Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned bead collector you know the allure and attraction of beads. They are colorful, shiny, tactile, and much easier to store than fabric.
If you already have a large collection (I could open my own shop I have so many!) I encourage you to use what you have, especially as you learn techniques. If you are ready to buy beads for the first time or you are working on a project that you hope lasts for years, please buy the best beads you can afford.
Let's go through a little bead primer, including some basic information about beads as well as some recommendations.
All About The Beads
HISTORY Beads have been around for thousands of years but the tiny glass seed beads we use today were pioneered in Italy in the 15th century. Venice was the center of the glass blowing world until around 1290, out of fear for burning down a city on water, when whole factories were moved to the island of Murano. Here, the techniques of bead making through glass blowing or winding were perfected and kept top secret for years. When demand rose high enough due to world trade in the late 15th century the process of conterie, mass production of seed beads, was developed.
"In the drawn glass process, the glassmaker formed a cylinder of molten glass and attached it to a rod. While the glass was hot, an assistant would take the end of the rod and run down a corridor with it, stretching it to as long as 120 meters before it cooled. The glass tube was cut into meter lengths and those were then cut into tiny glass beads which were turned and polished in a metal drum." (Thank you Fire Mountain Gems for an amazing article.)
Soon enough, demand was so high that the glass tubes were shipped off to what is now the Czech Republic to be finished off. Eventually Bohemian glass masters were traveling, learning, doing a lot of product research, and producing beads that are, to this day, some of the best in the world.
Japanese seed beed manufacture did not truly begin until the late 19th century and the current industry has a relatively short history. Matsuno (1935), Miyuki (1949) and Toho (1951) are relative newcomers to the game but their use of innovative technology has combined art and science to create some of the highest quality beads available today.
SIZE Standard seed beads are size 11 and are usually 1.8mm. The bigger you go on the bead, the smaller the number. A size 6 seed bead is 3.3 millimeters. The smallest beads I've used are size 15 (1.5mm) - teeny tiny. Rocailles (derived from the french word meaning pebble or rock) are round, a Delica is a cylindrical tube. Delicas are usually used for bead weaving and Rocailles are more often used for bead embroidery, which is what we are doing in this course. You may use whatever will work for you. Bugle beads are long thin cut tubes. I especially like the sparkly, light-catching twisted bugle beads.
COLOR Some beads are dyed rather than having the color be a molecular part of the glass they are made with. A quality brand will tell you on the label if some of the bead color you are purchasing is dyed. There are a few colors - purple, for instance, that are almost impossible to create in glass so dye is the next best option.
UNIFORMITY It can be incredibly frustrating to load a bunch of beads on your needle only to have one bead half way down the line be too small to go over the needle. Good quality beads will be uniformly shaped with a nice even hole right through the middle. Lower quality beads might be more wobbly than round and you will find that not all their holes are created equally. Some are too small, many are off center. This will cause your beads to look a little wonky when they are all lined up in a row. That being said, tiny beads really are small enough that most people aren't going to notice something like a little mild wonkiness in a line of beads.
QUALITY Czech beads, with their long history, are considered very hiqh quality and usually have holes plenty large enough for bead embroidery's multiple thread passes. They are, however, often not quite as uniform as and precise as Japanese beads. Mass produced seed beads from China or India have a long way to go before they can match the quality of Czeck or Japanese beads. Most of the beads you will find at craft and hobby stores are from China or India. I'm not saying don't use them. I just want you to be aware that holes might not be centered or consistent and colors might rub off or fade. My favorite brand of beads is Miyuki.
If you are unsure of the quality of the beads you would like to use TEST FIRST. Simply sew a few beads to a bit of white cloth and wash and/or dry clean them. Rub them under hot water to see if the color runs off on the white cloth. Set them in the hot sun on a windowsill to see if light will fade the color. Be as mean as you can to the bead in anticipation of anything that might happen to the work you create. If nothing happens, no worries - you are good to go. If the beads don't hold up well, simply save them for practice or jewelry making and don't use them for your heirloom projects.
A Little About All The Other Stuff
CABOCHONS A cabochon is a polished, unfaceted gem or stone with a flat back. Officially, it does not have a hole. The word is of french derivation meaning "knob" or "small dome." If it had a hole they would call it a bead. For the purposes of this class you can use any flat round thing (such as a button with no shank) to learn the beaded bezel technique taught here. Once you learn the basic technique you can use it to attach a wide variety of flat-ish things to the surface of your cloth or quilt.
WORKSPACE When I am working at a table I love to spread my beads out in front of me onto a piece of flannel or craft felt. This way I can see what I have but the beads don't roll away or bounce all over the place. A piece of suede or a piece of batting (flat enough that the beads won't sink into the fibers and disappear) will do just as well. Search around and see what you've got laying about.
If you prefer to keep your beads in containers as you work they need to be shallow enough that you can get your needle and hands down into it. You need to be able to scoop up your beads with the needle and it is often helpful to have an edge close to hold the bead in place as you poke it. I absolutely love the triangular shaped containers made for beads. The flat side makes a great "vacuum" for when I need to gather beads I've spilled onto the table (happens all the time!) and the corners funnel beads back into tubes or tiny bags with ease.
My favorite container is an Altoids candy tin. I bead because it is portable and I have no patience for simply sitting and watching things with idle hands. When I am out and about and beading I need a container with a lid. An Altoid tin is shallow enough to work with, the lid holds the beads in, and it is just large enough to hold my needles, bobbins of thread, and my little folding scissors.
THREAD I encourage you to use a beading thread rather than regular sewing thread. It is much less likely to break or cut on the edge of a glass bugle bead. Nymo and C-lon are both nylon filament threads that come on bobbins are are available in many different weights and colors. They provide flexibility and strength that will help you avoid any bead falling off disasters. AA is the thinnest size and has a breaking strength of about 4 pounds. D is quite a bit thicker and has a breaking strength of 7 pounds. Nymo also has a very fine 00 size thread that I use often when I am using size 15 beads.
Silamide is a high quality twisted beading thread that comes both on large spools and on cards. The only reason I use the bobbins rather than the Silamide is that the cards don't fit well into the travel tins I use most of the time I'm beading. It is also just a bit harder to pass through my favorite needles.
NEEDLES My favorite needles for bead embroidery are Straw appliqué needles, size 11. The Straw is longer than your typical appliqué needle which allows me to hold the needle with two fingers and still have room to slide a line of beads up with a third finger. There is such a thing as beading needles but they are so long and thin that I bend them in half with my first stitch. They are intended for use in bead stringing and jewelry making.
OTHER STUFF Use a thread conditioner such as beeswax if you like it. My techniques tend to keep my thread from fraying or twisting too much so I don't bother with them.
Use a thimble if you are comfortable with them. When I am having difficulty getting my needle through thick cloth I often use a rubber finger from an office supply store. Secretaries and bank tellers use them for quickly going through a stack of paper. I'll put it on the finger I am pulling the needle with to get a better grip on the metal. I recommend using whatever you find to be comfortable for you!
In this course I will show you how to use E-600 glue to secure a cabochon or to use Jewel-It or Gem-Tac to "cheat" and just adhere your beads without sewing.
In the next section of this lesson I will list recommended manufacturers and suppliers .
