Embroidery of nominal icons with beads: recommendations for beginners

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

Recently, it has become fashionable to embroider personalized icons with beads among needlewomen. Nominal icons are the faces of saints, they are also called guardian angels, whose names were given to a person at baptism. If you order a set as a gift, then please note that there may be several saints with the same name. It is better to ask a person for the name given at baptism, or consult with the priest about choosing an icon as a gift.

How to embroider icons with beads?

It is better to work with a ready-made kit, where instructions are already given, beads, needles, canvas with a pattern. Embroider the icon on the frame (knock together four bars to fit the size of the embroidery), pin the ends of the fabric to it. If you do not tighten the canvas during the work, then you can work without auxiliary materials.

Now start embroidering the name icon:

• insert the two ends of the thread into the needle, forming a loop;
• display it in the lower left corner on the front side of the canvas;
• string a bead;
• put the needle in the opposite corner;
• next draw the needle in the next cell in the same lower left corner and repeat all over again;
• as soon as the thread is over, pull the needle through the wrong side through a few stitches.

As with any needlework, embroidery of personalized icons with beads should be without knots and broaches. Therefore, we embroider in two additions to form a loop, and at the end of the thread we sew the bead twice and hide it under 8-10 stitches on the wrong side. If the set contains beads of different textures and sizes, then embroider small ones first. Since large beads may take up more space than shown.

Embroidery of personalized icons with beads: general tips

For the strength of the embroidery, sew the beads twice, if the work is under glass, you can attach the thread once. The main criterion for the quality of icons is the evenness of the product. Therefore, experts advise sheathing either vertical, or horizontal, or diagonal rows, inserting and withdrawing the needle in the same place.

This is necessary so that the embroidery of personalized icons with beads is even. Having reached the face, hands or inscription, start the next row as if the previous one was completed. In the best case, work with several needles in such places so that the painted areas are without gatherings and constrictions.

Thread choose white or the color of the fabric. Under the dark beads, the shades of the thread are not visible, but it is better to embroider transparent beads with monofilament. Circular motion technique requires professionalskills, as glass beads of different sizes and different directions of rows are used.

Pay attention to the quality of the canvas: it is difficult to embroider on linen, but the beads do not slip and the material does not gather. Needles are easily pierced through silk, the entry-exit points for the needle are clearly visible in the figure, but the fabric warps when the thread is pulled lightly.

How to choose bead kits

When buying a set of icons, you need to pay attention to quality. Unlike floss, it is difficult to convey the entire palette of colors with beads. Where backstitch can emphasize the clarity and elegance of lines, bead embroidery uses either a different color or a drawn pattern. That is why some schemes are fuzzy, and the plots of the paintings can only be seen from afar (nearby everything merges into a blur).

Therefore, you need to carefully approach the sets and patterns (monochrome and for the cross will not work, only beadwork). Personalized icons "Kroche" are more expensive compared to the manufacturer "Abris Art", but their quality is better. The faces of the saints are clearly drawn, the maximum number of colors is used in the work, the background appears with an abstract pattern or landscape. When choosing a set, look at the size of the finished embroidery. Icons of small size (about 10 cm) can be carried with you as a charm, and large icons (up to 30 cm) can be hung at home.

Of all types of needlework, beadwork is considered the most beautiful. Personalized icons (schemes mean production ones) look like real ones. Many proscombine embroidery with beads of different sizes, beads and stones with the faces of saints from religious calendars. This technique requires great skill and patience.