Beaded embroidery is the next level of fiber art. It’s a technique that has been around for centuries but hasn’t gained much popularity until recently.
This is probably because it’s an incredibly time-consuming process that requires both patience and skill to complete properly, but I think this is one of those crafts that will become more popular as people discover its beauty and intricacy.
If you’d like to try your hand at beading embroidery, this post will give you all the information you need!
| Takeaways |
|---|
| Beaded embroidery involves the practice of stitching beads onto fabric to create intricate designs and patterns. |
| Common techniques used in beaded embroidery include backstitch, brick stitch, and peyote stitch. |
| In addition to beads, materials commonly used in bead embroidery projects include fabric, thread, needles, and sometimes additional embellishments like sequins or crystals. |
| Popular designs in bead embroidery include floral patterns, animals, and geometric shapes. |
| Beginner-level bead embroidery projects or guides can be found in craft stores or online, often in the form of kits. |
Beaded Embroidery: The Next Level Of Fiber Art
Beaded embroidery is a new art form that combines the old with the new. It’s an easy way to learn the basics of beading and get your feet wet before diving into more advanced techniques.
It’s also a fun way to make your own jewelry. If you have some embroidery thread, beads, and needles lying around your craft stash, then you can start making beaded designs right away!
Whether you’re an experienced beader or just starting out, our guide on The Ultimate Guide to Bead Weaving Techniques has everything you need to take your skills to the next level.
The Basics Of Beaded Embroidery
Beaded embroidery is a form of needlework that uses beads, sequins, and other small objects to create beautiful designs. It’s often used to embellish clothing or other fabric items—think pillows and curtains but it can also be stitched on canvas or fabric that’s already been framed as a piece of art.
Beaded embroidery has become increasingly popular due to its versatility: while it might seem like an advanced technique at first glance, anyone who knows how to sew can learn it with just a little practice.
And once you get started with beading embroidery yourself, you’ll find that the finished product is well worth all your effort!
Here are some things you should know about this exciting craft:
Anatomy of a Stitch
Beaded embroidery is the art of using a needle and thread to create stitches on a surface that are then embellished with beads. It’s an advanced form of embroidery, but if you’re an experienced stitcher, you might find it easier than you think.
If you’ve been practicing the basic stitches used in regular embroidery (running stitch, back stitch and satin stitch) for some time now, you’ll be familiar with how they work: You use a needle threaded with cotton or silk thread to pierce holes in fabric and draw yarn through those holes to create designs.
Beaded embroidery takes this technique one step further by adding beads into the mix—either when sewing or afterward as part of your finishing touches.
Get inspired and learn to create beautiful beaded embroidery designs with our guide on 15 Stunning Beaded Embroidery Projects to Try.
Beading Supplies
Beading supplies are a great place to start when learning beaded embroidery. You can find the basic supplies at any craft store, or you can order them online.
Here’s what you need:
- Beads
- Needles (preferably sharps)
- Fiber (usually wool) for your project
Stitchboard (also called an embroidery hoop) to hold your needlework in place while working on it, or an embroidery frame if you have one available.
This will keep the fabric from stretching out of shape as it’s stitched and prevent stray beads from falling off the edge of their stitches.
An embroidery hoop should fit snugly around your fabric; if necessary, use tape or rubber bands between layers of fabric so that they form a tight seal within the hoop as well as around its perimeter this prevents beads from escaping through gaps between stitches!
Filling in a Shape with a Beaded Fill Stitch
You can also use this stitch to fill in a shape. To do so, simply follow the same steps as above with one difference: Instead of working over two beads at once, you’ll only work over one bead at a time.
This is the second most popular stitch that we teach in our workshops! It’s a great way to get started on your beaded embroidery journey because it’s easy and fun to learn while still producing beautiful results – just look at how pretty this flower looks when filled with beads!
We suggest using 15/0 Czech glass seed beads for your bead stitches. A full skein of these will give you enough thread for several projects and they come in beautiful colors like blue, yellow, red and green so there’s sure to be something there for everyone!
| Brand/Type | Color | Material | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miyuki Delica Seed Beads | Opaque Black | Glass | 100 |
| Miyuki Delica Seed Beads | Transparent Yellow | Glass | 50 |
| Beadalon Wildfire Thread | Black | Nylon | 1 roll |
| Fabric | N/A | Cotton or felt | 1 piece |
| Needles | N/A | Steel | 2 |
The above table lists the required materials for using the beaded fill stitch to fill in a shape. The stitch requires Miyuki Delica seed beads in specific colors and quantities, along with Beadalon Wildfire thread, fabric, and needles.
