How BT is Helping You to Weave Large Bead Loom Tapestries

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Estimated reading time: 35 minutes

One of my goals behind the founding of Beading Treasures is to …

Make the weaving larger bead loom tapestries easier, and information on how to do that more accessible.
I am well on the way to doing exactly just that. Read on to find out how.

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Obstacles

When I started my bead loom weaving journey more than 15 years ago, there was scant information on weaving larger bead tapestries on a loom. And it is the same today as it was then. Most of the information available is about the Peyote stitch. You can find large bead woven tapestries online but it is hard to find information about how to go about weaving one of your very own.

I have been addressing this issue and have removed obstacles one by one by creating tools, plans, courses, and sharing my tips and tricks online. These are listed below in no particular order because what is important to some to know may not be as important to others so a broad range is covered.

Obstacles:
1. Availability of information online about large bead loom tapestries.
2. Availability of large beading looms (other than Mirrix)
3. Calculating the final tapestry size
4. Calculating exactly how many grams per bead color are needed
5. Staying on track when weaving from a pattern
6. Organizing and keeping track of everything bead-related digitally
7. Organizing and keeping track of all digital patterns
8. The dread of weaving in all the warp ends when tapestries are done
9. Availability of well-designed patterns
10. Pattern commissions
11. Online help one on one, for commissioned patterns.
12. Bead loom Tapestry Reference
13. Bead loom Tapestries Freebies
14. Need to learn from an expert

These obstacles affect almost every area related to weaving large tapestries on a loom.
Read on to find out how through Beading Treasures, I have taken these obstacles and removed them one by one.

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1. Providing information in the form of blog articles

I have 2 separate blogs on Beading Treasures.
The first is the Beading Blog. It is beading-related and organized into several categories.

Here is a sample of the blog articles:

Calculating Delica Amounts in Grams

Typically when you purchase a pattern you need to figure out how much every bead color you need in grams to purchase them. This calculator will help.

Continue Reading Calculating Delica Amounts in Grams

Beading Patterns – Purchasing from Beading Treasures

All things beading, bead looming large tapestries and digital planning for beaders.

Continue Reading Beading Patterns – Purchasing from Beading Treasures

Beading Patterns: Printouts or Digital? Which is best for you?

How to best go about using your patterns for beading. Which format works best for you? Printed patterns or digital patterns?

Continue Reading Beading Patterns: Printouts or Digital? Which is best for you?

Bead Loom Stitch and Square Stitch Compared

Bead Loom Stitch versus Square Stitch. Which stitch is best for you?

Continue Reading Bead Loom Stitch and Square Stitch Compared

The other is the Digital Planning Blog. It is all about how to organize your beading digitally using tools and digital products available in the store. This is also organized into several categories.

Some of the blogs available:

How to Import your Pattern into GoodNotes

Learn how to import your digital planner into GoodNotes from within and outside of GoodNotes with these 4 easy steps.

Continue Reading How to Import your Pattern into GoodNotes

Beading Patterns: Printouts or Digital? Which is best for you?

How to best go about using your patterns for beading. Which format works best for you? Printed patterns or digital patterns?

Continue Reading Beading Patterns: Printouts or Digital? Which is best for you?

Digital Line Guides & How to Import them into GoodNotes

What are Digital Line Guides and how to set them up as stickers in GoodNotes so that they can be used with all of your patterns.

Continue Reading Digital Line Guides & How to Import them into GoodNotes

Digital Planning at Beading Treasures

Digital Planning for beading how it started, the different kinds of planners

Continue Reading Digital Planning at Beading Treasures

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2. Making plans for a DIY large tapestry beading loom available

Scouring the internet and searching for any kind of beading loom that would fit more than 150 beads wide (150 rows, 19.5 centimeters, 7.65 inches) I could not find any loom that size that fit my requirements as to what a bead loom should have to weave large bead tapestries.

The only loom that comes close is a Mirrix loom, which is a great loom, but a bit pricey and also more geared towards fiber weaving than bead weaving as there is no room to pass your hand behind the warps pass the loaded weft thread to the other side or to push your beads in place. This makes the weaving process more difficult. Also, there is the issue of the straight edges of the top and bottom beams that tend to be harsh on the beads themselves when the work is moved towards the back to keep the fell line at a comfortable height and the warp is back under tension.

So I designed my own and have made the plans available to anyone who wishes to use them. It is made entirely from parts available from the hardware store and can be put together easily. The plans themselves can be modified according to the weaver’s own particular needs, whether that be a smaller size or lower height.

The parts of the loom itself can be swapped according to the size of the tapestry you are making. This is great for not wasting any warp thread!

I love this loom, I have dubbed it Hulky!

Here is a photo of Hulky with a 330-bead wide tapestry.

The plans are in a digital planner format. Here is a snapshot of the INFORMATION page with all the details of the loom.

