As the name implies, bead embroidery is the craft that involves adding beads as an embellishment to a fabric or material. The beads do not form a critical part of the structure of the project so you can be extra creative when the beads are sewn on. There are three fundamental methods of embroidering beads onto fabric:
- Individual – Beads are sewn on separately giving you very detailed control over the design you are creating.
- Multiple – Several beads are threaded onto the needle at once and then the line of beads is sewn onto the fabric. This enables the crafter to beads onto the fabric quickly and is an excellent way to build up the start f your design.
- Bead Strips – Lines of pre-threaded beads are laid onto the fabric and then stitched into place. This enables the crafter to quickly get a lot of beads onto a piece of fabric, but a design will be limited to the strips of beads that are available.
The craft of bead embroidery is practised all over the world and each technique has different names dependent upon where in the world it is done. In Europe techniques are known as Tambour and Luneville and are commonly used to embroider beads onto high quality dresses and accessories. In India bead embroidery is called Zari and Aari and can be identified by the beads being attached to the top of the fabric and a chain stitch is used to affix each bead to the fabric. To get the best results if you want to give bead embroidery a try, make sure the fabric is tightly stretched over a frame which will give you a good, tight, level surface for you to work on. It will also leave you with both hands free for embroidering, which can be helpful as the beads are small and the design soften very intricate.
Colouricious has a wonderful video about bead embroidering featuring Eliza McClelland who is an talented experienced British beader. You can learn some beading from her video below.To book Eliza to teach your group, you can contact her via her email address which is elizamcc@gmail.com
Bead embroidery is an excellent way to embellish block printed fabrics, highlighting the patterns and designs on the fabrics and making your designs stand out. You can see all of our printing blocks on our website.
We have had hours of creative fun block printing fabrics and then sewing beads onto the designs to embellish them. Very satisfying with gorgeous results. Choose your blocks from our ever expanding biggest selection in the universe!
Come to Kashmir
We are delighted that we have been able to organise a super trip to explore the traditional crafts of India in Kashmir. This is a fully escorted 13 day trip where we will explore the textile heritage of Kashmir as well as world famous the Hemis Festival.
The Hemis Monastery celebrates this event in the form of a 2-day festival. Its resident Lamas perform sacred masked dances leading to the destruction of the sacrificial offerings. Masks worn by the lamas represent various guardian divinities of the Dugpa order, of which Hemis is the leading establishment in Ladakh.
This 200 year-old tradition was introduced by a member of Ladakh’s ruling family who was reincarnated in the 18th century as the monastery’s Head Lama, “Sras Rimpoche”. The Hemis dances are a re-enactment of the magical feasts of Padmasambhava, in his services to the cause of Buddhism in his eight different manifestations.
During the tour you will get to see the crafts that have made Kahmir famous; carpet making and shawl making.
The Kashmir carpet industry is famous the world over. Kashmiri carpets are loved not only by the people of India but also by people in other countries. It is believed that the art of weaving Kashmiri carpets originated in Persia. Usually either silk or wool is used in making carpets. Sometimes a combination of silk and wool is used. Mercerized cotton is also sometimes used in making carpets. Mercerized cotton is a man-made fibre with sheen similar to that of silk. It is costlier than wool, but it is cheaper as compared to silk.
The base of these carpets is either made of cotton or silk. The ‘tree of life’ is a design that is very commonly found on Kashmiri carpets. Though the carpets made in Kashmir are expensive on account of their uniqueness and exquisite weaving, they are considered to be an investment.
Like Kashmiri carpets, shawls made in Kashmir are adored both in India and internationally. The Shahtoosh and Pashmina shawls made in Kashmir are world famous.
Shahtoosh shawls are made from the wool of the Tibetan antelope. These shawls are very light and soft. These shawls are extremely expensive because the wool used in making these shawls is scarce. The soft hair from the throat of the antelope is used for making these shawls. A few of these hairs fall off naturally when the antelopes graze. These hairs are collected and are then used in weaving shawls. Shahtoosh shawls may either be pure or mixed with Pashmina in order to reduce the cost. Shahtoosh shawls are so finely woven that the entire shawl can pass through a ring. It is for this reason that such shawls are known as ‘Ring shawls’. These shawls are usually not dyed and are used in their natural color i.e. light brown.
Pashmina shawls are made from the wool of the Kel sheep found in the Himalayan mountains. Such shawls are extremely soft and do not hurt the skin of the wearer. Pashmina scarves and stoles are also made. Pashmina shawls are less expensive as compared to Shahtoosh shawls.
Pashmina shawls usually have beautiful and heavy embroidery on them, while Shahtoosh shawls do not.
There is so much more we could tell you about this super trip to Kashmir. We have an outline schedule on our website, but if you want all of the details, then just fill in the form on the schedule tab of the holiday and you will be able to download a full itinerary showing you all of the hotels and places we will be visiting.
If this trip is of interest to you, go to the Kashmir Tour page and reserve your place now. We have just launched the holiday,but I am sure spaces will fill very quickly.
Alphabet Stamps
Our alphabet stamps give you the perfect opportunity to personalise all your gifts and cards. We have several different designs of fonts as well as some blocks of ancient styled text that will be beautiful as a background image on a paper design.
Take a good look at the alphabet stamps we have here.
Ideal Christmas Gifts
With Christmas fast approaching we have some great dieas that would make perfect presents for your crafting friends and family. Just click on any of the imides to be taken straight to our website
Learn, Create, Be Happy!
kind regards
Jamie Malden
Colouricious
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Beautiful Bead Embroidery
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