A Basic Stumpwork Design
Stumpwork is a form of embroidery that uses a needle and thread to create the design. It’s made by stitching over a fabric base, which is then removed, revealing the stitches on top. Stumpwork is also known as surface embroidery or applique work because it involves applying stitches onto another material.
Stumpwork has been around for centuries, but it’s becoming increasingly popular with fiber artists today.
Here are some basic instructions on how to get started:
Use a large needle (such as an embroidery needle) and strong thread (like cotton floss). Make sure you have enough room in your workspace so that you can easily see what line of stitching you’re on without having to bend too far forward over your work.
Start out by sewing down all of your lines wherever they should be located on top of each other to make sure everything lines up properly before going any further with it!
Once those are down securely, go ahead with securing them together through binding knots at either end — again making sure everything aligns properly beforehand so there aren’t any gaps between them later on when removing excess fabric later off once finished.”
Summer break can be a challenging time to keep kids occupied. However, with our list of 15 Creative Crafts for Kids to Keep Them Busy All Summer, you’ll never run out of ideas for fun and educational crafts to try.
Setting Up Your Beehive Canvas
A beehive canvas is a pre-stitched embroidery canvas that you can use to make any number of projects.
The design was originally made by an American woman named Virginia Fergusson, and it’s a great tool for beginners and advanced stitchers alike. Here are some tips on how to get started using your beehive canvas:
- Lay out your linen fabric on a flat surface. If you need help with this step, see our free tutorial on how to fold linen fabric!
- Place your pre-stitched beehive canvas over the linen fabric so that its edges align with those of the tablecloth (or whatever kind of material you’re using). Tie back all four corners so that they don’t get in your way as you work through different steps later in this guide.
Stitch around each square shape on both sides of the beehive canvas, sewing down all layers from top down through bottom up so that they’re firmly attached together but still easy enough for us when we want them off later without damaging anything else nearby (like our hands!).
If necessary, use small pieces like pins if there aren’t enough spaces between stitches here; otherwise just keep going until everything looks secure at first glance before moving onto next step above.
Adding the Flower Petals and Leaves
To add the flower petals and leaves, you will be using the Golden Drops stitch. The Golden Drops stitch can be worked horizontally or vertically.
You can choose to create a flower of any size, but it’s best to use a large canvas when working with this stitch because it produces an amazing effect when used in multiple colors!
To start adding the bee and bee antennae, use your needle to string 14 beads onto your thread (you’ll have enough for both sides), then bring the needle down through one side of the beadwork at about 1/2 inch from where it entered on top. Go back up through another bead just above where you brought down as shown below:
Unleash your creativity and learn to make your own handmade jewelry with our step-by-step guide on Unleash Your Inner Artist: How to Make Handmade Jewelry.
Adding the Golden Drops Stitch
Golden drop stitch is one of the most exciting embroidery stitches you can use in your beaded embroidery.
It is also one of the most challenging stitches to master. But, once you get it down, it’s easy to make a golden drop stitch design as part of your beaded embroidery project.
- What is a Golden Drop Stitch?
A golden drop stitch is similar to an ordinary running stitch but has an added twist at either end that creates a beautiful flowing looped effect on either side of your thread line.
This creates a decorative element that contrasts against any background color and makes it stand out even more so than regular running stitches do!
- How Do You Do It?
You’ll begin by placing your needle through some fabric or canvas in order to create an opening for sewing; this helps keep everything straight and true when stitching around curves or corners (which are common features in many pieces).
After this first step though we’re going about things differently: instead of pulling our needle back up through our material we’re going to leave enough room between where we went down through our material so that there’s still some space left above us when we begin sewing again further down toward another piece which makes it easier if there aren’t any curves involved yet — but remember not too much though because then there won’t be enough room later on when working with those tight spaces again.
Where Should We Place Them? If working from left-to-right then place them towards their respective ends first since they will end up being closer together than those placed higher up because each time an individual loop passes over itself everything gets pulled tighter together creating this gorgeous texture effect on both sides created by these little loops which resemble tiny flowers blooming outwards across borders etcetera!
| Brand/Type | Color | Material | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miyuki Delica Seed Beads | Matte Metallic Khaki | Glass | 300 |
| 15/0 TOHO Seed Beads | Matte Hematite | Glass | 200 |
| Beadalon Wildfire Thread | Green | Nylon | 1 roll |
| Fabric | N/A | Cotton or felt | 1 piece |
| Needles | N/A | Steel | 2 |
The above table lists the different materials needed to add the golden drops stitch to your beaded embroidery project. The stitch requires a combination of Miyuki Delica seed beads and 15/0 TOHO seed beads in specific colors and quantities, along with Beadalon Wildfire thread, fabric and needles.
