Beadwork crafts for beginners by hand: simple schemes, step by step master classes, photo ideas

One of the most popular kinds of needlework has become beadwork, thanks to the availability of materials. To this type of folk art, which has deep roots, you can join a child of school age.

Beadwork develop fine motor skills and imaginative thinking. This is the best way to occupy the family with a common activity during long winter evenings or in rainy weather.

Today, this type of applied art has been adapted to modern trends. Beadwork is actively used in interior design and as fashion jewelry.

Materials for Beading

The beauty of small beads depends on the beads, the quality of the beads and the convenience of the tool.

Beads can be strung on any sturdy base that is hard to tear:

1. String. Preference is given to thin fishing line or a special offer for needlework - in a small meter packing.
2. Sturdy thread. Usually use kapron thread or other synthetic variations for weaving beadwork. Natural-based waxed thread glides well, so it's easy to work with.
3. Wire. For work with beads is suitable any wire which is well bent and fixes the form of products. The base of non-ferrous metal, "naked", varnished or with a thin insulating coating is suitable. It differs in the degree of hardness - soft and wire for rigid fixation of the form of products.

Useful tip! The wire or other base should be half as thin as the beads' hole, check the passage before you start working.

Also, rubber band thread (with thread braiding) and elastic thread are used when making tight-fitting bracelets and chokers. Elasticity is important when wearing beaded jewelry. Stretchy threads are available in polymers, with or without a braid.

If there is a desire to learn the basics of beading for the sake of making jewelry, you will need accessories.

To choose from, inexpensive plastic or high-end metal clasps determine the quality and overall cost of the piece. Also used are "cups" and rings for large beads, pendants, earring pendants, and details for articulating jewelry elements.

Most often these materials and threads are available where the beads are sold. Of the tools for working with beads, special beading needles with a thin eye are used.

A completed row often has to be fixed - a lighter is needed to solder the end of the fishing line or thread.

Auxiliary tools - scissors, tweezers, pins and clips to temporarily fix the auxiliary thread. Sometimes glue is used. When working with wire, round pliers and side cutters (wire cutters) are useful.

What kind of beads to buy?

Beads are small beads, which used to be used mainly for embroidering expensive clothes and status things for the nobility. Large beads and gems with a stringing hole were set aside to make jewelry.

Smaller beads were made of glass and metal to dilute a necklace of pearls, amber and expensive stones.

Note! The beads in the same beading must be the same size, with the same diameter through hole by diameter. The size is a measure of how many beads fit into a one-inch (2.54cm) square. The larger the numbering, the shallower the beads.

Some small, rounded beads are soldered or fused beads. Long glass sticks are chopped beads, most often with raw edges.

Varieties:

• chameleon;
• glass beads;
• transparent;
• iridescent;
• matte;
• grated;
• wet;
• striped;
• mélange;
• chopped;
• brocade;
• lustre;;
• asphalt;
• metallic;
• dyed inside the hole;
• pearl (Ceylon) beads.

The most expensive is the fine Japanese beads, which have almost no discards.

Once the holes in the beads were drilled by hand, so each bead was valued. Along with artificial beads, at different times they used change of plants, bird claws, shells, small pods, nuts, fish bones and other materials.

Today, natural pearls, beads of semi-precious stones and Murano glass are most valued.

Useful tips for working with beads

When starting to make a product, it is important to make sure that you have enough beads in 1-2 packs. Always buy with a reserve. If there is a shortage, you can buy a similar package or dilute with something similar in places where it is less noticeable.

Masters recommend:

1. Check if the beads slip well through a special needle with thread or wire of the chosen diameter.
2. Choose a thread in the tone of the beads. For colored items, a transparent polymer thread or fishing line is appropriate.
3. To prevent small beads from "scattering" on the table, spread a clean waffle towel in front of you, and put the beads in a small box with low rims.
4. At the end of the work it is better to impregnate the knots with glue or colorless nail polish - for secure attachment, especially if it is a bead.
5. Dyed beads need to check the different parameters. Soaking cotton pads with perfume and soapy water, try rubbing the beads lightly. If they are frayed or change color, it is better not to use such material for jewelry, it is for interior decorations.
6. Spherical and bulky blocks are better threaded on fishing line or polymer thread, it will provide the desired shape.
7. If by inattention there was a violation of the pattern, you can insert a needle into the extra beads and crush them with pliers.
8. Chopped glass beads have sharp edges, there is a chance of cutting the thread in the finished product, so it is better to mix it with round beads or pebbles.
9. When the work is complete, the remaining beads are sorted and packed into separate bags with a clasp.

