- Basic Frame (BF) Now that we've mastered the Loop Techniques, it's time to move onto the

Basic Frame. If you

are going to do French Beading, you NEED to know that Basic Frame. This is the most
frequently used French Beading technique, as you can use it to make a vast variety of shapes and
can be used for just about any part of a flower. You will see it abbreviated in your patterns
as BF.
Below are the four basic shapes you can make using the basic frame. From left to right: Round
Top/Round Bottom (RT RB), Round Top/Pointed Bottom (RT PB), Pointed Top/Pointed Bottom
(PT PB), and Pointed Top/Round Bottom (PT RB). You will learn to create these shapes by
wrapping your wires at different angles.

Let's take a look at a sample pattern, which I have made up for this tutorial, and is not based on
any particular flower.
Make 1: 9 row BF, 8 bead BR PT RB. Leave two wires and twist.
So, we are making 1 petal with 9 rows of beads using the basic frame technique. The first row, or
Basic Row (BR) is to contain 8 beads. (The Basic Row is the very center of your petal. All other
rows will be wrapped on around it.) The petal is to have a Pointed Top and Round Bottom. (I'm
using a mix of pointed and round so I can show you how to make both at the same time.) At the
end of our petal, we will twist two wires to make the petal's "stem".

Materials:
11/0 or 10/0 seed beads
24g or 26g wire (preferably matching your beads)
Wire Clippers
Optional:
Bead Spinner
These can all be purchased at your local craft store. The beads may be in a tube or box, in which
case it would be helpful to have a bead spinner to string your beads onto your wire.

Step 1
- 1. Start by stringing your beads onto your wire. You will need about half a strand (about 1.5
grams) for the petal we are making.
(Notice that I am leaving my wire attached to the spool. I do this with single-colored
petals/leaves to reduce waste as well and to make sure I have back-up wire. There's nothing
worse than cutting your wire too short and having to start all over.)
Next, we will be constructing the basic frame from your wire.

Step 2

- 2. At the end of your wire, make a little loop. This isn't entirely necessary, but I like to have it
there as a precaution so basic row beads don't fall off before I wrap the first row.

Step 3

- 3. Slide 8 beads up to the top of your wire. This will be your basic row.

Step 4

- 4. Make a loop in the wire below your basic row, making sure no beads slip in there.

Step 5

- 5. Use one hand to pinch the wires below your basic row to keep the wires in place. Then with
your other hand, twist the loop to secure it. You'll need to twist down a length. (You can always
twist it more later if you find you need to.)

Step 6

- 6. Once you've finished that, you should have something that looks like this. I've noted on the
picture the different terms I will be using throughout the tutorial.
(Your Top Basic Wire is above the basic row, the Bottom Basic Wire is the twisted bit below.

Your Working Wireis the bead-strung wire that connects just under theBasic Row. At the very
bottom is your loop.)

Step 7
Now that we've constructed the frame, we'll start wrapping our rows. With Basic Frame, rows are
counted across, beginning with the basic row. Our petal will have 9 rows, or four on each side of
the basic row.

- 7. The basic row is always referred to as row number 1. To make row number 2, slide your
beads all the way down the wire, making sure your beads cover the bottom wire. Use enough
beads to reach all the way up to the top wire.

Step 8
Here is where the angles come into play. We need a pointed top (PT) for our petal.

- 8. To secure the second row, cross your wire across the FRONT of the top wire, all the way
around the back, and over the front again. For a pointed top, you'll need to angle your wire at
about 45 degrees as you wrap.

Step 9

- 9. Now we start the third row by sliding all the beads up the working wire, making sure they
cover the top wire so it won't show in your finished petal.

Step 10

- 10. Use enough beads to reach the bottom wire. Wrap across the FRONT of the bottom wire,
around the back, and back over the front. This time, since we want a round bottom (RB), you
will make a 90 degree angle with your working wire and and bottom wire.
(Notice here that I have flipped my work up-side down. I like to work at the top of a piece, so I
flip whichever end needs to be wrapped up to the top.)

Step 11

- 11. Continue making rows until you have 9 rows across, remembering to wrap at a 45 degree
angle at the top, and a 90 degree angle at the bottom.
While you are wrapping, make sure your bottom and top wires remain as straight as possible.
Any curving will result in a curved, lop-sided petal.
Also keep your rows directly beside each other. You don't want them too tight or your rows will
buckle, and too loose will leave unsightly gaps in your petal.

Here are the completed rows.

Now we need to secure the wire and finish our petal.

Step 12

- 12. If you have read my loop technique tutorials, then you know that to end a petal, you need
to wrap our working wire around the bottom wire 2-3 times.

Step 12
Here's a close-up of the "tie-off".

Step 13

-13. Our pattern calls for two wires twisted to form the "stem" of our petal. Use your wire
clippers to cut your working wire as close to the bottom wire as you can.
(Your pattern will tell you how many wires to leave. For large petals that require more support,
you may read that you need to leave three wires and twist. In this case, you will skill step 13 and
refrain from clipping the working wire at this time. If your pattern says to reduce to one wire,
you will clip the working wire, as well as one of the wires coming out of the "tie-off" at the
bottom of your petal. You will need to make sure your wire is not twisted any length below the
tie-off for this to work properly.)

Step 14

- 14. Twist the two wires in the bottom loop to lengthen the stem below the petal. Generally, you
will need 2 or 3 inches. Then clip the loop off the end.

Step 15

- 15. With your wire clippers, cut the top wire to about 1/4 inch (6.5 mm).
(If you are making a flower for a hair clip, consider not clipping this wire. But instead stringing
more beads on the top wire, folding that across the back and securing it to the bottom wire. This
will not only cover the central wire on the back, but also will not leave a poke-y wire that can
snag in your hair.)

Step 16

- 16. Fold this wire down the back of the petal.

Tada! This is what your finished petal/leaf should look like!

Now try the other shapes with 9 rows and an 8 bead basic, remembering to use 45 degree angles
for pointed and 90 degrees for round.
I also encourage you to do a little more experimentation. The length of the basic row determines
the length of your petal. The number of rows determines the width. Play around with these
numbers to see how the shape changes!
Petals with 13 or more rows, and smaller petals that will be rolled or curled will require lacing to
retain shape, which I will cover in my next tutorial onLacing.
Once you master the Basic Frame, try your hand at Beehive Basic Frame!