Stitchboard Admin message #2
Re: Beaded Purse
February 7, 2012 at 2:09:29 PM
 
Jessica,

Welcome to Stitchboard (and what a cute pic of you and your husband)!  

Beaded purses are lovely and you have MANY excellent questions!

Okay, there are a lot of answers to your questions.    Please don't be daunted...I'm going to give you all of the info here, and if it's too confusing (which I'm guessing it will be), FEEL FREE to ask me to break it down!  You've asked a lot of really good questions here and I'm trying to cover them all in one response.  

If you want to make a purse with ONLY beads and thread, you may not want to use a cross stitch pattern.  The reason is that cross stitch patterns and fabrics are made for square stitches; beads are rectangular, so if you want to use beads, the pattern SHOULD have more rectangular shapes.  If you use a cross stitch pattern to make a purse with only beads and thread, the pattern for the purse will elongate in one direction only.

There are several options if you're going to use beads and thread.  I tend to use fishing line fibers like Fireline or PowerPro, which, when woven together, really create a nice, solid piece.  I have an amulet purse (tubular beading) on a form right now, and whenever I take it off of the form to end the threads, I'm so impressed by how solid it is!

Not to get even MORE complex, but within beading, you have a couple of options for stitches.  There's peyote, but then you DEFINITELY can't use a cross stitch pattern for that, since the pattern is staggered.  You can also use square stitch.  This (square stitch) WILL adapt to KNITTING or CROCHET patterns (but not filet crochet, which is square!).  That's because knitting and crochet stitches are rectangular.  (The advantage also to beading in square stitch is that it's an EXTREMELY sturdy stitch.  Whenever I teach square stitch, my lessons always end with taking a pair of scissors to the finished demo piece, to show how sturdy it is, even when cut apart.  There are SO many thread passes through EACH bead, picking it apart is extremely tedious and laborious!)

If you'd rather bead in peyote, there are free patterns available online, if you search for them...I found a few that are extremely small (I haven't linked to them here, as I'm guessing you'd like to make a purse that's larger than an inch or so!), but there are undoubtedly others available.

Crochet would be another option...you might want to go with size 8 or E beads (size 6), so you can use a thicker thread and larger beads.  I would tend to use a stronger thread, like a strong size 10 crochet cotton, rather than a softer pearl cotton type of thread.  (Years ago at a show I saw a woman selling beautiful bead crochet kits, and she was using pearl cotton as the thread...yeesh!)

And YES, you can bead on Aida cloth (or linen).  I've done it myself, as I used to cross stitch a LOT several years ago.  What you do is find a matching color of thread to your cloth to sew your beads onto the fabric, and instead of using a half-cross stitch to sew them on, you use more of a needlepoint stitch (tent stitch).  In other words, instead of stitching the bead into the square from the lower left to the upper right, you start in the upper right and end in the lower left corner, and then you start the next bead to the RIGHT of the first one, repeating the same process of starting in the upper right and finishing down on the lower left.  (Hope that's not confusing!)  What you're doing is giving MAXIMUM support to the beads and fabric, because the thread is extending more underneath the fabric, holding the beads on more securely.

I'm trying to remember...I MAY have used regular sewing thread or perhaps hand quilting thread...it's been much too long and I don't quite recall.

Anyway, you have a LOT of options...my suggestion would be to really think about what you'd prefer to do before you start looking into the various things I've mentioned.  If you want it beaded with thread in a peyote or square stitch (or another bead stitch), then I would concentrate on that.  If you think you'd prefer to crochet it, that would be another option, and cross stitch would be yet another.

IMO, if you try to think about ALL of them at once, it will be too daunting!  Only YOU know which you'd prefer to do here...I'm guessing you probably have an image in your mind of what you want the finished item to look like, which would determine whether you're going to bead, crochet or cross stitch it.  

Melanie  (known to the cat as "Rowr" or "Rowr Rowr") =^.^=

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Stitchboard Admin message #4
Re: Beaded Purse
February 7, 2012 at 9:29:37 PM
 
Jessica,

You're very welcome! 

