How to Bead Crazy Quilts
Beading is easy to do and adds interest, texture and sparkle to a crazy quilt. Small beads can embellish embroidery or accenting fabrics. Larger beads can be the focal point of a design.
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Things You'll Need
- Small seed beads
- Nymo thread
- Beading needle
- Scissors
- Embroidered crazy quilt
Instructions
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Thread the needle with about 25 inches of Nymo thread and put a quilter's knot at the end. (See the Resources section below for instructions on how to make a quilter's knot.) Nymo thread is recommended because it is a strong, fine thread. It is waxed and its fibers are twisted for durability. Size B is generally used for beading.
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Poke the needle through the top layer of fabric about 1/2 inch from where the first bead will be and bring the needle through at the first bead location. Pop the knot through the top layer and let it remain hidden between the two layers of the crazy quilt.
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3
Put one bead on the needle and make a stitch about the diameter of the bead. If the stitch is bigger, the thread will show. Put the needle into the top layer of fabric only at the point of the next bead location. (The thread between both beads will be hidden between the layers of the quilt.) Continue in this fashion until all beads are attached, but take an occasional backstitch between every third or fourth bead. This is a precaution: if the thread should break, only a few beads will come off and not the whole string.
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When sewing larger beads, take three or four stitches through the bead. Larger beads are more likely to catch onto things and need that reinforcement.
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Stitch beads in the middles of flowers, at the ends of decorative embroidery stitches (such as a feather stitch) or on tops of buttons. Beads can also be used to couch (or hold down) longer stitches of ribbon or decorative trim.
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Tips & Warnings
Use a small white dish to hold beads while working. This white background will make it easy to spear the beads with the needle.
