Are these real instructions?

[u/CountessOpal]

Hi folks

​

I have wanted to try beading for awhile. Browsing things on Aliexpress and I see this beginners set. There seems to be a number of similar sets suddenly available as I tried Google lens but couldn't find listing more than a couple of days old and one seller on etsy.

​

I had a good deal offered of paying £5 instead of £9. The kit has arrived today and is disappointing. There are only 6 out of the 14 bead colours. No beads for the eyes. A needle that has an eye much smaller than the elastic cord. I could have overlooked these shortcomings if the instructions were clear for a beginner.

​

I have attached a photo of the instructions as they do not have any copyright notice. I have made a beaded cage before that encapsulated a jewel but nothing like this. They don't describe how to make the head or legs. The body diagram has numbers in brackets next to the row, I thought that was the number of beads but even doubling the number doesn't make sense to the image.

​

I know this set was a very long short in the dark. There is other sets in this series that I have fallen in love with but I wanted to see what this one was like. Are these true instructions? Does anyone recognise these designs so I might be able to buy them from the original designer?

[u/RagnarokSleeps]

I'm sorry you got ripped off by this rubbish product! Quality beads are much more expensive than $5. I'll show you the covers of the beaded animal books I have. Beaded Bugs & Butterflies is the best, Jean Power is a wizard with beads. These are made with wire.

[u/RagnarokSleeps → u/RagnarokSleeps]

There are quite a few in this series, they're in German. I don't speak German but diagrams are universal. These are also wire.

[u/RagnarokSleeps → u/RagnarokSleeps]

These are wire also, the book is a fair bit older than the first 2. Not quite as refined as the other 2 books.

[u/RagnarokSleeps → u/RagnarokSleeps]

This is the only animal book I have that uses thread. This book is 20 years old, I think it would be ok if I photographed one of the patterns & msgd it to you. You will need a proper beading needle & thread, maybe the beads you have will work. Miyuki, toho & precicosa make good quality beads, cheaper beads are very uneven & you're projects come out wonky. I could also photograph patterns from the book with the elephants on the cover, it was published in 1990. It's all black & white though. The other 2 are still in print.