Experimenting with making my own beads and embellishments turned out to be a lot of fun!
Making stitched beads and buttons was part of my C&G course. I'd already tried out Dorset buttons, and some embroidered covered buttons, so now I had to research a bit more and find something a bit different.
Wrapped Fabric Beads
One of the first types of beads I came across was lovely and simple to make. To make these you simple take a small piece of fabric and scrunch it up. Next you get some thread and wrap it around the fabric in random directions, until you have a nice ball shape. Here I used a space dyed thread with a plain navy fabric. The possibilities are endless with different threads and fabrics, and whether or not there is any fabric showing through.
Thread Wrapped Wire
Another simple one I came across was to wrap a length of cake wire with thread. Once this was done I wrapped it around a pencil to make a tight coil. This is quite therapeutic to make with all the wrapping. I like the idea of making more in future, maybe adding in some beads to decorate the coil.
Felt Beads
Before starting my course, I had never worked with felting before. I had had a go at making some felt earlier in the course and discovered that I really enjoy working with it. The feel of it is amazing, although wet felting does give you a good arm workout!
I found out that you could make beads out of felt, so I was keen to have a go. You only need some wool tops and hot water, and simply roll into a ball. A nice one to do in front of your favourite film! Once you have the balls in the shape you want them to be, just leave to dry.
Once the balls were dry, I used some of my space dyed thread and some seed beads to do some pretty stitching on them. I love stitching into felt, so they were a joy to make.
Tandletons
I have two books by Christen Brown and they are both lovely. 'Embroidered & Embellished' is split into four sections: Traditional Embroidery; Silk Ribbon Embroidery; Raised and Textured Embroidery; and Bead Embroidery. The second one 'Beaded Embroidery Stitching' is just that, lots of ways to incorporate beads into your stitching. One thing that is included in both books (in different ways) is what she has named 'tandletons'.
These are made with a length of silk ribbon and some stuffing. Once the ball is made, they can be decorated in so many ways, with or without beads. I'm not sure what I would use them for, but I'm sure I'll find an excuse to make some more in future!
After beads, it was time to move on to another assessment piece: a large embroidered wallhanging. Read about it here: Stumpwork Wallhanging (claireharveyembroidery.com)