Beadwork Technique for Beginners

There are many types of applied art, in particular embroidery. The most spectacular of them can be called embroidery with beads. How to embroider? For beginners, this is a very important question, the answer to which can be found in the article.

By embroidering with beads, anyone can make a picture with their own hands without art education. In addition, such embroidery will decorate your favorite handbag, an old T-shirt or a classic dress. And products with the right color scheme and bead composition can compete in beauty with some jewelry. Beadwork began in the mid-17th century, when it became possible to produce beads. Before that, for many centuries, the clothing of noble people was decorated with embroidery with pearl beads, and since the technique used was the same as for beads, we can consider it the ancestor of bead embroidery. Do-it-yourself icons look especially beautiful and expensive. Beginners should not be afraid of embroidery with beads, since it is so simple that even a child can cope with it. This will allow you to have a good time creating a masterpiece with your children.

Embroidery technique

There are many different techniques for embroidery with beads, for beginners we will consider the most common: solid and free. Let's consider them in more detail.

Continuous beadwork consists in uniformly filling the entire area with beads. As a rule, these are paintings or continuous applications. A feature of this type of embroidery is that each row is completely stitched, regardless of the color of the beads, and each bead is sewn separately.

Free embroidery differs significantly from the previous view. Here, the filling of the base is not complete, but partial, the beads can be sewn several pieces at a time, and the elements are filled not in strict rows, but in random order. Free embroidery encourages the use of beads of various shapes and sizes, as well as beads, rhinestones, sequins and other decorations, and stems and leaves can be embroidered with simple floss threads without using beads. This beadwork is more suitable for beginners, as it does not require special skills and proven equipment.

Materials

Before you start creating beadwork, you need to prepare materials such as:

1. The foundation. For different types of embroidery, it is necessary to select the appropriate basis. For example, it is better to embroider paintings on a dense canvas, however, when buying it, you must consider that the density of this material directly affects the final result. If the holes on it are too large, then when using small beads the product will turn out untidy, gaps and threads will be visible between the beads. If you use large beads for canvas with small holes, then it will be very difficult to sew them, the finished product will tinker and look extremely unaesthetic. To choose the right canvas, you need to attach beads to it, which will later be embroidered. Beads should not fall into the holes, and placed on the end in adjacent holes should be in contact with the walls, but at the same time not go beyond the boundaries of the cell. Only in this case can a smooth and beautiful canvas be obtained. Another option for the base is a loose canvas and base fabric. This option is suitable for beginners for embroidery with beads on clothes. The canvas in this case, unlike the previous one, should have enough free weaving so that it can be easily removed from the finished product by pulling the threads from the ends, but with small holes, so as not to violate the integrity of the pattern. Any material is suitable for free embroidery. However, it is worth remembering that the beads are quite heavy, so thin tissue can be deformed in the embroidery area. In such cases, it is necessary to use an additional layer of material, such as cotton, to strengthen the place. where will the embroidery be located.
2. Beads. Before starting work, it is necessary to prepare beads in sufficient volume for the entire product. In the case of continuous embroidery with a canvas, it is better to choose beads of the same size, dyeing method and shape. If it implies the presence of larger or smaller beads, then it is better to choose them in the same style as the main material. In addition, you can diversify embroidery using different types of dyeing beads. For example, transparent beads painted only from the inside are great for simulating water, dew and snow, however, flowers from such beads will turn out to be less realistic than from full-colored beads. For embroidery of needles, grass and other straight lines, you can use bugles, however, for embroidery with a canvas, it is still undesirable for beginners to use it, as this requires additional calculations and skills. But in free embroidery, it will help not only to diversify the product, but also significantly reduce time.
3. Needles. Depending on your preferences, you can choose short or long, but they must be beaded. The main difference between such needles and standard ones is the almost complete absence of expansion from the tip to the eye. The number of bead needles, like the beads themselves, is inversely proportional to the thickness, that is, the larger the number, the finer the needle and the finer the beads. In order to correctly choose the size of the needle, it must be remembered that in addition to it, a thread of 2-4 addition must pass into the hole of the bead. One of the drawbacks of bead needles is that they easily bend and break, so you need to pre-pierce the thick base fabric with a thicker needle, and also prepare several spare needles of the same size as the working one before starting work.
4. Threads. Not only the final result, but also the comfort when creating a picture depends on what threads the work will be done. For embroidery with beads, the thread must be thin, but durable. You should not use cotton threads or fishing line, in the first case it will tear, which will significantly complicate the work, and in the second - the finished product will turn out to be tough and inhomogeneous, since this material will not allow the beads to be sewn close enough to each other, as well as tight to the fabric the basics. It is better to choose a synthetic or thin nylon thread.
5. Hoop. It is impossible to embroider with beads without this tool, you should carefully consider their choice. Their size should correspond to the size of the finished product, since moving a small hoop, as in classical embroidery with threads, tightly fixing them to the fabric and without damaging the finished areas, is practically impossible. In addition, it is better to use wood, as they better fix the fabric with the desired tension.
6. Scheme. To create free embroidery, you can use ready-made schemes, freehand sketches or any pictures from the Internet. It is very convenient for these purposes to use blanks for coloring. For continuous embroidery, such as paintings or appliqués, you can also use ready-made patterns and purchased embroidery kits. And you can make a bead picture from your favorite image. For this, it is necessary, for example, using Photoshop or online retouching, to make focus pixelation in filters. Thus, any image can be converted into a circuit, and by changing the pixel size, increase or decrease the size of the canvas. However, it is worth remembering that with a large pixel size, the image will be less clear relative to the photo. For beginners, embroidery with beads should start with small images.
   
