Download - BEADWORK - nationalbeadingweek.co.uk · BEADWORK Beadwork is the art or craft of stitching beads together to create a self-supporting fabric. It is often used for making jewellery,

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BEADWORKBeadworkistheartorcraftofstitchingbeadstogethertocreateaself-supportingfabric.Itisoftenusedformakingjewellery,butalsohasmanyotheruses.Forexample,beadworkmaybeusedtocreateornaments,pursesorpictures,andasembellishmentonmanyfunctionalordecorativeitems,includingclothingandothertextiles.Thebeadsusedinbeadworkareusuallymadeofglass,buttheycanalsobemadefromothermaterials.Hereareafewpointsaboutmaterials,somebasictechniquesandafewtipstomakeyourbeadinggoassmoothlyaspossible.MATERIALSBeads1.Glassbeads:therearetwomainshapesofglassbeadusedinbeadwork.Thefirstiscalledaseedbeadanditisroundedwithaprofilelikeaminidoughnut.Seedbeadscomeinawiderangeofsizes,fromtinysize15suptowhoppingsize6s.Thesecondshapeiscalledacylinderbeadandthenamedescribesitverywell.Imagineadrainpipethathasbeencutacrossatrightanglestothesidesandyou’llhavethepicture.ThebrandnamewearemostusedtointheUKiscalledaDelicaandismanufacturedbyJapanesecompanyMiyuki,butthereareothersonthemarket.Againthereisarangeofsizesavailable,themostfrequentlyusedbeingasize11bead.Theyarealsomadeassmallassize15andaslargeassize8,thelatteroftenbeingreferredtoasDoubleDelicas.Therearealsomanyothershapesofbeadavailableonthemarket.Somemaybeusedinterchangeablywithseedbeadsorcylinders(eghex,rounds,charlottes)whileothershavesuchadistinctshapethattheyareonlysuitableinparticularsituations(egdrops,bugles).2.BiconecrystalsandFirepolishedbeads:biconecrystalsareverypopularbecauseoftheirsparkle.Theycomeinagoodrangeofsizes,from3mmto8mm.(Therearelargercrystals,buttheyaremorelikelytobeusedasafeaturebeadratherthanasanintegralpartofthebeadwork.)Byreputation,theverybestcrystalsaremadeinAustria,butgoodqualitycrystalsarealsomadeintheCzechRepublicandChinaandtheyarenormallymoreeconomical.Firepolishedbeadsarealsoverysparkly,butaregenerallymoreroundedthanbiconecrystals.Theycomeinsimilarrangesofsizeandcolourandaregenerallyinterchangeableforcrystals.Astheyarealsousuallycheapertobuy,theymakeagoodchoiceforaprojectwhichrequiresalotofthem!3.Beadsmadeofothermaterials:othermaterialswhichcanbeusedtomakebeadsforuseinbeadworkincludepearls,plastic,woodandpolymerclay.



ThreadsBeadingthreadsarestrongbondednylonfibreswithaflatprofile.Thereareseveralbrandsavailable(includingNymo,C-Lon,One-G,KOandSono)andtheyallhavetheiradvocatesanddetractors,soitisbesttoexperimenttofindtheonewhichsuitsyoubest.Beadingthreadscomeinagoodrangeofcoloursmakingitrelativelyeasytomatchthemtothebeadsbeingused.NeedlesUnlikeordinarysewingneedles,beadingneedleshavealongthineyewhichisthesamediameterastheshaft.Thestandardbeadingneedleisasize10.Averyfineneedle(size12,13oreven15)isusefulwhereyouneedtogothoughabeadwhichispackedfullofthread.Beadingneedlescomeindifferentlengths–usewhicheveryoufindismostcomfortable.WorksurfaceAgoodworksurfaceisessentialtokeepyourbeadsinoneplace.Thebestsurfaceisafabricwithasmoothsurfaceandnowispythreadstogetcaughtupwithyourbeads.Rectanglesofafleece-typefabricaresoldasbeadingmats,butasmoothvelvetalsoworkswell.ScissorsScissorsmustbesharpwithfinetipssothatyoucanneatenoffthethreadsascloseaspossibletothebeadwork.ThreadprotectionThetraditionalwayofprotectingthethreadwhenbeadingistodrawitthroughablockofbeeswax.Beeswaxhastheeffectofstiffeningtheworksomewhat,soitisusefulifyourtensionisslackoryouwanttoachieveafirmstructure.Tohelpthethreadglidethroughthebeadsmoresmoothly,asiliconthreadconditionerisabetterchoice.ThebrandmostcommonlyavailableiscalledThreadHeaven.BeadingloomFormanypeople,theirfirstintroductiontobeadworkiswithabeadingloom.Warpthreadsaresetupontheloomandbeadsareaddedwiththeweftthreads.Thisproducesastraightlengthofbeadworkwhichcanbeusedformanyitemsofdress,jewelleryandaccessories.

BASICTECHNIQUESBeadingStitchesforbeadweavingwithaneedleAswithmanytextilecrafts,therearesomebasicstitchesfromwhicheverythingelseisdeveloped.TheyareSquare,Brick,Herringbone,LadderandPeyotestitches,RightAngleWeaveandNetting.Allthesestitchescanbeusedtomakeflatpiecesofbeadworkortheycanbeshapedintothree-dimensionalstructures.Therearealsoothertechniquesforcreatingbeadedropesandchains.Somestitchesproduceanopen,airystructure;othersproducedense,close-knitresults.Thenatureofthestitchwilldeterminesomeofthewaysinwhichtheyareused.InstructionsforallofthestitchesmentionedaboveareavailableasfreedownloadsfromtheIBWwebsite.AddingastopbeadA‘stop’beaddoesjustthat–stopsotherbeadsfallingoffthethread.Itisusefulwhenstartingthosestitcheswhichrequirelotsofbeadstobeaddedatthebeginning,egPeyoteorSquarestitches.



