Creating a Bezel with RAW & Peyote ~ Mikki

An early work  from 2010 when I was just starting beadweaving

By far the most common component in beading seems to be a 'bezelled' something or other, it can be a simple pendant, part of a larger necklace or bracelet or be a feature of earrings and rings.  It's a 'must-have' technique in any beader's arsenal.

There are many ways to create a bezel but this is my tried and true version.

You can get a downloadable copy here.

Tips on Bezels

· When working on smaller stones omit the overlap. The larger stones need a little give as the peyote rows ‘snug’ the bezel around the stone.

· With smaller stones work less rows of peyote...work one row in B beads and one row in C beads.

· If the bezel is too loose add another row of C beads to each side.

· For thin stones or flat back stones you may need to omit the peyote row of A beads. 

My polymer butterfly wings had holes to anchor the bezel where the wings dipped in.

Formula for Circular bezels

When working with circular stones there is a formula for working out how many RAW stitches you will need.  You will need to know the diameter of the stone.

Diameter of stone x 2.5  divided by 2 = number of RAW stitches

This means for a 12mm stone:

12 x 2.5 = 30  30 divided by 2 = 15 So you will need 15 stitches.

This means for a 14mm stone:

14 x 2.5 = 35  Round up to 36.   36 divided by 2 = 18 So you will need 18 stitches.

This means for an 18mm stone:

18 x 2.5 = 45  Round up to 46.  46 divided by 2 = 23 So you will need 23 stitches.

NOTE: If you are embellishing the edge of the bezel it’s easier to work with

an even number of stitches so you would round up to 16 stitches

for a 12mm and 24 stitches for an 18mm.