Beading – a Spiral Knotwork

Bracelet Pattern

– Ruth Temple

This is a fairly quick lacework beading pattern for how to build a
spiraling coil that looks like a braid of three colors. I don’t know
where the original idea for this pattern came from, I cobbled my
experimental build-backwards from a bracelet that was given me and
presumably made by the excellent beader T’Roy Guzman in
Minneapolis, years ago, so she hereby gets the credit for introducing
it to me. Thanks, T’Roy!

This is a bracelet with a self-button and loop closure, that is built up
in simple increasing lattice rows, so the final piece of beading curls
around itself, and will sit upright in its coil, and spiral out to be worn.

Helix braid bracelet and photo, ©2003, Ruth Temple.

The original piece in my possession was done on nylon monofilament
and pulled fairly tight; the bracelet I made this spring in cobbling out
how the pattern might be done was on beading thread, and not
pulled all-the-way tight, and the result flops in a nice bead-lace sort
of way... Your mileage will vary, and this is one of the variables to
play with.

First Published in WayzGoose Magazine: A Feast of Arts and

Letters, Vol. 1, Issue 2, which is available for $6 / copy from

Ruth Temple, 3364 21st Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

Permission to freely print for personal use granted as long as this

copyright and source information stays intact. ©2003 Ruth Temple

What you will need:

Beads of the same size in three
contrasting colors

Thread or monofilament - this is
not a good project for wire.

Beading needle

Small Scissors.

Template for length: measure a comfortable bracelet size on the wrist
you are making this for, and make yourself a knotted string or loop-
end piece of wire, or marked piece of paper to be your guideline on
the length of the bracelet.

Note that the beading is done with one string in four rows; the
knotwork is an effect of the color pattern.

Your first row will be to the template length, adjusted to the next
three beads of a color. Start with three beads, and make a loop of
nine beads of one color, tie a knot, and go back through the first
three beads, and continue on the length, three each of the three
colors in sequence, A A A B B B C C C until you get to the length
you want. End in a threesome that is a different color than your first
threesome out of the loop at the other end. Make a button of three
beads up, two back around and go up the “three up” beads again,
and come down with a new two beads, up the “three up again, and
down and around until you’re content that those seven beads make a
solid button.

For the second row, you’ll begin building up both the knotwork
pattern and the increases that make the piece spiral: from the center
bead of a color trio, come up and add two beads of that color plus
one of the next color, and stitch through the center bead of the next
color. Add two beads of that color and one of the third color, and
come down in the center bead of the third color trio. Continue this
“two up, one down” pattern all the way to the end of bead trios, run
a loop of your thread around inside the bead-loop at this end of the

bracelet, and come back, coming out of the middle bead of the first
loop of the second row.

Any time you come to the end of your working thread, tie a knot and
thread the tail back along inside the beadwork before cutting it off.

For row three, add three of a color, and two of color you’re about to
stitch through at the top or middle of the second row’s three beads.
Continue this “three up, two down” in the direction of your stitching,
all the way to the end, loop your thread through the end button and
come back up the end edge and add seven beads of one color for the
final looping row, going back the other direction. You should have a
knotwork braid of the colors, and the work will have already begun to
spiral with the addition of beads in every row. The diagram here
shows the beading pattern - the actual work will naturally coil up
when laid out. Enjoy!

Original article reprinted from

WayzGoose Magazine: A Feast of Arts and Letters,

Vol. 1, Issue 2,

which is available for $6 / copy from

Ruth Temple, 3364 21st Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

http://wayzgoose.rulise.net