GetCrafty Craft Facts

Q: Hi,I am new to beads and would like to make an amulet bag but can't figure it out. I picked up a bead magazine once and the instructions didn't seem to work like it shoud have. Maybe if I had a loom of some sorts?

A: I bought the book, Beaded Amulet Bags (my apologies to the author if I messed up the name and I can't remember the author's name either). It's about $19 and has step-by-step directions for a number of techniques. OTOH, I learned by picking up Issue #4 of Bead and Button magazine. I think I bought Issue number 7 first. The one with the Rain Forest amulet bag. It was my first project in peyote stitch and was forever hooked. Now I'm designing my own and loving it. I saw many instruction booklets but didn't feel confident about starting until I found "Beaded Amulet Purses." I made my first bag following their instructions (but a design not in there), and it worked fine! This book is advertised in most bead magazines and is also available in some stores. I got mine at the Shepherdess in San Diego. Again, and not to step on anyone's toes here, no culture has a monopoly on talismans. People have been stuffing "magical" objects into bags and decorating those bags for millenia. I suspect it's almost instinctive with human beings. But yes, I agree, it's become commercialized. The name "Amulet" pouches (or purses or whatever) has apparently been claimed by the woman who wrote the book, Nicolette Stessin, as her copyrighted material, which I think is sort of silly, but I hear she's defending it.