Bead embroidery is a rather laborious and painstaking work, but with due diligence, you can turn an ordinary thing into a real author's product. In addition, small beads make wonderful sparkling pictures, and if done correctly and carefully, you will get an original work of art.
Required tools and materials
Prepare everything you need before embroidering. You can embroider with beads on almost any fabric, but beginner needlewomen are advised to use canvas, a special fabric for counting embroidery. When making a canvas, the threads are intertwined in such a way that small holes are obtained at an equal distance from each other, which is very convenient when embroidering pictures with beads.
Prepare a pattern for embroidery. You can use a specially prepared one for working with beads or take a pattern for cross stitching. A drawing applied directly to the canvas will simplify the work.
Select shades of beads for embroidery according to the keys to the pattern. Place it on a piece of fabric and size it.
The needles for embroidery should be very thin with a small eyelet so that they can pass freely through the holes in the beads. In addition, you will need a rectangular embroidery hoop and special bead embroidery threads, which can be purchased at a specialized craft store. Such threads do not break or twist during operation, which will undoubtedly speed up the process.
Basic techniques of beadwork
Hoop the fabric. This will prevent distortion of the embroidery. Secure the thread to the right side of the fabric by making two or three small stitches in one place. It is more convenient to start embroidery from the lower right corner. String the first bead of the desired color and attach it to the fabric with a diagonal stitch, then bring the needle into the lower right hole on the right side of the canvas, string a bead again and attach it with a diagonal stitch. Sew all the beads to the end of the row in the same way, alternating their shades in accordance with the scheme.
In the next row, continue sewing on the beads, but work in the opposite direction. You can embroider large pieces of ornament of one color, and then start embroidering another fragment, but in this case it is quite easy to make a mistake, so beginners are advised to embroider their first work in rows.
When embroidering on fabric, use a line stitch when sewing on beads. In this method, there is also one bead for each stitch. Draw the needle from the wrong side between the first and second beads of the row. Then string the first bead and insert a needle in front of the first bead. Then bring the needle out from the wrong side between the second and third beads, string the second one and insert the needle from the front side to the wrong side between the first and second beads. Continue sewing in this manner to the end of the row.
