Czech Glass Dagger Beads: Patterns and Stunning Jewelry Inspiration

When I started beadweaving, I became fascinated with Czech glass. I started designing pieces with Czech leaf beads in 2009. I enjoy all sorts of glass bead shapes, but more recently, I've also taken an interest in Czech dagger beads. They are a little hard to find, especially larger sizes and in bulk. It can also tough to find specific colors sometimes. However, they are well worth it. I've included some resources at the end of this hub for dagger beads. If you're having trouble finding any specific sizes and/or colors, let me know.

I think that dagger beads are something that anyone who enjoys jewelry designing, especially beadweaving, should work with at least once or twice. I have included some of the best dagger patterns that I can find as well as some other stunning examples for inspiration. Enjoy and happy beading!

A few guidelines for patterns:
1) Please note that unless it is otherwise noted in the for pay pattern listings, they are for the PDF patterns ONLY and do not include any supplies such as string or beads.
2) Unless it is specified otherwise, all patterns are appropriate for beginner beadweavers and beyond.
3) Unless it is specified otherwise, all patterns are for personal use. You do not have permission to make items to sell. If you are interested in selling your items, please contact the pattern authors directly to discuss a separate contract.
4) You can find all of the patterns in the article that are NOT linked directly by searching "dagger pattern" under the Supplies tab on Etsy.

Normally I do not explicitly promote my own jewelry and patterns on HubPages. That's not why I'm here. However, I do use examples of my own work as it is appropriate. I created my own dagger pattern in early 2011, which has done really well. This bracelet combines one of my trademarks, the skinny cube base, with a simple, fun dagger fringe. If you need help adding side fringe as I did in the bracelet pictured at the top of this hub, let me know.

This pattern is for a gorgeous necklace with dagger detail that is made in a right angle weave technique. The creator, Isabella, says that this is a perfect pattern for anyone learning single row triangle right angle weave. She has a kit for this necklace available as well, which I've linked below. This pattern is available in English and Hebrew.

Isabella has one more beading patterns with daggers, this time for a flower. Of course I love this pattern because it also uses a lot of leaves! She suggests that the flower can be used for a pendant, but I'm sure that there are other possibilities for it, too. This pattern is also available in English and Hebrew.

This stunning pattern by Simone allows you to create a different kind of flower. This time the daggers are the sole petals. The color combinations and applications for these flowers are endless. You can use them for pendants, necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. A single flower would make a wonderful focal for a wider cuff. You can also use them for brooches. This pattern uses the peyote stitch and is appropriate for intermediate beadweavers and beyond. It is available in English and German.

For those of you who enjoy bead crochet, this pattern is a perfect way to learn how to add dagger detail to your designs. This pattern does not include instructions for bead crocheting so you should have at least a basic knowledge of this skill before attempting the pattern. Check out this free online resource to learn a lot of the basics of bead crochet.

This free pattern is for a simple wire strung bracelet that combines rectangle and dagger glass beads. There are no specific details about the difficulty level, but I would recommend a basic knowledge set of wire skills, such as using crimp beads and tubes, before attempting it. You can easily adjust the sizes of both the rectangle and dagger beads for this project as long as you consider that you will need larger quantities of smaller beads for a bracelet of the same size and vice versa with larger beads.

This is another free simple wire strung bracelet. This one combines furnace glass and dagger beads. Again, I recommend having some knowledge of basic wire skills before attempting this. The author recommends matching the furnace and dagger beads, which will create a monochromatic piece. You can mix up the colors, too.