I think that's a SUPER idea to try each technique and see which best fits the image you have in your mind.

Please be careful about fishing line, though...not all fishing line is created equal!  What you want is a FIBER based line.  And some fishing lines - for instance, Kevlar - will degrade in water or sunlight.  That's why it has to be a specific type, and a fiber, such as a PowerPro or Fireline.  After all of the time you'll be putting into anything beaded, you certainly don't want your project to fall apart if it got wet in the rain!  So please be careful of the type of fishing line you're using.    LOL, years and years ago, before I knew anything about beading, I purchased some cheap fishing line...shudder...good thing I never actually used it for a beaded project!  (Can't say the same for that cheap elastic that fell apart, unfortunately.)

Melanie  (known to the cat as "Rowr" or "Rowr Rowr") =^.^=

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Stitchboard Admin message #6
Re: Beaded Purse
February 11, 2012 at 11:40:58 PM
 
Jessica,

I'm not sure if Spiderline is the same as Spiderwire, which is one I've seen recommended, but have never used it personally.  I don't know if Spiderline is a fiber - GUESSING it is, but please don't go by my guess!  6 lb test should be okay...that's what I like to use...IMO, it allows for more thread passes. 

I've been looking for a link, but I'm not finding anything, either.  At least nothing that talks about using tent stitch to support the beads!  Everything talks about using a half-cross stitch, which is okay, but IMO would not support the beads as well as a tent stitch. 

I can try to get a video up in the next couple of days...I hope that might be quick enough?    I know the technique and just have to scrounge up some Aida cloth! 

Beading needles...do you have a JoAnn Fabrics near you?  My semi-local JoAnn's used to carry Darice beading needles, and though they aren't the kind you might buy at a beading store, I found the larger eyes of the Darice needles really worked well for 6 lb test fishing line, yet they also went through the beads more than once.  In contrast, I tried the John James needles that I'd bought at a local bead shop and couldn't get the fishing line into the eye of the needle!    It's still a little hairy to try to get the fishing line into the Darice needles, but it's not extremely difficult, and one of the secrets is to cut the fishing line at an angle.

Hope I've answered all of your questions...if not, please let me know...it will make me very happy if I can help you with this! 

Melanie  (known to the cat as "Rowr" or "Rowr Rowr") =^.^=

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Stitchboard Admin message #8
Re: Beaded Purse
February 12, 2012 at 9:25:21 PM
 
Jessica,

You're very welcome! 

I have a book that does recommend Spiderwire, so I'm guessing it's a fiber. 

I couldn't find anything about tent stitch with beading, either.    I learned this years ago when I used to buy British cross stitch magazines...American magazines are good, but the British magazines are the best of all, IMO!  Or at least they were back then!  They talked about tent stitch, and I can't remember what kind of thread they said to use...either hand quilting or sewing thread.  I THINK the hand quilting thread might be too stiff, but just don't remember.    And then they also said to sew beads on with the tent stitch.  For needlepoint, the tent stitch makes for a fuller stitch...since needlepoint canvas doesn't have as much coverage as Aida, if you half cross stitch thread onto needlepoint canvas, it will show holes, which is why you're supposed to use tent stitch. 

I agree, the generic craft stores don't tend to carry a lot anymore, and value is definitely the issue!  Wal-Mart has never carried much in the way of beads in the first place, certainly not things like 11/0 beads!  Hobby Lobby at one time sold Delicas, but I'm guessing they no longer have them, and Michael's USED to have a very limited selection of Toho beads (under the Darice name), though I haven't been to a Michael's in a while and am not sure if they still do.

I agree, mail order is usually the best option.    If you don't have a mail order source in mind, I can definitely recommend one of our advertisers right from our site, http://www.beadlady.biz and another bead shop where I know the owner personally, http://www.bodaciousbeadschicago.com/

I live in a bead desert, too, sigh, so can completely empathize with not being able to simply walk into a store and pick out exactly what you want by eye!

