Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Playing With Tilas

So-in the latest Beadwork, there was a project called Morrocan Tiles by Heather Kahn. Having recently acquired a small stash of Tilas, I thought I'd give it a go.


Of course, I didn't have quite the perfect color combination, but in real life, the red Tilas aren't nearly as red, and the black isn't nearly as black. Apparently AB finishes are really hard to photograph (especially with a cell phone :) ) Actually, the whole look is better in person. I promise...


The pattern was clear and easy to follow, although, starting out, usually there is a "string a stop bead" or tie into a circle, or what have you, but it seems that the natural thread path is the stopper here, which I found out after about row 2 and was pleasantly surprised.

The hardest part of the entire beading event was adding the accent beads on top. If I make another of these, I think I will add the accent beads during construction, as it was REALLY difficult to needle through the middle of the components. I only chipped one Tila, but I can see how the beader could easily break one, and if one is broken, I'm not sure how to even think about replacing it. You may have to unbead the entire bracelet at that point...eek.

It seems that you could do each tile separately, or all together, which is what I did. If you did them tile by tile, replacing a tile seems like it wouldn't be as difficult.

The base of the bracelet seems like it would really support many different types of embellishment, with the only trick being weaving through already woven tilas. Perhaps it would be better to work with a slightly loose tension? I don't know...

Has anyone else tried this design? If so, how did you fare?

2 comments:

  1. I don't yet have any Tila's yet but I did like the look of this project and thanks so much for the tip. I have tension issues so it is good to know I may have to loosen it up a bit.

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  2. I also made it, and you are right. I also chipped a Tila putting the embellishment on. Oh, well, at least the chip is covered up by the embellishment. But those Tilas are expensive, and some of them already have chips when you buy them. Don't know how much I'll be using these.

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