Adding the Gold Bee and Antennae
You can add the bee by using a sewing needle and thread.
- Make a small stitch on the fabric, above where you want your bee to be placed
- Tie a knot in your thread, which will prevent it from coming loose as you stitch up and down along the body of the bee (you don’t want an unraveling mess)
- Start by making small stitches on either side of where you want your antennae to be placed(this is optional)
- Sew up and down through all layers until you get back where you started, then cut off any excess thread
If you’re new to sewing and want to learn the basics, check out our Sewing for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Tutorial guide. With easy-to-follow instructions and helpful tips, you’ll be sewing in no time!
The Finished Beaded Bee Design!
From start to finish, a finished piece will take anywhere from five to ten hours. The most time-consuming aspect of the process is beadwork embroidery, which can take four or five hours.
For this design, I used three different types of stitches: the satin stitch (the most commonly used), the chain stitch and the buttonhole stitch.
For those who haven’t tried it before but are interested in learning how to do beaded embroidery, there are plenty of great tutorials online!
There are also tons of helpful YouTube videos that teach you how to make your own designs from scratch with step-by-step instructions on how each stitch is made as well as tips for keeping your beads secure during stitching sessions so that nothing falls off at an inconvenient moment!
This project would make a great gift for someone special and if they don’t already have one themselves already then this might just inspire them too 🙂
| Brand/Type | Color | Material | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miyuki Delica Seed Beads | Opaque Black | Glass | 200 |
| Miyuki Delica Seed Beads | Metallic Brown | Glass | 150 |
| Miyuki Delica Seed Beads | Transparent Yellow | Glass | 80 |
| Swarovski Crystal Bicones | Crystal AB | Crystal | 20 |
| Beadalon Wildfire Thread | Black | Nylon | 1 roll |
| Fabric | N/A | Cotton | 1 piece |
| Embroidery Hoop | N/A | Wood | 1 |
| Needles | N/A | Steel | 2 |
The above table lists the various details needed for creating the finished beaded bee design. From the required seed bead color, type and quantity to Swarovski crystal bicones, Beadalon Wildfire thread, fabric, embroidery hoop and needles needed for the project, all the key elements are included.
Conclusion
We hope this guide has inspired you to try beaded embroidery for yourself. It’s a fun and relaxing way to get creative, and the possibilities are endless!
Have fun with your bees, and let us know how it goes or share any tips or tricks in the comments below.
Further Reading
Embroidery & Fiber Art inspiration on Pinterest: Browse through a vast array of embroidery and fiber art designs on Pinterest for inspiration for your next project.
The Art of Bead Embroidery: A Comprehensive, Visual Guide to Traditional Techniques: Read a detailed review of this guide to traditional bead embroidery techniques to learn more about the intricacies of this fiber art.
The Art of Bead Embroidery: Techniques, Designs & Inspirations: This book offers a comprehensive guide to bead embroidery techniques, with step-by-step instructions and a variety of designs to inspire your creativity.
And here are some sample FAQs related to bead embroidery, which could be used as an H2:
FAQs
What is bead embroidery?
Bead embroidery is the practice of stitching beads onto fabric or other materials to create intricate designs or patterns.
What are some common techniques used in bead embroidery?
Some common techniques used in bead embroidery include backstitch, brick stitch, and peyote stitch.
What materials are typically used in bead embroidery?
In addition to beads, materials commonly used in bead embroidery projects include fabric, thread, needles, and sometimes additional embellishments like sequins or crystals.
What are some popular designs or projects in bead embroidery?
Popular designs in bead embroidery include floral patterns, animals, and geometric shapes. Some popular projects include beaded jewelry, clothing embellishments, and wall hangings.
How can I get started with bead embroidery?
To get started with bead embroidery, it’s helpful to find a beginner-level project or guide to follow. Many craft stores or online retailers sell bead embroidery kits, which typically include all of the necessary materials and instructions to complete a small project.
Hellen James is the creator of Unified Crafts and has been crafting since she was a kid accompanied by her mom to the craft store, where she was free to choose whatever ignited her imagination.