Melanie  (known to the cat as "Rowr" or "Rowr Rowr") =^.^=

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Stitchboard Admin message #10
Re: Beaded Purse
February 19, 2012 at 3:56:37 PM
 
Jessica,

Depending on the size of your Aida cloth, it sounds offhand like 8/0 beads are too large.  I had mentioned making a video for you to see, and my apologies...after a series of mishaps, groan, it just went up today...I'll link to it here, but my point in mentioning it is because I used 11/0 beads on 14 count Aida.  And IMO, the 11/0 beads are plenty large.  I personally wouldn't suggest going any larger than 10/0, and that size is usually pretty rare.  Also, my preference is to use Japanese seed beads...I find they're more "regular" than the Czech beads, with larger holes.

If you take a look at the finished row of beads I show in the demo video, you can see the 11/0 beads pretty much fill up the Aida cloth squares.  8/0 beads may not be HUGE, but in comparison, they will really fill up the tiny squares, to the point where you'll find it will be difficult to stitch on every row.

If you're still convinced you'd rather do this with 8/0 seed beads, my suggestion would be to buy a larger weave fabric.  I'm guessing you're using 14 count...I would then try 11 count if you want to use larger beads.  

Below is the video link - this shows how to attach the beads on Aida using tent stitch, rather than half cross stitch.  I purposely used black thread so it would really show, but there's also also a row of beads I had attached previously with white thread (which matched the fabric), so you can see how beading would "normally" look when it's stitched with the proper thread.  Though I didn't stitch a second row (now I wish I had!), I've used 11/0 beads before and have had no problem stitching every row.    And if you'd like, I could stitch a second row of beads next to that and photograph it, so you can see the beads will fit together well.  

Here's the video:
/pages/newMultimedia.php?st=showLinkedVideo&videoId=f55RP4mAr7g&fmt=18

Please let me know if you have any questions!  I'm hoping I explained this all well, but if I've missed anything, I'll be glad to help.  

Melanie  (known to the cat as "Rowr" or "Rowr Rowr") =^.^=

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Stitchboard Admin message #12
Re: Beaded Purse
February 19, 2012 at 11:58:03 PM
 
Jessica,

The beanie wolf hat sounds wonderful...please feel free to post pics when you've finished with it!    LOVE to see people's work!

I'm really glad the video was helpful to you!    Please let me know how your experiment went when you tried beading on Aida cloth...I'm sure you did just fine.    Tent stitch is not difficult at all, it's just a new technique to learn, kind of like a new stitch.  BTW, hint: even though I didn't go this far in the video, if you want to start a second row right under the first, you can always turn your chart and fabric upside down, then follow it with tent stitch that way.  You'll still work left to right and your work won't be placed in a way that you'll have to go back to a less-secure half-cross stitch. 

Oh, I see...duh!  I didn't realize that was crochet.  LOL! 

I'll take a look at crochet tomorrow...I guess my question is how you're planning to do this.  Are you planning to stitch in rows or in rounds, or work in tubular crochet?  That will make a big difference, as crocheting in the round (or tubular) will keep your beads on the same "side" all the time, but stitching in rows will have you turning the fabric from one side to the other.  And I'm sure you're right...there's got to be a way to put beads on from the "other" side...but I'm not sure how.

That's why I'm asking if you have plans to work in rounds or with tubular crochet, because then you won't have the problem of working in rows, where you'll work the one side ONLY, rather than starting each new row by turning the piece to the other side.  If you were to put the beads on the "normal" way while crocheting in rows, they would then alternate showing on the "wrong" side AND the "right" side, so every other row would have beads on the outside.    This is why bangle bracelets don't have that problem, as they're worked in tubular crochet.

You're VERY welcome...that's why we're here! 

I've used Toho beads personally...they're definitely good quality!  Toho also has their line that's equivalent to Delicas, called Aiko beads.  I've purchased the Toho seed beads from Michael's...I live in a bead desert, so it's nice to have even some limited options!    So no, you're definitely not wrong! 

Melanie  (known to the cat as "Rowr" or "Rowr Rowr") =^.^=

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Stitchboard Admin message #13
Re: Beaded Purse
February 20, 2012 at 4:33:24 PM
 
Jessica,

As mentioned in my reply from yesterday, I did try some bead crochet today.    The good news...yes, I managed to find a way to bead on one side only in rows.  The bad news...it's really fiddly.  You can do it, but it will likely be quite uncomfortable for you, as it was for me.  It involves pulling the bead in FRONT of the work and then I found it was more helpful to pull my loop only through the back loop of the previous row's stitch, if that makes any sense.  I wasn't using the right kind of thread to go with the beads, so I didn't do a lot of rows to see how they would lay...I just did enough to get a basic idea of whether or not it would work.  

Also, as I mentioned yesterday, my inclination would be to go with either crochet in rounds or tubular crochet if you decide to go the crochet route.  If you're only wanting to make a beaded design on the front, you could make this a tube-shaped purse and only have the design itself in beads, or use a different color of beads for the background than for your project.  No, you won't have a really pronounced "front," since it will be a tube, but offhand, I would say you could STILL work it as a flat purse, by making the item tubular in the width you want, then simply flattening it out and stitching the bottom together.  Or if you skip a bead for either "side," it may help to flatten it.

Alternatively, you could either thread crochet only or bead crochet a bottom piece as a square in "rounds" and then stitch around to join it to the sides, perhaps without skipping beads on the sides at all, which wouldn't have it laying flat, but would still give it more of an "oval" shape, where there would be a more definitive front piece.  

There are actually a lot of different ways of getting the job done, luckily, so you're not stuck with an uncomfortable way of stitching on those beads in rows!  

I'd love to hear your thoughts on any of these options, as well as how your experiment went with tent stitch!    (And I'm sorry I didn't think to mention how you would work a second row with that in the video...so I hope my instructions from yesterday on that are clear.)

Melanie  (known to the cat as "Rowr" or "Rowr Rowr") =^.^=

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Stitchboard Admin message #15
Re: Beaded Purse
February 21, 2012 at 2:20:09 AM
 
Jessica,

I'm so sorry...I should have thought to do a second row on the tent stitch video!  Either I'll do another video, or I'll try to give you an idea here...I have NO idea if this is going to work, but will try it...hopefully it's clearer than mud!  



Okay, the first image shows row 1 only, with the last stitch marked "last stitch" above it.  The bright green square is where your last stitch in the row ends.  Row 1's stitches I've demonstrated in blue.

Row 2 is a repeat of row 1, pretty much.  It's done in EXACTLY the same way...BUT...here's the catch...

You turn your work UPSIDE DOWN first.  So here are rows 1 & 2 together, from the point of view of working on row 2:


Where your first stitch STARTS is where the light/bright blue square is.  (I also left the bright green square, which illustrates where the first row ended, so you can see where you WERE.)  The bright pink stitches are all of the row 2 stitches.

Does that make sense?  You have to flip your Aida cloth and your chart together, so you can follow row 2, and then you'll still stitch left to right, so you'll still be doing tent stitch.  Look at the back of your fabric from your practice piece, because I'm guessing you ended up going back to half cross stitch for row 2.

And then you keep on repeating subsequent rows by flipping your fabric and chart back upside down again, repeating what amounts to row 1 for row 3, and then the same again for row 4, similar to row 2.

Hmm...well, since you want your purse to be a rectangle, you could still work in a tube, which would give you a rectangle if you flatten it out, so to speak.  The main thing would be to ensure your side pattern matches where the side stitches meet.  It would require a bit of fiddling on graph paper (I would use crochet graph paper, or at least, a graph paper made of rectangles), and then try to "match" the pattern on both sides.  Your graph would be twice the number of stitches as your purse, in that case, since you're making both a front AND a back in a tube.  Then you would chain a row, join, start your first row IN the foundation chain, and then keep going, row after row!

LOL, I have a feeling that the flaws you see in your hat can ONLY be seen by YOU!

Okay, it's late and I'm not sure if my pics or explanations make ANY sense.  Please let me know!  I can still do a "row 2" video, and if my explanations about the pattern or the tubular crochet don't make any sense, likewise.    Or something.  LOL, my brain hurts.  

Melanie  (known to the cat as "Rowr" or "Rowr Rowr") =^.^=

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