7. Scissors. It is very convenient to use manicure scissors with sharp ends. If necessary, they can spoil the failed areas of embroidery.

Types of seams

When the embroidery technique is chosen and materials are prepared, it is worth deciding how to sew the beads to the base. There are many types of seams for bead embroidery, but each needlewoman has her favorite seam with which she embroiders her works. It is difficult to say which seam is better, therefore, we will consider several simple options for beginners of embroidery with beads step by step, having tried each of them on a separate section of the main fabric, it will already be possible to choose the most convenient for a particular person.

Seams for continuous embroidery

To create panels, paintings or continuous applications, it is very important that the beads are located as close to each other as possible in vertical and horizontal rows. The closer the beads are located, the more visible will be the pattern on the finished product. The main types of seams for such embroidery are half cross and oncoming.

Half cross

The main type of seam for embroidery with beads, for beginners it will be quite simple to master this technique, especially if they are already familiar with cross-stitch. This type of seam is similar to it, but without reverse stitching. At the same time, the beads are located on the crossing of the canvas threads. It is necessary to tie a knot on the thread, pass through the hole in the canvas, put a bead on the needle, and then bring the thread back to the wrong side diagonally through crossed base lines. After that, the needle must again be brought to the front side, throwing the thread from top to bottom. Thus, on the front side, all stitches with beads in a row will be located diagonally, and on the wrong side, with columns perpendicular to the row.

Counter seam

This type of seam on the front side is similar to the previous one, however, from the wrong side, the stitches are parallel to the row. For beginners, bead embroidery in this technique may seem more complicated, since it is necessary to alternate the direction of movement of the needle.

Bring the thread to the front side, put a bead on it, throw the thread through the crossed warp threads to the right up, then pull the needle through the adjacent hole, shifting it to the right. The next bead will be sewn left down, and you need to bring the needle to the front side again to the right.

Stitches for free embroidery

In this type of embroidery, beads can be sewn in absolutely any way. For beginners, beadwork, step by step, consider the most common of them.

"Forward the needle"

One of the easiest ways to sew on beads is to bring the thread to the front side, put a bead on the needle and return the thread to the wrong side through the same hole. Step back a distance of 1 bead or more, repeat the previous steps.

"Back needle"

This seam is suitable for things that will be actively used, for example, when decorating clothes. Unlike the first option, the beads on the base will hold better, and the pattern will not be deformed.

Bring the needle to the front side, put a bead on it, bring the thread to the wrong side to the right, stepping back a distance of one bead. Again, bring the thread to the front side to the left, stepping back two beads, put the beads on the needle and bring the thread to the wrong side to the right through the same hole through which the previous bead was sewn. Thus, the seam line is continuous. This type is suitable for the formation of contours and stems, as well as any thin lines.

"Arched"

This technique takes much less time, since there is no need to sew each bead separately, so for beginners, embroidery with beads can be an ideal option. In this case, the first bead is sewn with a “back to the needle” stitch, then 2 beads are strung on the thread, and the “back with the needle” stitch is made on the second bead. Thus, every second bead will not be sewn to the base. Depending on the scheme, free-hanging beads can be either one, or two or three. A larger amount is not worth doing, since in this case the pattern will be deformed.

Stitched

Another one of the quick seams. In this case, you need two threads with a needle. String the required amount of beads on the main thread, then apply to the warp fabric according to the picture, after which sew the warp thread to the fabric through an equal number of beads with a working thread. Verify the result with the photo. For beginners, embroidery with beads step by step to repeat this seam is not difficult. In this case, it is also not worth making gaps of more than three beads.

Beadwork develops perseverance, develops fine motor skills, sewing skills, attentiveness, coordination, which has a beneficial effect not only on children but also on adults. If you present a picture embroidered with beads with your own hands, then for a long time it will remind of the master and convey the love that was invested in the manufacture.