Promises, twisting wire & the Mini Beaded Crown

Well I did promise the crown would follow so here it is and you still have time to make one (or two...) before the Coronation!  

Part of my inspiration came from the crown on this gorgeous vintage embroidery sampler that was taken from HM Queen Elizabeth's first Christmas broadcast in 1952 where she paid tribute to her late father and asked that people pray for her on her Coronation Day the following June (1953).  I don't know who worked the sampler but the stitches are absolute quality.

So, back to the project.  You will need some seed beads, thin wire and pliers and the key to it all is really twisting the wire and tucking it neatly 'inside' the crown so it doesn't show as you work.

To start with you will need to cut a longish length of wire - around a 12" ruler type length should do it.  Thread 18 x red seed beads onto one side of the wire and thread through the other side of wire as well (like below...)

Pull the wire ends tight so it looks like this...

Then thread on another 18 x red seed beads (with both ends of wire threaded through as before) and pull tight until you have a sort of 'figure of 8' shape ... 

Squash so one circlet sits on top the other.  Wind one of the wire ends around the two beaded circlets to secure them together...

...then trim the end neatly and thread 7 x white seed beads, 1 x red seed bead, 7 x white seed beads onto the other wire end.. 

Bend the beaded wire over to the opposite side of the crown base and wrap the wire end around the circlets to secure.  Trim the end neatly.

Attach a new length of wire at the top of the crown (next to the red seed bead in the center).  Thread 7 x white seed beads onto one side of wire and secure to the circlet base.

Then add 7 x white seed beads to the other side of the wire and repeat as before..

Continue beading the wire (add another piece if necessary) to make the final pair of beaded wire stems then finish them off by twisting together, adding some blue seed beads to make a little loop then giving a final twist & trim (try to tuck any ends underneath so they don't show) 

Ta-dah your little crown is ready! What will you do with yours?  If you make another one and add an earring finding to the loop on the top...

...you'll have a right royal pair of earrings!

                                 Happy Regal Making!