Diane Fitzgerald's Shaped Beadwork: Dimensional Jewelry with Peyote Stitch (Beadweaving Master Class Series) [Hardcover]

Diane Fitzgerald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2009 | Series: Beadweaving Master Class Series

This book’s a knockout! Master beader Diane Fitzgerald teaches her award-winning techniques for creating gorgeous geometric jewelry. More than 20 truly stunning projects, all using peyote stitch, come in a variety of flat and dimensional shapes, from triangles, teardrops, and pentagons to tetrahedrons, cubes, and diamonds. Sleek, contemporary, and breathtaking, these beadwoven pieces are perfect for the intermediate crafter—but with such clear and detailed instructions, even beginners will give them a try!

 

Diane Fitzgerald is a featured artist in the book Masters: Beadweaving. Other books in Lark Jewelry & Beading's Beadweaving Master Class series have been authored by Marcia DeCoster, Laura McCabe, Sherry Serafini, Maggie Meister, and Rachel Nelson-Smith.

 

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This master jeweler and multibook author spent much time and care figuring out the construction of shaped beads—the two- and the three-dimensional kinds. That means that, thanks to her patience and creativity, handmade beads now can resemble high-end dimensional necklaces and bracelets from designer brands. More intricate than the traditional craft, shaped beadwork begins with a mastery of the peyote stitch, a technique that weaves the thread into a bead twice to create an unbroken surface, then proceeds to making flat geometric shapes (triangle, square, and oval, for instance); open shapes (that is, with “holes” inside); and finally to cubes, tetras, and dodecas (12 pentagons). Although the majority of the book is devoted to the actual fashioning of these bead shapes, Fitzgerald adds her personal inspiration by way of a dozen-plus items to make, including a Celtic trefoil, Berber earrings, and a trillium necklace. A true breakthrough in the art of beadwork. --Barbara Jacobs

Review

"Diane Fitzgerald, the queen of beautiful beadweaving, takes us on an adventure into creating three-dimensional beaded geometric shapes. Start with two-dimensional shapes and learn how to properly increase and decrease to create angles and curves. Then, move on to create open shapes, and then finally the awesome three-dimensional designs like you see on the cover. Intimidated? Don't be! Diane is a magnificent teacher and takes good care to make sure her students are successful!" - Bead Unique magazine, October 2011

 

"The illustrations are clear, the instructions concise, and there are lots of inspirational photos throughout. For anyone interested in understanding geometric beadwork, this book is a must-have." - Bead&Button magazine

 

"A true breakthrough in the art of beadwork." - Booklist

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 120 pages
• Publisher: Lark Books; First Edition edition (March 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600592775
• ISBN-13: 978-1600592775
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.6 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,331 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #69 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Crafts & Hobbies > Jewelry & Beadwork > Beadwork

More About the Author

As someone once said, "Everyone needs their spot." My spot to bead is on the couch, with good light and a good TV program. Old movies and Law and Order are among my favorites. I usually bead in the morning and evening and spend the middle part of the day writing, editing and illustrating the instructions for what I've created. I love to do all three of these tasks, but editing is the hardest for me, so often I depend on "guinea pig" classes to check things and make suggestions.

One weekend a month I usually am "on the road" teaching somewhere in the U.S. Seeing the pleasure a student gets when they make something appealing (no matter how small)makes me feel great.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great stuff for a smart beginner, and inspires growth if you're advanced February 22, 2009

By N. Smith

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The chapters cover 2-D shapes, open shapes, 3-D shapes, art deco inspirations, ethnic inspirations, and contemporary inspirations.

The directions are fabulous! A lot like the teaching format of Step-by-Step beads magazine, clearly illustrated with super close up photo's and easy to understand diagrams! Like the title says, it's all peyote stitch with "glue a cabochon or sew on a nailhead/rose montee" for the little stone embellishments.

Unlike a lot of books that fill in pretty pictures, but they aren't covered or mentioned, you can make EVERYTHING you see in this book, no question about it. The really great thing is they're all taught component by component, how you mix/match and ultimately create something is totally up to you so you know your design will be a piece out of your own imagination when you're done!

My personal favorites will mostly be the "open shapes". So much potential to link necklaces, frame beads, and make custom toggles! If you're a celtic nut, she covers a trefoil in her ethnic chapter that's AWESOME!!

I'm so tired of the basic 101 bead books that recycle the same knowledge with different pictures. I hope this isn't the only "Beadweaving Master Class" that Lark Books chooses to publish. Bring on the challenges!! ;-)

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great inspiration: beautiful work, clear instructions February 4, 2009

By Fine Craft Fan VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I was thrilled to receive this book by Diane Fitzgerald, absolutely one of the world's most creative beaders and best beading authors. Unlike all too many books, Diane Fitzgerald's Shaped Beadwork gives beadwork the respect it deserves: Beautiful beadwork is showcased with wonderful photography; the text is well-written and interesting; and Diane's instructions are clear, precise, and supported by good-sized, readable illustrations. Peyote stitch is used to terrific effect in more than twenty breathtaking projects for two-dimensional open- and closed-shaped and three-dimensional jewelry. Beaders will be inspired by the projects and the creative possibilities. This essential book is simply outstanding, the work incredible: It's a "must have right now!" book for all beaders' libraries. For more inspiration, you might also want to buy Masters: Beadweaving: Major Works by Leading Artists (Masters (Lark Books)), a great gallery book featuring Diane and more than three dozen leading beadweavers, and the next book in Lark's Beadweaving Master Class series, Marcia DeCoster's Beaded Opulence: Elegant Jewelry Projects with Right Angle Weave.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars cutting edge beadweaving February 24, 2009

By M. Poller VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is the hottest new topic for beadweaving and the author has done an amazing job. Her instructions are very clear and the patterns are based on the basic shapes she has you work through first. There are some gorgeous pieces of jewelry such as pendants, earrings and larger items too. By working through the first section, the beader has the potential to go on and explore this area beyond what is in the book which is the mark of a really great teaching book. In addition to the peyote stitch which is the main stitch, she also covers several other stitches too. The projects do not require a large outlay although I can actually use some of my Bali beads here too. My only complaint is the pale print job. The pictures and working diagrams are fine but the text like all the Lark books I've bought lately uses a print type which is too light and therefore hard to read. Recommended to all beaders whatever your level.