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3. Calculating the final tapestry size

Help with calculating tapestry size is provided in the form of a series of calculators, in both metric and Imperial.
If you have the number of beads in a row (columns) and you need to know the minimum width of a tapestry.
If you have the number of rows in a pattern and you need to know the minimum length of a tapestry
If you have the tapestry size in cm or inches, you need to calculate how many beads wide or how many beads a tapestry is.

These calculators are useful to help you figure out how big you want a pattern for a tapestry is or you want it to be.
You can access all these calculators by tapping this button.

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4. Calculating exactly how many grams per bead color are needed

This calculator is really handy when you have a whole bead legend to go through, to determine how many grams of a certain bead color you need so that you can order them.

I use it all the time, especially when I am designing patterns, and now I am sharing it with you!!
If you are using one of my patterns, this calculator is not needed as all is calculated for you!
You will find a bead ordering Excel sheet within your patterns that helps you round the amounts up to the nearest gram, enter the cost per gram and calculate the total per color, the total for all beads, and the total amount of grams.

You can access the calculator by tapping this button.

And then all you need to do is enter the number of beads for the color you need.
See the example below.

You may want to bookmark this page so that you do not have to go searching for it later.
Although you can find it listed in the menu under Resources.

5. Staying on track when weaving from a digital pattern

I share exactly how I can stay on track when weaving from a digital pattern using a Digital Line Guide (DLG) and Goodnotes app on IOS. This is one of the reasons I can weave at a faster pace.
Weaving in this way, digitally, means less waste and more flexibility in organizing my patterns.
The DLG can also be used within the Pattern Planner.
You can also use the DLG to make a physical Line guide.
The best part of weaving in this way is:
– There is no shuffling of pages (wordchart)
– Mimics exactly how you would work from a paper chart and a guide.
– No piecing pages of the grid together
– The ability to zoom in and out as needed
– The pattern is in color
– It is always well-lit, being on a device
– You can easily erase any markings you make
– Saves so much on ink or money to have the patterns printed.
– All Beading Treasures pattern packages contain a color and a black-and-white version of the whole pattern for this purpose.

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6. Organizing and keeping track of everything bead-related

Sometimes the amount of information that we need to keep track of can be overwhelming.
What if I told you that you can keep track of all of that information in one place?
Not only that, but you will be able to access that information across all of your devices whenever you need to!
In the image below is the QUICK LINKS page of the Delica Beading Digital Planner.
Have a look at all of the things you can keep track of.
And also you can search the planner for anything you like!
All in one place, all organized. Designed by a beader for other beaders (including myself).

Do you have other bead types you need to keep track of?
There is the Beading Planner that covers almost every type of bead!
You can find them all under Bead Stash.

These Quick Links pages are deceptive, they only cover the surface of what is within.

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7. Organizing and keeping track of all digital patterns

I grew tired of opening pdf files one by one searching for a particular pattern. No matter how carefully I stuck to naming conventions, and organized my digital files into folders, I still searched and searched for the pattern and wasted precious time that could have otherwise been spent beading!
So…. I developed a solution, the Pattern Planner.
I organize the patterns in categories with links to the actual pattern files that I can make notes on!
Completely searchable, and can be categorized and organized in the way you want!
What is awesome is that you do not have to open the files one by one. You just flip through the planner or follow the link that you have made to that particular pattern!
If you are a visual person like I am, you can go to the page overview and find the pattern you are searching for from the image!
You can even use the pattern to bead from within this planner. I love that I can use the pattern and mark my progress all over it and then when done just delete the DLG, the notations, and the lines I had made!

There is a title page for every pattern to keep track of the pertinent info.

It comes in Portrait and Landscape versions in the one purchase to accommodate which layout you use the most, BUT you can use the portrait layout in the landscape layout and visa versa.

You can also make a copy of this planner to keep track of all your other types of patterns, for example, cross stitch or crochet, etc.

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8. Eliminating the dread of weaving in all the warp ends when tapestries are done.

One of the main obstacles to weaving large tapestries is the thought of having to deal with all the warp threads once the tapestry is off the loom. The thought of having to thread a warp thread through a needle, say 402 times for a 200-bead wide tapestry. The thought of spending hours weaving the thread back through the work is daunting.

What if I told you that you can finish your tapestry in a very small fraction of the time and in a more enjoyable way?

What if I told you that the hardest part of finishing your tapestry this way is waiting?
Waiting for what? Waiting for the Resin to cure under the UV lamp.

You may have gathered by now that I love to weave large tapestries, but my RSI does not love me weaving all those warp threads back in.
And people purchasing and commissioning patterns were also dreading having to do this.

And so…

The UV Resin Finishing Method was born.

It is a free course in video format along with a list of materials needed.

Here is something Fadwa Ahmed posted on Facebook.

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9. Selling patterns in the shop

There are patterns available in the shop for purchase, I have been designing patterns, testing them, and posting completed tapestries on social media. The designing of patterns for the shop has been slow going for several reasons, which I talk about in the blog article Beading Patterns – Purchasing from Beading Treasures.

In it, I discuss why I will not be testing all the tapestry patterns that will be posted in the shop and show you the results of patterns that were not tested!

