Bead Embellishment by Machine

by Jake Finch

CORNER DETAIL: SUNFLOWERS, Angela McIntyre, designer. by Embellishment Village. www.embellishmentvillage.com

aula Reid doesn’t believe in hand , especially called Nymo, found in the bead section of craft stores. P when it comes to embellishments. Coats & Clark also makes a beading thread. Using a thin bead This longtime national teacher, designer, and needle, string the beads onto the thread. When done, knot machine quilter from Palmdale, California, has developed the thread’s end and weave the end back through the bead several ways of getting beads down on her , and each holes to hide it. Snip the end. Couching works best when the technique uses her fi ngers as little as possible. beads are of similar size, but you can vary them if you work Couching glory onto your quilt more slowly and are willing to adjust your width. One of Paula’s techniques is couching down strings of Paula couches with monofi lament thread in the top and beads. Couching means to on either side of the of her machine. Many quilters cringe at the thought thread, or bead string to secure it to your top. of using monofi lament and it’s true that it can be fi nicky. Some beads come pre-strung, but if the string is weak or Paula has a simple trick to make monofi lament easier to use you want to create your own bead strings, you can use a bead in your machine. Because monofi lament has memory, it will

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008march_35-50.indd8march_35-50.indd 4646 11/2/08/2/08 33:46:43:46:43 PMPM stretch as it winds onto the bobbin and then contract after it’s sewn down, which can cause tension problems later. Slow down the bobbin winding to half speed by gently placing your fi nger on the monofi lament’s spool as it unwinds to the bobbin. Ingredients: , thick threads or strings of beads to couch Monofi lament thread Preparation: 1. Your quilt should be already sandwiched and quilted. If you are working on an unquilted top, use tearaway or water- soluble stabilizer on the back. 2. Thread your machine with monofi lament thread in the top and bobbin.

3. Raise the and insert a zigzag plate on the Photo 2 bed of the machine. 4. Attach a couching foot or other foot with a channel 5. At the end of the string, reset your stitch length again on the bottom. Paula uses Bernina® sewing machines. For her to a satin stitch and take 10 to 12 stitches over the end to machine, the foot is called a pearls and foot and has a secure the string. Snip the threads. deep channel to allow beads to pass under it (photo 1). Let’s bead away This is not a technique for the faint of heart or those who are easily distracted. With the right sized needle, this technique works for even small beads, but medium and larger beads are easier to handle. It’s important to pay careful atten- tion to what you are doing, but once you have mastered this technique, you’ll never again want to bead by hand. When Paula teaches this class, she tells her students to take their foot completely off of the pedal when they’re not stitching. The beads look very nice clustered in groups on the quilt top. Beads which are no taller than ¼" work best for this project. This is the height that clears most sewing machine needles before the bead hits the and shatters. Ingredients: An assortment of beads and charms Monofi lament thread Photo 1 (Courtesy of Bernina USA) Stiletto or other long, thin tool 5. You will probably need to lower your top thread’s ten- Machine needle no bigger than 80/12. Paula uses mostly sion. Test fi rst on scraps similar to the weight of your project. Schmetz Microtex sharps, 80/12 or 70/10. With smaller-holed Gradually adjust the tension until you reach the desired ten- beads, a 60/8 sized needle works. sion. You shouldn’t need to adjust your bobbin tension. A pair of reverse-grip tweezers to hold the beads in Technique: place. Regular tweezers also work, but you have to hold them 1. Lay the thread, yarn, or bead to be couched where you closed on the bead. want it to start. Preparation: 2. Set the stitch length to satin stitch and adjust the 1. Thread your machine with monofi lament thread in the stitch width by carefully hand turning the wheel over the top and bobbin. beads to be couched, making sure the needle clears either 2. Remove the . side of the beads. 3. Lower the feed dogs. 3. Secure the fi rst couple of stitches in one spot between 4. Set the machine for a . the beads by hand. Then satin stitch 10 to 12 times in place Technique: to fi nish securing the beginning of the string. 1. Bring up the bobbin thread by holding the end of the 4. Reset your stitch length to a longer setting (Paula top thread as you turn the machine’s wheel for one stitch. uses 1.5 on her Bernina) and continue to zigzag slowly and After the needle is out of the fabric, pull on the top thread steadily over the beads (photo 2). gently. This should also bring up the bobbin thread.

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008march_35-50.indd8march_35-50.indd 4747 11/2/08/2/08 33:46:51:46:51 PMPM 2. Watching your fi ngers at all times, hold both the top and bobbin threads to the back of the work. Take a couple of stitches to anchor your ends and excess (photo 3).

Photo 4

Photo 3 3. Choose a bead and hold it with the tweezers on top of the fabric. By turning the hand wheel, lower the needle into the bead’s hole to take a stitch or two in the bead (photo 4). Raise the needle and take another stitch just outside of the bead (photo 5). 4. With the stiletto, push the bead over to show the bead’s side. This results in a much prettier look for the embel- lishment. Take a couple more stitches next to the bead to secure it in place (photo 6).

Photo 5

Photo 6 5. Repeat process with more beads until you have the look you want. Finally, if she can’t sew down her embellishments with her sewing machine, Paula turns to her trusty industrial strength glue, E6000 Craft Adhesive, made by Eclectic Products. This is an epoxy-like glue that dries clear, is water- proof, and acid-free. Paula suggests using petroleum jelly on the tube’s threads to prevent the cap from adhering to the tube permanently. Paula Reid teaches and lectures nationally. For more information, visit her Web site, www.battsintheattic.com.

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