How to Sew Beads on a Garment

Embellishing a garment with bead work takes a little time but the final product gives you an entirely new look. To learn how to sew beads to a garment, just follow the steps below.

Things You'll Need

• Beads
• Scotch tape
• Needles
• Cotton thread or nylon thread
• Candle wax or beeswax
• Sewing machine with a zigzag stitch and a zipper foot

Instructions

1. Lay out the beads in the design you chose on scotch tape. This will help you keep them in order. Lightly outline the design with chalk on the underside of the fabric. Pass the thread through beeswax or candle wax to keep it tangle-free and give it strength. If the fabric is heavier, use nylon thread. Use a needle small enough to pass through the hole in the bead.

2. Decide how you wish to apply the beads. Backstitching, couching or machine couching are the three ways that beads can be applied. Keep the fabric taut by using either an embroidery hoop or frame.

3. Anchor the thread to the back of the fabric and pull the needle through to the face. Add a bead to the threaded needle. Do a backstitch by bringing the needle back through the fabric behind the first bead, and then ahead 1 bead-length from the original stitch. Continue adding beads until the design is finished.

4. Couch your beads by hand. Using 2 threads and 2 needles, draw the first through the backside of the material and fill it with a few beads. Bring the needle back down through the material, keeping the line taut. Bring the second needle through the material and tack down the spaces between the beads. Continue until complete.

5. Use your sewing machine. If you use a machine zipper foot and the zigzag stitch, the job will go faster. Add several beads at a time. Go through the material from the backside and add a few beads, and then return the needle. Finish all the beads and then tack them in place. Put the zipper foot close to the beads and make zigzag stitches with the sewing machine.