This has been my year for mandalas. I've been drawing and graphing circle designs all year as well as doing a lot of crocheted doilies. So it makes sense that at some point I was going to bead a circle design. This is a very simple to make circle motif that is a good size for earrings or a pendant. My example is a pendant because that's what my daughter wanted.


My design is done on a base of 10.

You will need:
Seed beads- I used 2 colors of size 11 Japanese seed beads
Needle
Thread- I used SoNo
Scissors

I'm describing it as I made, but there is a blank graph to work out your own colors if you want to use more colors. The previous step is faded on each step.

Step 1:
Thread 10 beads, and tie in a circle. Leave a tail long enough to weave in.


Step 2:
Add 3 beads in the contrast color, then one main color bead, pass the needle and thread back through the 3 contrast color beads then through the bead on the ring you came out of going in the opposite side you came out of. Go through the next bead on the ring and repeat all the way around to make 10 spikes off the ring.


Step 3:
Pass the needle and thread through the spike until you come to the top bead, add 2 beads in main color and 1 in contrast color, then go through the top bead through the opposite hole you came out of, add 3 beads, and go through the next top spike bead and repeat around. 10 picots will be worked.


Step 4:
Pass the needle and thread through to the top contrast color bead on the picot, add 4 beads, and go through the next contrast color picot. Repeat all the way around.


Now you can add a loop to make an earring, or stitch it to something else, or whatever you want to do with it.

Here's the graph as promised.


I have a whole bunch of mandala coloring pages that can be used as embroidery patterns.

There is also a mandala pattern e-book available in my Etsy store.