Comments (4) The new fall issue of A Needle Pulling Thread magazine features an article about me, as well as a tutorial for a bead embroidered pin called Autumn Swirl. The article looks great, there’s even a photo of a model wearing my pin!
Since our big move last year, I joined several art guilds here in St. Thomas (Ontario). The guilds have one or more art show every year, and I wanted to have something more substantial than my jewelry to display. So I came up with a way to make a bead embroidery piece for wall display. Here is the piece I came up with:
I started with this luscious batik fabric which I thought would be perfect for an underwater piece, along with an 11×14-inch stretched canvas.
First, I applied some Pellon fusible web to the back of the fabric, to give it body for stitching.
I placed the canvas on the fabric, drew a chalk line around it.. Then I basted along the line, so that I’ll know where the edges of the canvas are going to be.
I then drew some simple fish, freehand, with a chalk pencil. This is still rough and subject to change.
Now I went through my stash and pulled out some beads that I thought would fit in with the goldfish and undersea theme.
Using the back stitch, I stitched the outline of the fish with orange seed beads, and some red ones for the whimsical mouth. I also added the eye, which is a faceted fire-polish bead, flanked by two orange seed beads.
Still using the back stitch, I filled in the two fish with orange and white beads. Also, instead of the third fish, I decided to make a few smaller fish. You can decide whether they are full-size fish in the distance, or babies up close.
I added strings of white beads to outline the fins, so that they look transparent.
I added a bit of greenery, using both the back stitch and the stack stitch.
I also added a few shiny sequins, affixed with small seed beads using the stack stitch.
Finally, I stretched the piece around the canvas and stapled it on the back.
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.
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.
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.
I have been having a great time the last few weeks painting and embroidering pins shaped like shoes, hats and purses. I will soon be adding some of these to my Etsy shop. In addition, the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto will be carrying some of my shoe pins in their gift shop.
You can see a slide show below, or see the photos in my Flickr album.
Robin Atkins’ first bead embroidery book, One Bead at a Time, is now out of print, so Robin has made it available as a free ebook download. This is a wonderful book for beginners, and highlights the author’s improvisational style of bead embroidery.
That’s the title of a new ebook by my friend Cyndi Lavin. The first chapter is now available for free on Cyndi’s web site. The books begins with step-by-step descriptions of basic bead embroidery stitches, and continues with a lovely medallion project.
The techniques are illustrated by step-by-step photos. Although I usually prefer diagrams, the photos illustrate the steps very clearly. If you have any interest in bead embroidery, check it out!
Here is my latest work. I made it as part of the Toronto Bead Society 2010 Bag of Beads Challenge.
The centerpiece is a square of bead embroidery using the items in the bead challenge. I extended the design using acrylic paint on the black wood frame. You can see what other artists did on the TBS Bag of Beads Challenge Gallery.
Here is my latest mixed media piece. the centerpiece is polymer clay, and is surrounded by bead embroidery. The frame is sponge painted with matching colours, red, black, and gold.
Here is a close-up of the centerpiece:
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