Category Archives: seed beads

A Tiny Setback!

A Tiny Setback!
A Tiny Setback!

This morning, my newly organized bead box fell off the couch (where I shouldn’t have left it!) Luckily, only one box of pink beads exploded on impact! They had quite the trajectory. It reminded me of CSI (craft scene investigation!) Eighteen minutes was the time it took to contain the area!

More Beadpoint on Windowscreen

More Beadpoint on Windowscreen
More Beadpoint on Windowscreen

I used a single strand of black, cotton, DMC embroidery thread, waxed, this time. It worked better than the Nymo beading thread. I stitched through each bead twice, and I stitched across each opening, diagonally. That way, these #10 seed beads ‘sit IN the mesh, instead of on top of it. These little double hearts also came from a larger design offered by the Cross-stitchers’ Club.

C’est Fini!

C’est Fini!
C’est Fini!


I finished this piece of silk ribbon embroidery by adding tiny seed beads to the centers of the flowers instead of French knots. Here are a few lessons I learned while working on this practice piece:

Nancy Eha’s tip about sewing beads straight up and down through the fabric (90 degree angle) is a good one. It makes the beads, “sit on edge.”

Sewing through each bead twice for extra security is another of her good tips.

A number 9 “between” needle will fit through the tiny opening in a seed bead.

Long braided collapsible eye beading needles ARE NOT good for sewing beads to fabric. They are good for threading the tiny eye of a tiny #9 between needle.

YLI’s gold metallic thread does not shred and unravel like DMC.

I need something more than my finger to hold the “curl” of silk ribbon. I think a pencil or similar sized crochet hook might work well.

I got my pattern from this book, and if I had to give up all my craft books except one, this would be the one I’d keep:

Cross stitching with beads on waste canvas

Cross stitching with beads on waste canvas
Cross stitching with beads on waste canvas

This didn’t scan too well, either, but I’m pretty pleased with it. I tacked a piece of waste canvas on this scrap of what looks like dupioni silk. Then I followed a cross stitch pattern with seed beads. The fabric is actually an antique gold, and I didn’t have much of a selection of bead colors, so it looks like Christmas. I enjoyed the stitching and pulling the threads out of the waste canvas, too. I’ll be trying this on velveteen, soon.