Adventures in Freeform Peyote - Part 1

Recently I have been focused on making small, relatively quick pieces in order to get a large amount of stock for sale. While I am still only making things that I really enjoy, I have been hankering after something a little more involved. I thought it would be fun to start a bigger project that I could talk about the design, techniques and the process over the space of a few weeks. Since I am still rather busy with a few fairs, a jewellery party and a fledgling Etsy Store to stock, I had to think quite carefully about what project I committed to in order to fulfil these goals without impacting too much on the time I need for making new stock.

I ruled out netting straight away, although it's a favourite stitch of mine and works up quickly. I have been using it a lot lately and feel like a change. I did consider brick stitch, as some of my favourite pieces have used it, but I am quite slow at it so that's out. Eventually the answer came to me, freeform peyote would be perfect, it works up fairly quickly, is a lot of fun to do and can pretty much go in whatever direction you want it to.

I have made a number of freeform projects over the years, some were successful and some weren't but all were lots of fun to make and I learnt something from each one. The last project that I made (picture above) using this technique was a necklace inspired by the Winter Olympics. This time I have decided to make a bracelet, this should allow me to have fun with the technique and create something interesting and unique.

In preparation I have been browsing the web to familiarise myself with some different approaches to freeform peyote, I'll share some of my favourites later. Next I am going to rummage through the stash and decide on a colourway and theme. I don't often work with themes and it may seem at odds with the idea of freeform but I think it will help me focus on where I want to go with the project and will hopefully stretch my creativity.

Sarah