Crows In The Corn

Day 9: It looks like a pair of thieves have found the corn the farmer's wife was gathering for her harvest display! These tiny cobs are beaded, and for a sense of size, I've included an inset showing them with a penny for scale. With any of the needle-arts, I tend to gravitate toward the "fine" (size) end of the spectrum, preferring to knit with #5 or smaller needles, to crochet with a #10 or smaller hook, to tat with the finest thread available, and in beadwork, I never use anything larger than a #11 seed bead. The corn was made with #13 beads, even smaller yet.

Each cob has eight horizontal rows worked in square stitch over a pigskin core which was cut at one end to form the husks. Two decreasing rows were added after the main cob was completed in order to make the tapered tip.

I have made a larger version of these using #8 beads which are about the same size as a kernel of  "Indian corn." I worked them over a felt-padded raffia core, with raffia for the husks. They look real enough to eat!

Teensy-Tiny Beaded Corn

Day 87: A few days ago, I posted a photo of a Christmas ornament I had made using #6 seed beads to create a "cob of corn" approximately three inches long (not counting the husks). I mentioned to a friend that I had made similar cobs on a much smaller scale, so here they are with a dime for comparison. The beaded portion is 5/8" in length. They're worked in square stitch over a piece of rolled pigskin leather which also forms the husks. #13 seed beads were used in the construction.

As a very small person, I seem to gravitate toward the "micro" end of the scale with my crafts. I prefer knitting and crocheting with the finer needles and threads, seldom do cross-stitch on anything larger than 18-count canvas. Larger materials feel cumbersome in my hands; working with size 8 or 9 knitting needles and worsted feels like wielding a pair of spars to knit ship's hawser.

While fine yarns and threads are somewhat difficult to find these days, tiny beads are available in a wide selection of colors at my favorite bead store. That said, I normally work with #10 seeds unless I'm in the mood for corn.