the holesin the chain guard 34 in. (2cm) from theedge with a standard hole punch asshown on figure 1before baking. Drill ahole in the center of the sprocket afterbaking.

Use a bone bead for the head set atthe base of the handle bars. Drill 3 holesall the way through both sides of thebead. Two are side by side placed verti-cally on the bead toward one end. Dri llthe third hole perpendicular to the first

two and a little toward the other end ofthe bead (figure 3).

Use a bone bead for the pedal axle.Drill two holes near the center, slightlyoffset and perpendicular to each other(figure 4).

For the seat, cut a 20-in. (51cm)length of black 22-gauge wire. String 3size 60 beads onto the wire and bend itin half. Run the opposite end of the wirethrough the last 2 beads(photo f). Forthe next row, string 3 beads on one wire

and run the other wire through fromthe other side. Continue in this manner,following figure 5. When you havewoven the last row, bow the middle ofthe seat up slightly. Twist the wirestogether 2-3 times right under the seatand leave the tails for later (photo g).

bike frameUsing 20-gauge wire gives you a sturdierbike, but it will not go through bugles.The 22-gauge wire goes through buglesbut not doubled. To build the bicycle

frame, you can use any size or variety ofbeads you like as long as they go overthe wire and allow you to reach thespecified measurements.

Cut two 20-in. lengths of 20- or 22-gauge wire. Cut one 3-in. (7.6cm)length, one 4-in. (10cm) length, andone 6-in. (15cm) length.

String a 60 bead, a wheel hub, and a60 bead onto the center of both 20-in.wires. Pull one pair of wires forwardand one back and ignore the back wires.

String 14 60 beads (112 in. / 3.8cm)on each of the front pair of wires.

Run both ends through a 60 bead,the middle hole of the axle bone beadand a 60 bead(photo h).

String 14 60 beads (112 in.) on eachend of the wire.

String a 60 bead, the other wheelshub, and a 60 bead on one wire end andcross the other wire end through thethree elements. Pull tight (photo i).

String 14 60 beads (112 in.) on eachend of the wire.

Run both ends through a 60 bead,the original hole of the bone head setbead, a 60 bead, and a crimp bead. Makesure all the beads are tight and even andcrimp the crimp bead (photo j). Dontcrimp i t t ightly enough to break thewire. Leave the tails for later.

String 16 60 beads (134 in. / 4.3cm)onto both tail wires from the seat heldtogether. Run the ends through the sec-ond hole of the axle bone bead (photok). Add a crimp bead. Pull the beadstight and crimp carefully.

String 14 60 beads (112 in.) onto eachend of the second 20-in. wire. Run bothends through two 60 beads. Pass theends of the wire forward on each side ofthe seat post wire 3 beads below the seatand string 16 more 60 beads (134 in.)

onto both ends held together. Turn thehead set bone bead so the pair of holesfaces the seat. Run both wires throughthe top hole (photo l).

Separate the wires and run onethrough the lower hole. Str ing 20 60beads (214 in. / 5.6cm). Wrap the end ofthe wire next to the axle bone bead(photo m). Trim the tail .

To make the light, string the redbead on the wire tail left on the head setbone bead. Trim the wire to 14 - 38 in.(6mm-1cm) and make a small loop with

the roundnose pliers (seeBasics andphoto n).

finishing touchesTo make the pedals, bend a small

loop on one end of the 4-in. wire. Stringa pedal bead, 6 60 beads, the top hole ofthe large end of the chain guard and a 60bead. Run through the original hole ofthe axle bone bead. String 6 60 beadsand a pedal bead. Trim the wire andmake a small loop (photo o).

a

b

c

d

e

f


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2 in. finished size

1/4in. finished

size from edge

3/4in.

1/4in. finished

size from edge

3/4in.

11

/4in. finished size

5/8in. finished size

figure 1

figure 2a

figure 2b

figure 3 figure 4 figure 5

materials

2 2-in. (5cm) or 112 in. (3.8cm) Rings

Black electrical tape (optional)

1 Hank 110 seed beads, black

1 Package silver-lined craft store 2-cut

beads or size 1 bugles

1 Spool 22-gauge craft wire, black

1 Spool 20-gauge craft wire, black (optional)

2 Crimp beads

10g 60 Seed beads, any colors

2 Flat, black pressed-glass beads for pedals

(6-8mm long)

1 Red pressed-glass bead for front light

4 Cylindrical bone beads, approx. 12 in.

(1.3cm) long

1 Sheet Shrinky Dink

Colored pencils

Beading needles, #12

Nymo D beading thread, black

Tools: scissors, hole punch, wire cutter, round-

and chainnose pliers, tape measure or ruler,

drill with fine bit


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To add the sprocket, bend a smallloop on the 3-in. wire. String a 60 bead

and go through the hole on the smallend of the chain guard. String a 60 bead,the sprocket, and 1-2 60 beads. Gothrough the hub of the back wheel.String a 60 bead, trim the wire, andmake a small loop (photo p).

Bend the pedal wire in oppositedirections: up then out on one side,down then out on the other (photo q).

To complete the handlebars, make asmall loop on one end of the 6-in. wire.String a 60 bead, 1 plain bone bead, and

16 60

beads. Go through the last hole lefton the bone head set bead (photo r).String 16 60 beads, a plain bone bead,and a 60 bead. Trim the wire and end itwith a small loop.

Str ing 5 60 beads on each of the tailwires coming out of the head set crimpbead. Wrap the ends around the handle-bars between the 5th and 6th beadsfrom the bone head set bead (photo s).Trim close. Tr im the seat post wire androll the ends into a small loop.

To add a kick stand, wrap the end of

a 2-in. (5cm) wire around the wire infront of the axle bead and string 60beads on it. Extend it at a slight angle tothe side to meet the table and bend theend at a right angle. Trim any excess.w

Sharon has bicycle ki ts in various colors.

Contact her at www.sharonbateman.com,

or sharondipity@nidli nk.com.

g

h

i

j

k

l

m

n

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Seed Beads - 3D Bicycle