How to Embellish Scarf Beads
Whether you wear a scarf as a necessity in the winter or as an accessory year-round, enhance your wardrobe with beaded scarves that speak to your personality. Add a touch of bling to a plain scarf with sparkling crystal beaded fringe. If you prefer a more subtle approach, embellish a scarf with glass seed beads or small wooden beads stitched onto the surface. Shell beads and semiprecious stone beads can turn a boring scarf into distinctive wearable art. No matter which type of bead you prefer, with a few embellishments you can turn an ordinary scarf into a designer original.
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Things You'll Need
- Scarf
- Measuring tape
- Beading thread
- Beading wax
- Size 10 beading needle
- Size 10 seed beads
- 3mm and/or 4mm beads
- Size 11 seed beads
Instructions
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1
Cut a 2-foot-long strand of beading thread. Pull the thread through a tub of beading wax. Insert one end of the thread 6 inches through the eye of a size 10 beading needle.
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2
Insert the needle through the end of the scarf, at the edge of one corner. Pull the thread through the scarf, leaving about 2 inches of thread on the side of the scarf opposite the needle. Slide a size 10 seed bead over the needle and down the thread to rest against the scarf. This row of seed beads is the foundation for your beaded fringe, so make sure that the bead is as close to the edge of the scarf as possible.
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3
Hold the 2-inch section of thread securely while inserting the needle back down into the scarf, immediately beside the seed bead. Pull the thread taut. Tie the 2-inch strip of beading thread around the working thread in a double overhand knot. The knot should rest against the scarf.
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4
Insert the needle back through the scarf, immediately beside the seed bead. Slide another seed bead over the needle down to the scarf to rest beside the first one. Insert the needle back through the scarf, immediately beside the bead. Repeat this step until you have a row of seed beads along one end of your scarf.
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5
Insert the threaded needle back through the last seed bead, from side to side. Pull the thread taut. It is no longer necessary to stitch the beads to the scarf; instead you are creating the beaded dangles that make up the fringe.
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6
Add your choice of 3mm and/or 4mm beads onto the thread. The number of beads you add will determine the length of the fringe. When the fringe dangle is as you like it, add one size 11 seed bead to the end.
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7
Skip the seed bead and run the beading needle back through all the beads on the fringe dangle, exiting the first 3mm or 4mm bead at the top of the strand. Pull the thread taut. Insert the needle through the seed bead at the top of the dangle, then pass the needle through the next seed bead in the row attached to the scarf.
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8
Repeat Steps 6 and 7 to make fringe dangles along the width of your scarf. Repeat Steps 1 through 8 to add beaded fringe dangles to the opposite end of the scarf.
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1
Tips & Warnings
When you run out of thread, add more using a double overhand knot. Cover all knots with jeweler's glue for added security.
