Many creative people have seen or heard about bead paintings at least once in their lives. There are several options for creating a beautiful masterpiece from beads, you can glue the beads to the surface or use a needle and thread.
Masterpieces made from this material decorate the home interior and add an individual twist to the decor. Moreover, making bead paintings with your own hands is not so difficult. Let's talk about the creation process and look at some of the available options.
Preparing for work
In order to create bead paintings with your own hands, it is not necessary to have experience in this, but anyone can learn this business. Various photo and video lessons will help you understand the technique and train your own approach to work. Step-by-step pictures with comments and videos with explanations are the best friends of beginners working with beads.
In order to be ready for work, you should acquire the following items:
- A needle with a small eye.
- Canvas is fabric with special holes.
- Thin lavsan thread.
- Any convenient scissors.
- Beads with the required color.
Two cats
For each portrait, two diagrams were made - one using the weaving technique, and the other using the mosaic technique. Which performance technique will you choose? Threads and fishing line are suitable for work.
There are also many options with a tiger, from a tabletop picture to a wallet.
Basics
For a person who has just become interested in beadwork, it is mysterious and mysterious. Initially it seems that these are the same type of materials, but later it turns out that the beads have different sizes and hole widths, like needles. They also have different calibrations and shapes. However, gradually, immersing yourself more and more in the world of beadwork, all these points become clear.
You should choose a small size and with the least number of colors for your first bead embroidery picture. It can be considered a training session, after which you will want to learn more and more about working with beads.
A design is applied to the fabric, on top of which embroidery will be done. This type of embroidery pattern is ideal for beginners. Besides this, there are many other ways to create works with beads.
Basic methods of needlework
The main advantage of glued beads is its versatility. If you show your imagination, you can refine any item and give it new life. There are several basic methods of needlework.
On the work surface
Most often, glass is used as a surface for beads. It is very convenient to place the finished diagram under it and apply the outline of the translucent pattern. The product turns out neat and realistic. This copying method has been known since ancient times.
Beads look very attractive on wood. Skilled craftsmen will be able to create wooden blanks of any shape, and beads and beads will serve as bright decoration. Wooden crafts can be either a separate work of art or an additional element.
The material fits well on a wooden base; together with your child, you can decorate a frame with a photo and make it more fun and cheerful.
From pieces
This method is also called bead mosaic, or inlay. More experienced needlewomen don’t just pour beads onto a glued surface; they can create traditional or their own patterns. Such drawings look elegant and expensive.
But this is very painstaking work. After all, such work takes a lot of time and effort. The same goes for preparation. It’s worth thinking about the composition and color relationships in advance. Make several sketches and choose the best one. An example is the original plates, in which, instead of painting with paint, beads magically shimmer on the surface. Such utensils will decorate any kitchen and make it more sophisticated.
Using a mosaic made of beads with glue, you can create entire storylines on absolutely any shape of the workpiece. You want to look at such products for hours and learn all the subtleties and nuances of this needlework.
Applique of woven parts
Children from kindergarten love applications, but preschoolers are already getting bored of working only with paper. This is where beads come to the rescue. The finished product looks much more interesting than the paper one, but it won’t be difficult to make. Most often, a landscape or still life is created in this way.
On a flat piece you can make a background of poured beads, and flowers woven using the French technique will become accents. Such a clearing takes on a realistic appearance. You can also use pebbles from old beads for decoration.
Another way of appliqué is to decorate a cut out figure. You can cut a butterfly out of velvet paper and stick it on the glass. Fill the cut out patterns with beads. This is a great idea for a craft for school, because even a child can handle this task.
Embroidery technique
After preparing the materials necessary for embroidery, you can get down to business. One cell on the canvas means one bead of the corresponding color, which should be sewn onto this place.
When working, you should start from the upper left corner and go horizontally, filling the field with beads of the required shades. It is worth initially purchasing more beads than indicated in the instructions, since they often come across defective ones - of irregular shape or with a hole that is too thin. Such consumables are not suitable for work; they have to be put aside, which means the number of beads consumed is reduced.
At the beginning of the work, the thread is secured to the workspace with two stitches, and then the first bead is threaded onto it. When about 10 centimeters remain of the thread, it is pulled under the finished stitches and tied into a knot, then a new thread 50 centimeters long is taken.
Doing part of the embroidery
The simplest option for making large paintings with beads would be to buy partial embroidery, because it is much easier to do part of the work than completely from scratch. The canvas already has some beaded elements made; all that remains is to complete the work with the patterns required according to the instructions.
You should start at one corner of the workspace and move down or to the right. The stitch is directed from the left corner to the right. Once completed, the thread is hidden and tied into a knot.
Volumetric embroidery
For large-scale work, it is necessary to prepare the following materials:
- Needles of different diameters.
- Fishing line.
- Beads of different colors.
- Canvas.
- Photo frame.
- Glue.
One large diameter bead and 7 small ones are put on a thread 50-60 centimeters long with a knot at the end using a needle. Then the needle is passed in the middle of the threads, under the knot.
A loop is formed that needs to be tightened. The next 7 beads are threaded, the needle is passed through the larger bead. This design should be fixed by passing the needle through all the beads.
Next, 14 beads are threaded into the needle, the needle passes through the last attached bead. This is how petals are formed.
By repeating the last step the required number of times, you can obtain the required number of flower petals, the core of which is a large bead. The end result must be secured with a knot.
The only thing left to do is to place the flowers being created on the canvas in the desired location. For example, such embroidery will look beneficial if placed in the shape of a heart. Add a few small beads around, and place the finished work in a frame.
Weaving fabric using the mosaic and cross stitch method
Several other types of techniques, such as mosaic, brick weaving and cross-stitch beading, allow you to create canvases without canvas, special machines or devices. Simple patterns used in cross stitch, thanks to the capabilities of the World Wide Web and programs, are easily adapted to these types of weaving.
Weaving using the mosaic method
Having chosen any pattern you like and adapting it for mosaic beading, you can start working:
- First you need to understand how many beads are located in one row. If the picture requires an even number of beads, then an odd number is strung on the working thread;
- After, according to the diagram, the required amount of beads has been collected, it is necessary to stretch the thread into the penultimate bead in the opposite direction;
- Having collected one bead onto the same thread, insert a needle through one bead and pull the thread through. Then you should take one more bead and fasten it through one in the same way. It is necessary to carry out these steps until the end of the row, choosing the required color of beads according to the diagram;
- To move to the next row, you need to unroll the needle with the bead strung and pull it through the side bead of the resulting row. Repeat all previous steps until the beaded fabric is ready.
Patterns for weaving paintings using the mosaic method can be seen below:
Weaving using the cross method
Beading using the so-called cross method is considered quite simple and convenient. Do it like this:
- Four beads are placed on a thread and a needle is pulled through the first one to form a ring;
- Three more beads are collected on the same thread, a needle is inserted into the fourth, passing the thread, and then the thread passes through the fifth and sixth beads;
- Next time, collect three beads again and perform the same actions. Thus, it is necessary to weave until a chain of the required length is formed;
- In order to obtain a fabric, you should weave several rows using the same weaving method.
For this type of beading, you can also choose patterns that are designed for regular cross stitch. It is best if the resulting canvas is framed. To do this, you need to stick it on a thick base, apply a press for a while to remove unevenness and give the picture a stretched look. This weaving option is perfect for painting on the wall. In the photo you can see the finished result of work using this technique:
