cross stitch with beads

Use a single strand of floss. The floss can either match the fabric or the bead. That really is going to depend on your preference & the color under the location of the bead.

Personally, I like to stitch both legs of a cross stitch through the bead. It sits vertical & holds that position better.

You'll get other methods, here, as well. Trial & error on a scrap of fabric & a pack of extra beads is always a good place to start.

Good luck & have fun! Oh - and welcome to the addiction!

Hugs n' Stitches - RoseAnn

julz wrote:

Your pattern "should" have directions for attaching the beads -- should being the operative word :-). Someone else will probably post links to sites that give written and/or graphics to help with this -- I don't have any links -- sorry. Anyway, the basics are pretty basic. The color of thread will depend on personal preference -- you can match either the color of the bead OR the color of the fabric. If you will be carrying your beading thread across unstitched portions of fabric, then you might want to use fiber that is as close to the fabric color as possible. The bead is stitched directly to the fabric UNLESS directions tell you to put them on over top of already placed stitches. Many designs have beads placed in both manners and, if you are doing the mermaid design I am thinking of, it has beads placed both ways. As for the actual stitching, there are several ways to do this. FIRST METHOD -- use a double strand of floss and stitch through the bead on the first leg (the / leg) of the cross stitch. On the second leg (the \ leg), you come up at the lower right, go down at the upper left and place one strand of floss on either side of the bead to keep it in place on the diagonal. SECOND METHOD -- using either a single or double strand of floss, go through the bead on the first leg AND the second leg of the cross stitch. This makes the bead stand up straight (meaning the bead hole is in the up/down direction) instead of at a diagonal. THIRD METHOD -- using a single or double strand of floss, stitch through the bead just one time. The direction of the single stitch -- either / OR \

-- will determine which way the bead will lay on the finished project. You can do this with a single strand of floss but then I recommend stitching through the bead twice although this isn't considered necessary by some folks. When doing beads -- especially ones that are sitting out in the middle of nowhere all by themselves with nothing to anchor your floss to, you CAN use a very small, discrete knot in your floss if you feel it is necessary. This is what I do because I am extremely cautious about this stuff -- LOL. Once the piece is framed or made into a pillow, etc. the bead itself will cover the knot behind it on the back of the fabric. This is just about the only time a knot is considered acceptable (even by those who say that it is never necessary to use knots when doing this type of stitching) -- otherwise they show up as ugly little bumps on your finished project! "IF" you find it necessary to use a knot, try this -- I use a single strand of floss to attach my bead (stitching through the bead more than once if necessary), leaving a long tail (at least 2") at the start. Once finished anchoring the bead, run the floss under the back side of the threads holding the bead in place and then CAREFULLY knot the floss in your needle to the floss tail. Tie a very small, tiny little knot and clip the threads. Be sure not to clip your threads too close to the knot. This is a LOT of info so you might want to just read through and then wait for someone else to post links to different sites that have diagrams and such. It's always much easier to read directions and then see what is being explained. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress, OK? CiaoMeow >^;;^<

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