Sunday, January 24, 2010

All Beads Are Not Alike



Before I started this project, I thought of beads as items that are attached to needlepoint a few at a time, preferably with a doubled strand of silk (for strength).  Judy Harper uses beads on her canvases as accents, to bring sparkle or a bit of shine to her designs.  Her way of working is similar to the way I've used beads in the past.  You can read about Judy's use of beads on her blog.  This entry is a good explanation of how she works.
http://fairy-crafts.blogspot.com/2009/11/beads-on-jeweled-bracelet.html

But like anything else in needlework (or in Life), there are many ways to go about beading.  I decided it was time to take a serious look at the beads themselves.  With the help of Nandra at Sundance Designs and Pat in North Carolina, and a few visits to bead sources in my area, I collected a ton of clear beads to examine.  What you see in the photo above are beads from Sundance, from Tojo, from Mill Hill, from SJ Designs, from Miyuki and from unnamed sources.  Each is different.  Some are larger than others; some have different finishes; some are different shapes.

Generally speaking, beads come in frosted, regular, or iridescent finishes.  Beads also come in various shapes such as faceted hex beads, square cubes, oval drop beads with holes near one end, round glass beads, or column shaped beads that are rounded cylinders like a cut up length of spaghetti.  They also can have their holes lined with paint, sometimes with silver and sometimes with gold (the gold lined ones seem to be called Gilt Lined).

I knew I wanted clear beads that would allow the painted canvas below to show and also that would allow the threads they were attached with to show.  That removed frosted beads and beads whose holes were lined from the equation.  Since I'm working on size 18 NP canvas, I knew I wanted beads that were size 11 or the smaller size 14.  So I tossed out all the beads that didn't meet my criteria and ended up with three contenders.

Here they are, with a photograph and then the description of each below.



Sundance hex beads #250 (size 14) with an iridescent finish -  The 250 beads are very sparkly because they are six sided and the sides act as facets, reflecting the light from the iridescent coating.  An area stitched with them looks a bit like candied fruit.  If you haven't seen sugar-coated citrus slices, or coated grapes with egg white, rolled them in a dish of sugar and then frozen them, here is a link-
http://www.mattplappert.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/fruit2.jpg




Sundance round beads #160 (size 11) -  These are completely clear glass beads that are round.   An area stitched with these looks like it is covered in a coating of ice.




Miyuki Delica beads #4054 (size 11) with a slight iridescent finish - These are not as iridescent or sparkly as the Sundance #250 beads, probably because they are cylinder-shaped without facets.  Their shine is intermediate between the two other bead types.  An area stitched with them looks icy but reflects the light more than the Sundance 160s.

I decided using the Sundance #160 beads (the round glass ones) would give me the look I wanted but I probably will also use a few Miyuki #4054 beads on the dog tags and belt buckle to give that area a bit of a special shine.

If you are interested in seeing more bead colors and finishes, explore Sundance Designs' website.  First, head to the link below.  Then using the drop down menu header, choose Beads as the "Product Type."  The clear 160 beads in size 11 I'm using are at the bottom of the first page.  Click on any photo to see a larger image and the list of sizes that color is available in.
http://www.sundancedesignsonline.com/catalog.php

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

12 comments:

NCPat said...

Great explanations and photos! You have the patience of a saint!

Front Range Stitcher said...

Hi Jane, I am a total novice when it comes to beads and have always wondered why the difference in pricing, why so many name brands, just what beads are all about, etc. This helps. The only general observation I've made about beads is the inconsistency of the size of the hole. Interesting. As always, thanks for the info!

Beth in IL said...

I look forward to seeing how you will use all those beads! I didn't realize they varied so much.

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

I didn't realize they varied so much, either, Beth. And this is just the colorless beads! Imagine the variety when you toss in color.

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

Madonna, I can already tell you the Sundance beads vary a lot less than Mill Hill beads do. Beads are not all alike but Sundance ones are more alike than other brands.

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

Pat, when I'm curious I can be very patient. Otherwise, not so much!

Anonymous said...

Jane

Loved the explanation about the beads. Looking forward to watching the beading. I have the Tony Project kitted so I think I will try to keep up with you when you start stitching project #2. Thanks again for the bead pics and explanation

Sue VanderNoor

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

it'll be nice to have someone else working on this, Sue. I've already done some border, the four corners and some of the sashing, so get busy!

MNStitcher said...

I am thinking you have a typo in your bead names - the one beads are probably Toho - my local bead shop carries them - they are great because the size is more uniform and they can be bought at really wholesale prices (for everyone) for larger quantities (when 1 or 2 small packages won't work).

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

MN, the photos don't show any Toho beads. I have some Toho beads in my stash and the packaging is similar but none of my sources for Toho beads had clear ones, just white. But they make very good size 11 beads for NP.

Anonymous said...

Millenium

Oh, Jane

You are a stitching Queen. You are ahead of me but I will get busy and try to catch up. Thanks for the updates about plies and etc. Very helpful. The tap pants look great and I never would have thought of beads but it works and I will be thinking about beads more

Sue VanderNoor


T

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

Sue, I never would have thought to bead a canvas all over either. The stitching genius is SharonG!