Beaded rosettes are decorative discs of beadwork, traditionally used in Native American ceremonial and dance costumes. The rosettes are made by couching beads – that is, by stringing beads and then sewing them to a backing – usually leather or hide. Some people prefer a two-needle style, where the beads are strung with one needle and stitched down with the other, but today I’ll be showing you a one-needle style, where one round of beads is strung, and then sewn down with the same thread.
You can bead pretty much any design you choose – the tradition is, as with much Native American art, to choose colours and designs which have a personal or spiritual significance to the wearer. With that in mind, I chose the Yorkshire Rose, emblem of my home county in England. As many factors influence how the beads will fit together, I can’t give a charted pattern – if you do find charted rosette patterns, they will almost definitely be for square-stitch rosettes, which are made using a different method.
To make a rosette you’ll need:
- Backing – usually leather or deer-hide, but today we’ll use thick felt, which is a lot easier to stitch through. Once you’ve got the hang of the technique, you can easily substitute hide for the felt.
- Paper – this is both for the pattern, and to give an extra stiffening layer. I used washi paper as it is soft and flexible and so easy to sew on, but any kind of paper will do.
- Seed beads – a medium-sized rosette may well take a couple of hundred beads.
- Thread – waxed thread if you are working on leather or if you plan to use sharp-edged beads such as swarovski crystals
- beading needle
Start by drawing, tracing or printing out your design onto paper, at the size you want. If your design has many colours, you may want to colour your pattern.
Cut out your pattern and lay it on top of a piece of thick felt, cut to about the same size.
Thread your needle with a long thread – about 2 ‘armfuls’ or more if you can manage it. Knot the end, and bring your threaded needle up through the centre of your design.
String one bead, and take the needle back down through the centre.
Bring the needle up again to one side of the centre bead, and string as many beads as will fit in a circle round the centre bead. Most instructions I’ve seen online say 7, but I found I needed 8. You may need more or fewer depending on your beads.Thread the needle back through the first bead of the round, to complete the circle, and then take it back down through the backing.
Now you can tack this row in place by making a small stitch every three or four beads – bring the needle up inside the loop of beads, over the beaded thread, and back down again just outside the bead loop.
The rest of the rosette is made the same way – string a circle of beads that fits neatly around the previous circle, complete the circle by taking the thread back through the first bead in the ring, and then stitch the ring into place. To work a design, thread a few beads at a time, matching them up to the lines of your paper pattern as you go.
When you’ve finished your pattern, secure the thread and then carefully trim the backing to match the outer circle of beads. On Wednesday, we’ll look at some decorative edgings you can use to complete your rosette.
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The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990
The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-644) is a truth-in-advertising law that prohibits misrepresentation in marketing of Indian arts and crafts products within the United States. It is illegal to offer or display for sale, or sell any art or craft product in a manner that falsely suggests it is Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian or Indian Tribe or Indian arts and crafts organization, resident within the United States. For a first time violation of the Act, an individual can face civil or criminal penalties up to a $250,000 fine or a 5-year prison term, or both. If a business violates the Act, it can face civil penalties or can be prosecuted and fined up to $1,000,000.
Under the Act, an Indian is defined as a member of any federally or State recognized Indian Tribe, or an individual certified as an Indian artisan by an Indian Tribe.
The law covers all Indian and Indian-style traditional and contemporary arts and crafts produced after 1935. The Act broadly applies to the marketing of arts and crafts by any person in the United States. Some traditional items frequently copied by non-Indians include Indian-style jewelry, pottery, baskets, carved stone fetishes, woven rugs, kachina dolls, and clothing.
All products must be marketed truthfully regarding the Indian heritage and tribal affiliation of the producers, so as not to mislead the consumer. It is illegal to market an art or craft item using the name of a tribe if a member, or certified Indian artisan, of that tribe did not actually create the art or craft item.
For example, products sold using a sign claiming “Indian Jewelry” would be a violation of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act if the jewelry was produced by someone other than a member, or certified Indian artisan, of an Indian tribe. Products advertised as “Hopi Jewelry” would be in violation of the Act if they were produced by someone who is not a member, or certified Indian artisan, of the Hopi tribe.
If you purchase an art or craft product represented to you as Indian-made, and you learn that it is not, first contact the dealer to request a refund. If the dealer does not respond to your request, you can also contact your local Better Business Bureau, Chamber of Commerce, and the local District Attorney’s office, as you would with any consumer fraud complaint. Second, contact the Indian Arts and Crafts Board with your written complaint regarding violations of the Act.
Before buying Indian arts or crafts at powwows, annual fairs, juried competitions, and other events, check the event requirements on the authenticity of products being offered for sale. Many events list the requirements in newspaper advertisements, promotional flyers, and printed programs. If the event organizers make no statements on compliance with the Act or on the authenticity of Indian arts and crafts offered by participating vendors, you should obtain written certification from the individual vendors that their Indian arts or craftwork were produced by tribal members or by certified Indian artisans.
Thankyou, that is certainly information anyone making these for sale needs to know.
Thanks this is great! So pretty. Very clear “How to”.