An eclectic blog about beads, beading and beyond



Friday, March 5, 2010

Spirals and beaded spiral ropes: Double, Triple, Dutch, Russian, Cellini and more


Spirals are on my mind. I am in the midst of beading my second Cellini spiral necklace. The first remains unfinished because in typical fashion I have run out of one of the burgundy beads (see photo) I was using to create it. Despite that minor set back I have found it very satisfying beading the changing shapes and colours of the Cellini spiral. And, I’m beginning to see the pleasing shape of spirals all around me. Snails, shells, fern fronds, roses and willy willies (small spiralling winds a little like a mini hurricane) to name just a few. Mind you, there’s not much pleasure having snails or willy willies in the garden. Spirals are also found in the traditional art of several Indigenous Australian artists, in the spiritual dances of the Whirling Dervishes, in ancient European symbols of the goddess and in the psychiatry of Carl Jung for whom the spiral was a symbol of our soul. In Ancient Celtic lore the spiral was a symbol of holistic growth, release, union with cosmic energies such as time and the planets and of awareness of oneself as part of a greater whole. So, over time and in different places the spiral has been a powerful symbol of positive life forces and spirituality.

Given that I’ve decided to try creating some different types of spirals in my beadwork. There’s lots to choose from – spiral rope chain (see photo), spiral square stitch, double spiral rope and Russian spiral to name a few. I’ve sourced some free tutorials for each of these and listed them below for those of you new to spiral beading and it’s pleasures.


If you know of others I’d love to share them on the blog.


If you’d like to feast your eyes on stunning spirals in nature and beyond pop by this website – it’s inspirational

Spiral rope chain – great, free tutorial

Spiral square stitch

Double spiral rope chain

Triple spiral Beading

Dutch spiral

Dutch spiral variation – free tutorial

Cellini spiral

Russian spiral

African Helix

  • http://beadwork.about.com/library/weekly/aa101998.htm

3 comments:

Kokopelli said...

Those are fresh and juicy colors. So sad you couldn't finish it. Can you shorten it to make a bangle from it?

Dawn N said...

Thanks for all the links. Now I have no excuse for not learning to make spirals.

roseworksjewelry said...

Ooo - I've really been wanting to learn Cellini - and now I have a link for it! Booyah!

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