Make miniature/doll sized Little Flower ‘sacrifice beads’

My rosary tutorial went over very well! I’ve had several asks discussing Catholic/Christian crafts for doll accessories, and decided to post a tutorial of what I lovingly grew up referring to as ‘Good Deed Beads’.

St Therese ‘The Little Flower’ used a set of beads to count how many times in a day she made a sacrifice, or a good deed. It challenged her to bring acts of love into her daily life. Commonly made resembling one decade rosaries, they double as just that! I made a set with my Little Flowers girl’s group as a child and still have them today. I’ve been making some as a part of Christmas goodie bags for my faith formation students, and thought I’d share instructions on making doll sized ones! (Of course, you can scale it back up to your size if you’d like a matching set!)

To make this, you’ll need:

-Small beads that will ‘fit’ in your doll’s hand. I used bracelet loom beads. Think about what rosary beads feel like between your fingers, and translate that to the size of your doll’s fingers! You’ll need ten in one color and one contrasting bead in similar size.

-19 seed beads, or you can skip that part if you’ve got teeny tiny crosses and medals.

-Some form of thread or string that fits the gauge of your beads and is good for knotting. I used a twisted embroidery floss.

-Scissors

Optional: Two thin needles to thread the beads if your string frays.

Alright, let’s get started, shall we?

Tie a knot at one end of your string. Thread seven seed beads onto it. Tie another piece of string just above the fifth bead, with the ends on this horizontal string about even on each side. Tie a knot above the top two beads.

Thread three beads onto each end of the horizontal string. Tie a knot on both. Ensure strings are knotted tightly, then trim the bottom, left, and right strings. Tie the remaining end to the center of a longer piece of string. You’ll now be working with two strands.

Thread your contrasting bead using both strings. Tie a knot above it.

Now is where you may want to thread your needles.

Thread one of the strings through one of your ten beads. With the other string, thread it through the OPPOSITE end so that the strings crisscross in the bead. Pull the bead down but not all the way; you’ll need to leave empty space between this bead and the knot below it.

Continue this way with your nine remaining beads.

When you’ve done your tenth bead, make a knot at the top. Then on each end of string, thread three seed beads. Knot those two ends together to make a little loop of beads. Trim excess string and you’re done!

You should be able to move your beads from one end to the other and count like this. For every good deed or sacrifice or act of love made, move one bead over. You may also use it to count your rosary decades.

Enjoy your crafting and God Bless you! Sorry for the lack of a cutoff on this post, which I still cannot do via the app. I’m always open to crafty suggestions or questions; just drop a message in my inbox!