ZIPPING YOUR ZAHAH - Beading Tutorial - DIY Beaded Earrings - Beginner Friendly - Fast, Easy and Fun

Zipping Your Zahah is easy! First, you make 3 squares of flat right angle weave. These squares are called "Faces." Next, you stitch the 3 Faces together by connecting them at the North Pole. Lastly, you create the Spines, by zipping them up - again, with right angle weave. I've also posted a full-length Zahah tutorial on this channel - here's a quick link:    • The ZAHAH Beaded Bead - Right Angle Weave ...   In this video, I'm using oxidized 2mm sterling silver beads to make a Zahah that's 6 square cells wide by 6 square cells high. I call this size a "6 x 6." Many other sizes are possible such as 3 x 3, 4 x 4, 5 x 5, and so on. All work beautifully for beaded earrings - or architectural beaded beads. Speaking of architecture, the Zahah Beaded Bead is named after Zaha Hadid (1950-2016), the celebrated Iraqi-British architect whose innovative building designs appear all over the globe. One of her buildings features a roofline with triangular projections resembling the triangular outlines of the Zahah beaded bead. Hadid's building is called "The Glasgow Riverside Museum of Transport" - and you can view photos on her website here: https://www.zaha-hadid.com/architectu... You can download the free print instructions for the Zahah on my website, valeriehector.com. Just go to the "Beading Patterns" page and click on "Zahah." (You'll be asked to enter your name and email address in return for the free instructions.) Here's a quick link: https://www.valeriehector.com/beading... There are 5 Chapters to the "Zipping Your Zahah" video. Here are their titles and timestamps: --Introduction: 0:08 --The Thread Path for the North Pole: 3:14 --Stitching the North Pole - and the 3 Arctic Circle Beads: - 6:35 --Stitching Spine 1 - 16:38 --Reinforcing All 3 Spines (this very short video added as an afterthought!): - 31:01 Many beads work nicely for Zahahs - but the more spherical they are, the better. Flat beads will work but they make somewhat flimsy Zahahs that do not hold their shape very well. Beads that work well include: -metal seed beads in sizes 11/0 and 8/0 -plump glass seed beads -Czech Fire Polish beads -Czech druks -spherical plastic beads -spherical wood beads -and so on The Zahah structure was invented by beaders in China ca. 2000, working with colorful plastic beads produced by China's massive plastic bead industry. Since the industry expanded in the late 20th century, innovation expanded too - dramatically. For example, I've met beaders in Beijing making scale-model replicas of old temples such as the famous Temple of Heaven. These scale models stand 3-4 feet tall - and break down into 3 separate layers with interiors furnished with pillars and exteriors featuring windows - just like in the real Temple of Heaven. In a word, I was astonished. If Chinese beadwork interests you - and you want to see photos of historical pieces - please check out the articles I've posted to Academia.edu. Some of these articles get pretty technical - but here are some quick links: "Chinese Bead Curtains, Past and Present" (2013): https://www.academia.edu/36044083/_Ch... "Mainland Chinese Export Beadwork" (2017): https://www.academia.edu/36085656/_Ma... "Beaded Shop Signs in Republican Beijing" (2018): https://www.academia.edu/36484630/_Be... "A Beaded Hair Comb of the Early Ming Dynasty" (2021): https://www.academia.edu/66974640/A_B... Thank you for stopping by. If you like what I'm offering on this channel, please like and subscribe! :) #beading #beadingtutorial #diybeadedjewelry #beadedearring #beginnerfriendly #beadwork #beadweaving #diyjewelry #chinese #rightangleweave #beadedjewellery #stitches #diycraft