Bead Embroidery Stitches 1
One of the great things about bead embroidery is how easy is it to start. You can create beautiful pieces using only these two stitches.
Back Stitch
The back stitch is by far the most often used stitch in bead embroidery. You start by bringing your needle up through the fabric. String a few beads (five or more if you’re going in a straight line, less if you’re making a curve), and pull the beads close to the fabric surface. Bring down your needle through the fabric. Bring your needle back and up through the fabric between two of the beads, and take your needle through the remaining beads. You are now positioned for the next back stitch.
You can use the back stitch for stitching lines, straight or curves, and for filling an area with beads.
Stack Stitch
The stack stitch is very versatile. You can use two beads, one bigger and one smaller. Bring your needle up through the fabric and through the larger bead. Pick up the smaller bead, and then go back down through the larger bead and the fabric. I think of this as the French Knot of bead embroidery.
You can use the same technique for a whole stack of beads, or for fringe.
I’ll be referring to these stitches in my bead embroidery tutorials.
Themocracy
[...] the back stitch, I stitched the outline of the fish with orange seed beads, and some red ones for the whimsical [...]
I just popped by to participate in the class forum – Visual Hierarchy game and look at what I found! I am thrilled to have this tutorial for bead embroidery. I am in the middle of an embroidery for Diane that includes beads but I have no idea what I am doing! This is a huge help! Thank you.
Thanks Pam, this is the best feedback for a how-to post.