I’ve been doing a lot of bead embroidery these days so here are some tips for those of you who’d like to do more bead embellishment on your quilts but might be intimidated by all those pesky supplies you have to go out and buy.
Conventional beader’s wisdom say that you should always match your beading thread to your beads. That’s nice in theory and works well when you’re stitching down a lot of beads that are the same color.
However, if you’re anything like me, you can’t resist those yummy bead soup mixes. How do you match your thread to that? Are you really supposed to buy thread to match all the hues in your bead box? Even worse, imagine switching your needle and thread with each and every bead you stitch down!
Smile, beading is supposed to be a stress-reducer, not a stress-inducer. Here are some easy things you can do to save both your sanity and your wallet:
- Buy your beading thread in a few versatile neutrals such as gray for medium to dark beads and cream for light beads.
- If you’re a hand quilter (or even if you’re not), hand quilting thread is strong and works great for sewing beads onto quilts.
- Try matching (or blending, it doesn’t have to be exact) your thread to the background fabric instead.
- Go wild and use contrasting thread as a design element.
Whatever you do, have fun and just bead it!
More bead embellishment tips here ~ Tip Tuesday: Just Bead It! Sep. 22, 2009
Love your African inspired beadwork; and you are right, it does look a bit intimidating.-)
Thanks! It might look intimidating, but if you just take it one bead at a time (like walking or hand-quilting) you’d be amazed at what you can do!