The first of my miniature French Beaded Flower patterns – Bearded Iris.

Miniatures are a great way to enjoy the art of French Beading without a great investment of time or money. Plus, they’re just dang cute. This pattern can be worked in either 15/0 Japanese seed beads or 11/0 seed beads. Using 11/0 will just make a flower slightly larger than the 15/0 version.

The PDF is 10 pages long and contains 40 high quality images along with detailed written instructions for making your own mini Irises.

Flower Head Size: 1 1/4 x 1 inches (3.2 x 2.5 cm)

Plant Height: Approximately 4 inches (10.2 cm)

To work the pattern you will need to know these French Beading Techniques:

• Continuous Wraparound Loops
• Fringe
• Basic Frame
• Continuous Basic Frame
• Bottom Wire Extensions
• Lacing

These techniques are all taught for free right here on my website in the Learn French Beading section.

The PDF is written in English using both Imperial and Metric terms for measurement.

© 2019 Lauren Harpster. This design and pattern is copyright protected and is offered for personal, non-commercial use only. You are purchasing a copy of the pattern for yourself only. It may not be shared, resold, or redistributed in any form, even without monetary gain. It may not be used for teaching classes. Flowers made from this pattern may be sold as long as credit is given to Lauren Harpster for the design.

Materials: (1 Flower, 1 Bud, 3 Leaves):

Beads:

• 5 grams size 15/0 seed beads for Petals (Color A)
• < .5 gram size 15/0 seed beads for Beard and Stamen (Color B—usually yellow or orange)
• < 1 gram size 15/0 Pale Yellow-Green seed beads (Color C)
• < 1 gram size 15/0 Light Green seed beads (Color D)
• 8 grams size 15/0 Green seed beads (Color E)
• < 1 gram size 15/0 Ivory seed beads (Color F)

Wire:

• 10 ft (3.1 m) 26 gauge (.5 mm) copper core wire in Petal Color A
• 2 ft (60 cm) 30-32 gauge (.4 mm) copper core wire in Beard/Stamen color (Color B)
• 4 ft (1.22 m) 26 gauge (.4 mm) light green copper core wire (match color C or D)
• 5 ft (1.5 m) 24 gauge (.5 mm) green copper core wire (Match bead Color E)
• 3 ft (90 cm) 32 gauge (.2 mm) green colored copper core wire (Match bead color E)
• 1x 18 gauge (1 mm) florist stem wire

Other:

• Light green floral tape
• Light to medium green embroidery floss
• Miniature pot or vase to display (optional)
• Non-hardening clay or florist foam (optional, for potting)
• Grass, moss, or tiny pebbles to cover the clay or foam (optional, for potting)

Tools:

• Wire cutters
• Taper measure/ruler
• Bead Spinner (optional)

Notes:

• Use Japanese seed beads!!! Czech size 15/0 are a little smaller and usually have smaller holes, which may not work with this pattern.
• If you are using two petal colors instead of just one, you’ll need approximately 3 grams for the upper petals and crests, and 2 grams of the second color for the lower petals and bud.
• You will want 32 gauge green for lacing the leaves. 30 gauge wire shows too much between 15/0 beads.
• You can make this pattern in size 11/0 seed beads if you don’t like working with or do not have access to 15/0 Japanese seed beads. The flower just ends up a little larger. See the size comparison, and notes for using 11/0 on Page 10.