Chooseabeadwhichislargerthanandadifferentcolourfromthebeadsyouwillbeusing.Passtheneedlethroughitsothatthebeadisatleast20cms(8”)fromthethreadend.Holdingthebeadfirmlyinplace,passtheneedlethroughitagainbeingverycarefulnottosplitthethreadalreadythere.Repeatonceortwicemore.Pullonthebeadgentlytocheckthatitisheldsecurely.Removethestopbeadattheearliestpossibleopportunity.Thisisjustincaseyoudidsplitthethreadearlier–it’sbettertofindoutnowratherthanlaterwhenyouwillnotbeabletoremoveitforlovenormoney.Joininginanewthreadandfinishingofftheold.Stopusingtheworkingthreadwhenthereisstillapprox20cms(8”)remainingandbeforeitstartsgettingfrayed.Leaveitwhereitisfornowasapositionmarkerforthenewthread.Then,selectfrommethodsa,borcbelow:Methoda.Fordensebeadwork,wherethebeadsarecloselypacked,egPeyoteorSquarestitches,weavethethreadthroughthebeadwork,starting3-5cms(1”-2”)backfromtheedgeofthework.Makesuretochangedirectionseveraltimes–two‘U-turnsorcircles’istheminimumtolockthethreadin.Bringthenewthreadoutwhereyoulefttheoldone.Methodb.Foropenbeadwork,knotsarerequired.Starting3-5cms(1”-2”)backfromtheedgeofthework,passthenewthreadthroughseveralbeads,leavingashorttagofthreadjustlongenoughforyoutogetholdof(2cmsor1”issufficient).Passtheneedleunderthethreadinfrontofthebeadwhichyouhavejustgonethrough.Pullonthethreaduntilthereisasmallloop.Passtheneedlethroughthelooponceortwice.Holdontothetagofthreadasyoupullthemainlengthofthreadthroughtheloopgentlyandslowly.Aknotwillformonthethreadbetweenthebeads.(Gotoofastatyourperil–theknotislikelytoforminmid-airandyou’llhaveajobtogetitout.)Repeatthisprocesstwoorthreetimesandbringthenewthreadoutwhereyoulefttheoldone.Cutoffthetagofthreadclosetothework.Methodc.Thisthirdmethodcanbeusedforanybeadwork,thoughwewouldadviseagainstusingitinverydenseworkwithtinybeads–theknotwillpushthebeadworkoutofshapeandmightblockbeadholes,too.Laytheendofthenewthreadalongsidetheoldandtiethemtogetherinalooseoverhandknot.Usethepointofafirmneedleorpairoffinetweezerstoguidetheknotascloseaspossibletothebeadtheoldthreadiscomingfrom.Takethetwoendsofthreadgently(toavoidmovingtheknot)andpullthemapartfromeachothertotightentheknot.Weaveoneendintotheoldbeadwork(choosingtheappropriatemethodfromabove)andleavetheotherforthemoment.Thencontinuethebeadworkwiththenewthreaduntilyouhaveatleastanother5cms(2”)orso.Securetheremainingoldthreadintothenewbeadworkusingtheappropriatemethodfrom(a)or(b)aboveandcutitoffclosetothework.(Don’ttrygettingridoftheoldthreadintotheoldbeadwork–itwillbepackedwiththreadsorknots,possiblyboth!)



TIPSLengthofthreadtouseToolongathreadanditislikelytogettangledupandknotted;youwillwastetimeandenergyhavingtopullonittwoorthreetimestogetitthroughthebeads,anditwillgetbadlywornandfrayed.Tooshortathreadandyouneedtokeepstoppingtojoininanewone–between75cmand150cmisaboutright,dependantonthesizeofthepieceyouareworkingon.StretchingthethreadBeadingthreadcanbestretchy-pullonithardafewtimesbeforecuttingitfromthespooltogetsomeofthestretchoutofitandtosmoothoutthekinks.

TailthreadsThetailofthreadleftatthebeginningoftheworkshouldbeatleast20cms(8”)longtomakeiteasytoneatenofflater.Itisalsousefultohavesomethingtoholdonto,especiallywhenfirststartingapieceofwork.TwistedthreadIfthethreadstartstotwistasyoupullitthroughthebeads,lettheneedledropandrunyourfingersgentlydownthethreadsothattheneedlespinsfreelylikeaspinningtop–thistakesthetwistoutofthethread.ThreadinganeedleIfyoufindthatthethreadsplitsapartwhilethreadingitintotheneedle,gentlypullonthewispthathasgonethroughandtherestshouldfollow.NeedlesizesReserveyourfinestneedleforgettingthroughverytightspots-onceyouhavegotpasttheproblembead,switchbacktoyourstandardneedle.Thelargerneedlewithhelpyoutoidentifybeadswithpoorholes,whichyoucanthendiscard,andthefineneedlewilllastyoualotlonger.TensioncontrolHoldtheworkingthreadsteadyovertheindexfingerofyournon-dominanthandwhileyouwieldyourneedle,onlyreleasingthethreadoncethenewbeadisnearlyinplace.Thishelpstomaintainaneventensionandavoidsthethreadbeingsplit.MakeabeadingboardGlueyourfabricworksurfacedowntoaroundcakeboard(nocornerstocatchyourthread)andyoucanthenpickthewholethingupandtakeitwithyou.Somebeadersliketousealidorsmallpictureframelinedwiththeirchosenfabricbecausethisprovidesaliptotheirworksurfacetohelpconfinethebeads.