How to Make a Moose Using Beads
Creating a fun and playful moose out of beads is a great project for all ages. Base a moose design on a photo or illustration of a moose, pick out appropriately colored beads and use a beading technique called couching to make your moose out of beads. Your moose can liven up an item of clothing or be hung as a piece of wall art. Give it as a whimsical gift, or display it to add character to your home.
Things You'll Need
- Moose photograph
- Fabric chalk
- Fabric pencil
- Fabric
- Embroidery hoop
- Scissors
- Brown and black beads
- Brown beading/sewing thread
- Beading/sewing needle
Instructions
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1
Place your fabric in an embroidery hoop so it is pulled taut.
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2
Draw or trace a moose design onto the fabric. Base it on a photo or graphic of your choice. Draw marks with fabric chalk to indicate color changes, such as the hoofs, nose or antler areas, which you may want to make a darker color than the body.
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3
Separate the beads according to color. You may want the body to be light brown, the antlers a darker shade of brown and the nose black. Follow your inspiration photo for guidance when picking out bead colors.
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4
Thread your needle in brown thread and knot one end.
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5
Sew from the back of the fabric through the starting point in the outline of the brown portion of your design.
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6
Load your needle with five to 10 beads and lay it down so it lines up with your design. Push it through the fabric and pull it down.
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7
Bring the needle back up through the fabric alongside your row of beads. Stitch over the thread in between each bead from front to back.
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8
Bring the needle from the underside of the fabric up to the front of your row of beads to add another group of beads. Repeat Steps 6 and 7 until you have outlined the entire brown section with beads.
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9
Sew through the last brown bead to the back of the fabric and tie off with a double knot as close to the fabric as possible. Cut off the tail of thread, leaving 1 inch of thread.
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10
Repeat Steps 4 through 9 for each color of your moose design until the outline is complete.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Alternatively, use a beading technique called back stitch to make your beaded moose. This entails sewing each bead into place by going back through the bead before adding another, thereby securing each bead to the design one at a time.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit moose muzzle on the black image by Pavel Losevsky from Fotolia.com
