You may remember that I used a single ply of DMC cotton floss from the strand of six to attach the beads on the tap pants canvas. I stitched beads in place like they were tent stitches, going through each bead twice with my single thread.
For the bra, I tried another technique. This time I cut a much longer single ply of DMC cotton floss and doubled it in my beading needle. Then I took a tent stitch through my bead. I came up a second time in the original "up" hole and then put my needle down in the original "down" hole. I pulled the thread down but not all the way. I left about two inches on top of the canvas so I could carefully separate the two strands. Holding them apart with one hand and with a finger from that hand on the bead, I carefully pulled the thread down snug. This is called a lasso technique or a loop. You essentially tie the thread down and then put in a second stitch that has one leg of thread on each side of the bead. This makes a little framework around the bead. Beads are very wiggly things and you do want to secure them as much as possible.
When I looked at the two pieces, the tap pants have a few beads out of position. I'm not sure if that is because I stitched the tap pants first and hadn't realized it was best to work from the bottom of the design up on the diagonal yet, or if the way I secured the beads was better. It certainly took me longer to attached the beads on the bra but they do seem a little more secure.
I think it is worth it to experiment on your own with these two ways of adding beads. If I ever totally bead another large section of a painted canvas, I will probably use the loop technique, but it s very slow. Whatever technique you do, remember to snug the beads down tightly. We are used to have a somewhat looser tension in making tent stitches but when you are attaching beads, you have to pull tight so that there is no slack in the threads. Slack in the threads means the beads will wander.
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
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8 comments:
I usually do the lasso stitch on my beads, but have never thought about working from the bottom up....might have to try that! Thanks for the tip!
Pat, I found it easier to completely cover an area with beads working bottom up on the diagonal. See what you think....
I've always done the lasso stitch. I find it's more secure.
On my rather large piece I used what you call the lasso stitch and I call the railroad stitch. I worked generally from top to bottom in large blocks moving left to right. That way my right hand was never on top of any beads. I also knotted the thread down on the back after every 6th or 7th bead. I wanted that detailed design to stay exactly in place. And stay it did even after 20+ years. The word "overkill" comes to mind.
Sky, I suspect the lasso is more secure. It provides a framework for the bead to sit inside. But nothing corrals a wild bead for long!
Margaret, when it comes to beads, overkill is needed! They wiggle, they move around, they cut their threads. They are naughty things!
Another option is to use single strand but attach with a cross stitch. That tends to make the bead sit with its hole parallel to the horizontal canvas threads but having the second stitch through the bead helps keep it from wobbling.
There's a wonderful Rebecca Christmas piece that has a fairly large decorated Christmas tree in the center of the piece. I've seen that done entirely in beads. The stitcher strung beads in horizontal rows, matching the color of the bead to the color of the intersection. She then couched the row in several places so the beads would stay put. It's a framed piece so won't get wear, but I'm not sure it's a good option for a pillow or stocking. In any case, the effect is fabulous!
Gini, the Rebecca Wood Christmas tree all in couched rows of beads must look fantastic! I think your technique of attaching a bead with a cross stitch works exceptionally well for single beads scattered here and there on a canvas but Robin King used it for kitty faces done in beads so that each bead lined up perfectly to make the face.
http://needlepointstudyhall.blogspot.com/2010/01/bead-lesson-with-geography.html
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