Pony beads can either be made of glass or plastic beads that can be made into a bracelet, anklet, or any kind of accessory you may think of. It can be bought in any craft and hobby store near you. Pony beads are larger than regular beads. They are known as "rice beads" that you can also use as a braid design for your hair. You can even make a flag out of these types of beads. The color of your beads should be the same as the color of the flag you are going to make. It is one of the simplest arts of making bead designs. Of course, you can choose any flag that you want but you can start with a simple one.
Materials you need. You need at least 40 inches of translucent string thick enough to fit in a bead 2 times, 3 colors of Pony beads (green, white&red), scissors and lanyard hook (optional if you want to make into an accessory).
Option 1: Making the bead flag. Fold the string in half to locate the center. You will use it as a guide to balance the string. Insert 6 beads (2 greens, 2 whites and 2 reds accordingly) and hold it at the center. This should be the first row of your bead flag. Insert another batch of beads accordingly in one end of the string. Insert the second end of the string to the bead where the first string will be pulled out. Do it for thrice. Remember that the two ends of the string must be at different ends of the beads. After that, tie both ends together in a double knot. And there you have it.
Option 2: Bead Flag with Lanyard hook. This is optional if you want to make an accessory out of it. After folding the string in half to locate the center, make a half hitch to secure the lanyard hook at the center. Then do the same procedure as it was done in the first option.
This is the basic procedure in making a pony bead flag. The flag of Italy was used as an example since it is one of the simplest flags to make as it has only 3 colors in it and no other intricate symbols. After much practice, you can even create different flags with complicated color patterns. Just a tip, use an Excel sheet when doing this procedure. That way, you can color the cells that will represent the beads and make a proper design out of it. By this simple design, you can use 6 x 4 cells. If you want more challenge, make a much larger flag with complicated color combinations and with added symbols. If you do not have a desktop computer or laptop, you can do it manually by laying the beads on a flat surface and arranging them to the design you are going to make. Of course the first row will go in first followed by the second etc.