Beading Artistry for Quilts by Thom Atkins

Author:Thom Atkins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: C&T Publishing
Published: 2013-10-04T04:00:00+00:00

2. Go through to the front, anchoring the thread.

3. Pick up 2 beads and take a shallow stitch (just deep enough to hold the bead in place) through the edge, from back to front.

4. With the needle, go back up through the second bead. This locks the second bead in place.

5. Move over the width of 1 bead from the center of the last bead, pick up another bead, and take another shallow stitch from back to front. Come back up through the bead just added and repeat.

6. When you have gone all the way around a piece, come back up through the first bead and continue to stitch through 2 or more beads to lock the first bead in place and secure the thread.

TIPS

There are several things to watch for when first starting. They all have to do with spacing.

• If the edge begins to look swaybacked, with the ends pulling in toward the center, the beads are too far apart and are being pulled together at the top.

• If the edge begins to look like a ruffle, the beads are too close together and are jostling each other for space on the edge. You must allow a bead width from the center of the last bead. Crushing beads (Chain-Nose Pliers, page 26) will not serve you well here.

• If the edge tilts toward the face or toward the back, you aren’t taking your stitches straight through, from back to front. If you take a smaller amount of the back edge and more of the front, it will pull the beads to the front. By the same token, if you take more of the back edge than the front, it will pull the row of beads to the back. It is important to keep the depth of the stitch consistent, especially if the thread color shows up against the fabric. This is where those of you who stitch beautifully and evenly will shine. My borders are frequently a bit untidy, but that is consistent with the organic, handmade quality of my pieces and the irregularity of the beads.

• Do not worry if it feels awkward at first. There is such a thing as muscle memory. You will develop a rhythm after you have completed a few inches, and your fingers will know what to do, leaving your mind free to wander or design further.

Variations on Single Picot

When I was just beginning to teach bead embroidery, a student came up to me in a class, complaining that she had done the single picot “all wrong” and that it “looked awful.” She showed me a row of beads lying parallel to the edge instead of perpendicular. I told her that it wasn’t what I had taught, and asked her to please show me what she had done as I liked the new variation she had just invented. She proceeded to do so and here is a single picot variation.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.