Controversial I know, but in my humble opinion not all bead tapestry designers are equally skilled. Not all designers take the time and care needed to create their patterns. Not all designers create their patterns in the same way. I would also like to mention that for a designer to design and develop their own beading software, as I have, they must truly know what they are doing and the nature of the material they are working with.
That being said the beading software can only do so much.
And I make allowances for this and take my designing process a step further.
I rarely if ever need to make changes to my designs.
Here is an image of Sunny Side Up, this is a tapestry that is listed in the previously mentioned post where a pattern that I had designed but not tested was woven.

The good news is there will be more patterns in the shop, more often and of the same quality!

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10. Offering pattern commissions

I love designing commissioned or custom patterns!
Often the design is of something very meaningful to the person requesting it or deeply touches them.
Portraits of loved ones and beloved pets are often requested.
I do not test any of the commissioned patterns.
This is where the skill of the designer and the methods used in the designing process are crucial.
Lots of time and care goes into designing every pattern.

Private Consultations come with commissioned patterns and are available upon request.
They are offered free of charge for any Commissioned Pattern.
I will accompany you on your weaving journey should you wish me to! Many beautiful friendships have blossomed from this!

Here is a pattern commissioned by Alicia E. Blankenship: the image itself and the completed tapestry.

Special thanks to Alicia!!
She is amazing to work with and is always so kind in allowing images of her completed work to be shared!

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11. Offering online coaching

This service is temporarily unavailable.
I need the extra time gained from interrupting this service to finish developing the courses and post them online so more people can be helped at any time of the day!
Please sign up for the newsletter to know when this service is back up or email me if it is urgent.

What happens if you are stuck on something and cannot find a solution online or anywhere?

Do you just give up or shelve a project that you have invested time and money in?
Will that project stay on your loom till you have to cut it off and deal with it some other way?

To remove this obstacle, I have made online coaching available for specific problems or issues.

These are just short sessions addressing a specific issue, covering all aspects of bead tapestry weaving.

I am completely self-taught… so I know how hard it is to find information about something specific and then have to learn by trial and error what works best. But having to learn in this way I have discovered so many things that I may never have done so otherwise.

And so… online coaching is offered.

Side note: In some cases where Zoom calls were not desired, these sessions were carried out on Messenger but for double the time allocated for a Zoom session.
A Zoom session is for 30 min… so the Messenger sessions last for 1 hour.

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12. Reference section

The reference section can be found under RESOURCES in the menu.
You will find information specific to large bead loom tapestries woven with Delica 11/0 beads.

Here is what’s available in the reference section:

Calculating tapestry Size
Delica Amounts in Grams
Unit Converter
Terms to know
Beading Acronyms
Miyuki Delica 11/0 Abbreviations

I often refer to these pages, especially when calculating tapestry size and Delica amounts in grams.

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13. Freebies section

I like to support beaders in any way I can, and so on Beading Treasures, I offer three sections where I do exactly that by offering freebies.

The Vault
For things related to bead weaving on a loom.

The Treasury
For things digital planning related.

Free Pattern Repository
For free bead loom patterns.

You may find some of the Freebies very helpful, so have a look!
A link to the Treasury password is provided within any digital product you buy.

New items are added when created, so if you want to know when that happens, sign up for the email list!

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14. Online Courses

There is a free course available at the time of writing this post.
UV Resin Finishing method (Free Course mentioned above)
It is a very popular course and many have benefited from it.
The Learning Management System (LMS) for the course allows for Q&As for every course.

There are also other courses in the works but they do take time and effort to create.

Some courses will have free lessons within them as a sort of preview.

Here are some of the courses in the works.

This is so exciting because there are no courses covering large bead tapestries!
There is so much to cover.
Email me and let me know what you would like to learn! I probably already have it planned and will address what is needed the most first!

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One Final Note

As you can see, Beading Treasures offers much and covers everything bead loom-related, specifically for larger bead loom tapestries. And now all patterns are in peyote stitch as well as loom stitch in the same download.
Beading Treasures is off to an excellent start. It can only get better and better, providing you with beautifully designed patterns and all that you need, so that you can make your very own treasures.
To know when there are new additions such as new patterns to the online store, new items in the vault, in the Treasury or the Pattern Repository, and new blog posts or any new developments sign up for the email list.

You can also follow us on:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Pinterest
• TikTok

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If you enjoyed this post…

You might also like to read these posts too:

• Looming Large Tapestries – In One Piece or Several?
• Looming Large Tapestries – What to Consider?
• Bead Tapestry Pipe Loom Plans

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lATEST POSTS

Hi there ! I’m Nedal.

I created Beading Treasures to make information about beading large tapestries more accessible, and in doing so encouraging creating of this amazing art form.  

Weaving big can seem intimidating but by using some techniques it is totally doable, no more than that it is really enjoyable!  

If you’ve found this blog helpful, please support me by choosing the affiliate products on my blog and following me on my social platforms. 

Don’t forget to check out the shop. 

Thank you!

Nedal Douaihy,  Artist & Founder

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