French beaded flowers technique – Continuous Loops (CL)

The Continuous Loops (CL) technique is one of the most basic French beading techniques. It’s basically making a series of loops on a length of wire. It’s simple but has many uses when making beaded flowers.

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Practice calyx – 11/0 seed beads/24 gauge wire
Pattern: Five 10-bead CL

Prepare: String approx. 4 inches (10.1 cm) beads onto a spool of 24-gauge wire.

1.  Leave a 3 inch (7.6 cm) tail and move 10 beads over from the spool and cross the wires underneath the beads to form a cross. Photo 1.
   

   Photo 1

      

2. Twist twice to form a loop. Tip: Put the cross over your forefinger to steady the beads to form the first loop. Photo 2. This is the first continuous loop (CL).
   

   Photo 2

3.  Move 10 more beads over from the spool. Leave a small space after the first loop so you have room to twist the next loop. Cross the wires to form a new loop. Photo 3.
   

   Photo 3

   Twist to form the second continuous loop (CL).

4. Make five (5) continuous loops (CL) total. Cut another tail off of the spool. Twist the two ending tail wires together a few times at the base. See finished Calyx in Photo 4.
   

   Photo 4