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Adding beaded motifs to your CQed item or block can add texture,
interest and sparkle. Finding or creating that motif can sometimes
be a challenge. I have found a variety of sources for these motifs:
fabric prints, lace motifs, and printed silk images are among my
favorites.
- Fabric Prints:
There are so many beautiful fabric prints that would lend themselves
to beading. You can choose to bead the entire motif, just outline
it, or add selected highlights. Following is a picture of a flower
from a piece of printed charmeuse. I applied Wonder under to the
wrong side of the flower, cut it out on the edge of the gold line,
and applied it to my CQ block. I then proceeded to cover the gold
outline with gold beads using the beaded backstitch. Since this
piece was to be used as a purse, I added extra security by adding a
few extra small stitches every ½" on the wrong side. To do the
beaded backstitch: bring needle to right side of fabric and load 3
beads. Push beads to fabric. Go into fabric at end of bead 3 and
come up between beads 1 and 2. Go through beads 2 and 3 with needle
and add three beads. Repeat as necessary.
Rather than fill in the entire flower, I added purple bead
highlights and filled in the center with lavender beads. I used size
11 seed beads for this project.
- Lace Motifs:
Hands painted Venetian lace motifs are a beautiful addition to any
CQ project. To highlight them even more, why not add beads? The
following lace flower was hand painted then applied to a patch. Size
11 Seed beads were added to highlight the shape and color of the
flower, stem and leaves. Again, the beaded backstitch was used for
the majority of the beads. The beads in the center of the flower
were applied one at a time.
- Printed Silk Images:
Last issue, Pat Winter showed you how to embellish a silk print
using Silk Ribbon Embroidery. I also like to embellish silk prints
with beads, especially a variety of beads along with other items
such as sequins. This picture of a butterfly was embellished with
size 11 seed beads, round sequins, and flower beads. The large
beaded area on the wings was done with the beaded backstitch. The
print was applied to the fabric the same as the fabric motif, using
Wonder Under product. It was further enhanced with metallic cord.
Feeling ambition? How about creating your own design? The following
designs were created from a picture of a butterfly. I printed out the
butterfly to the size I wanted, covered it with tissue paper and
traced the outline. I divided the wings into sections to add
interest.
- The Sketch:
Pin the tissue paper to your fabric and start beading. I started
outlining the wing sections in size 11 seed beads using the beaded
backstitch. Do one entire wing first. It is easier to duplicate the
second wing by counting the beads used on the first. You may also
find your beading takes on a life of its own as you try to follow
the outline. This is a good thing! Don't be afraid to deviate. Once
you have finished the outline, remove the tissue and fill in the
wings. Try experimenting with different sizes and shapes of beads.
Following are two examples using different beads but the same
sketch.
 
This first butterfly was outlined in white pearl beads. The bottom
of the upper wing was outlined with lavender pearl beads and the
bottom wings are done in pink pearl beads. You can see the loops on
the upper wing became elongated, and a loop from the bottom wing was
eliminated. Once the tissue was removed, I experimented with
different styles of beads and decided on the flowers, different
sizes and shapes of pearls, round and seed. The body is a
combination of different large, odd shaped beads.
This butterfly was outlined using larger seed beads-about 9-10. The
bottom wings were filled in with leaf shaped beads. The top wing was
filled in with different sizes of bicone shapes stacked with seed
beads. Again the body is a couple odd shaped beads.
I hope these beaded motif methods piqued your creative juices. If
you use any of these ideas, please send us a picture to post in our
gallery.
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