When it comes to bead embroidery, not all the beads are created equally. Some are perfect for covering flat areas and coloring them, some – might be more compelling and suitable for a variety of tasks. Crescent beads are fun to use for bead embroidery. Let’s explore how!
Crescent Beads In Bead Embroidery.
Larger beads usually come to the rescue when we are impatient to bead something new quickly. They help when we want to create a complex shape, but don’t know how to do it using small beads. They also give us a break when our eyes are tired from stitching with tiny seed beads.
Bead embroidery has practically no rules that would prevent us using anything we want in the design, even if it is your dog’s chewing bone. When we embroider, we are unstoppable!
Why not use Crescent beads to cover surfaces?
Use both holes in the bead and saw the beads down to the surface in just two places. This method will work if there are other beads around it to hold it in place.
Create a pattern of seed beads and “pin” a Crescent bead to the surface using a combination of beads sewn together.
Creating a Pattern
Crescent beads are also perfect for creating a pattern on a surface.
Use round or oval focal point. It is relatively easy to arrange Crescent beads around objects without sharp and angled sides.
Lay out all the beads in the pattern before you start sewing them onto the surface. Mark their locations using a thin point permanent marker or sharp pencil.
If your pattern is symmetrical, you have to make sure there are equal spaces between the beads on both sides of your pattern. I prefer to fill spaces if there are large enough for a 15o seed bead. If you fill spaces on one side of the pattern and will not mirror the pattern on the other, the design might look a little skewed.
Start with sewing down beads located near the center line of the symmetry.
Filling Up Spaces
What if you want to fill spaces between Crescent beads? Keep in mind, that a tiny bead squeezed in between two large beads may still shift any of them if there is not enough room in between.
Crescent beads that are attached to the surface in two places won’t remain in the same place if you decide to stitch seed beads around them. They get moody like a person born under a Moon sign. So how to stop them from moving around? The trick is to stitch one seed bead at a time and always check if that seed bead is in line with other beads. Seed beads can get pushy and boss Crescent beads around disturbing your perfect pattern, so be patient.
A Quick Project
A pendant or a brooch is a small but perfect project to start experimenting with Crescent beads and bead embroidery. I completed my brooch (see illustration above) in a day.
I hope you like these ideas and will try them out soon. Send me the photos of your project. We will WOW and AHH about it together!
P.S. Would you like to explore bead weaving with Crescent beads? Check out these patterns and ideas!