Complex articles of beads and wire, trees and flowers require experience, which needlewomen often share in free master classes.

Easy beaded crafts for beginners

Beautiful crafts and beaded jewelry assume a complex scheme, which is difficult for beginners to read. In any case, to avoid confusion, it is better to mark the ready part of the new scheme with a marker.

Light beaded crafts do not necessarily have to be made of material of the same shade as in the picture. Sometimes a different color solution gives a more attractive version.

The simplest crafts for beginners:

1. Beads.
2. Pendant.
3. Bracelet.

Decorative beaded trees

Bonsai is a traditional art of Japan. In the European version "took root" beaded trees, the basis of which is made of copper wire. It holds its shape well. Such a craft is a great gift for a loved one or a decoration for your interior.

Decorative beaded trees with leaves of different colors are woven according to a general principle. The most popular are considered:

• tree of happiness;
• sakura;
• herringbone;
• "yin-yang";
• love tree;
• weeping willow;
• money tree.

Along with beads, they use Chinese coins, beads, ornamental stone, ready-made leaves from plastic - cut from bottles.

From the first time you do not always get flawless, as the masters. But it is important step by step to master the secret of making a craft. You will have to spend a lot of time, work carefully and accurately.

You will need wire, a base for the trunk (glue, alabaster), beads and tools for working with wire.

A simple scheme for a beaded tree - photo.

Flowers from beads

A popular theme for needlework is flowers. Using a detailed scheme and beautiful material, weaving crafts from beads is easy to turn into a fascinating hobby.

Depending on the level of skill, you can weave an entire composition:

• indoor violets;
• bouquet of daffodils;
• irises;
• lilies;
• hyacinth;
• orchids;
• chrysanthemums;
• lavender sprigs;
• volumetric roses in a vase.

Mastering the simplest schemes, you can move on to more complex models of beads. Some products rival the beauty of natural flowers.

Animal figures made of beads

Masters of beadwork perform original crafts, bordering on works of art. Simple figures can be made together with a child according to the scheme:

1. Fish.
2. Foxy.
3. Kitty cat.
4. Butterfly.
5. Hedgehog.

Beaded crafts for beginners with simple schemes give confidence that with time you will create true masterpieces.

Ornaments from beads

Beads are a good material for homemade jewelry. Even if there is no scheme, here you can improvise, combine beads with beads, artificial pearls and ornamental stones:

1. Beads are the most varied bead product, but not all of them will look current and stylish. Sometimes a lot of effort is expended, but it will turn out "from grandma's coffer". However, modern ethnic variations look luxurious and attractive.
2. A bracelet is the simplest piece of jewelry. They can be made in a variety of techniques, including braiding a plastic base.
3. Earrings made of metal beads and natural stones always look more expensive than simple beaded pendants on pendants.
4. The gerdan in the folk technique. It is weaved on a special loom from beads only. A simple geometric pattern is available for beginners, according to the scheme you can assemble a decoration with poppies or sunflowers, which look very natural.

Beadwork

This type of needlework comes from antiquity, where each pattern had a symbolic meaning. Embroidery can be done on the markings, according to the scheme, or on a fine grid.

The highest pilot is considered to be embroidery (with or without a scheme):

1. Icon.
2. Portrait.
3. Painting.

Useful tip! Choose beads of the same size. You can combine colored, transparent, matt or iridescent beads, but the pattern should turn out quite recognizable.

New Year's Eve crafts out of beads

Christmas and New Year is the most fertile theme for needlework, when any festive decorations are welcome.

Popular New Year's Eve crafts:

• Christmas trees:
• balloons;
• snowflakes;
• angels;
• snow maidens;
• Christmas tree decorations;
• pendants with beads for the window.
• winter figures (snowmen, penguins, reindeer, polar bears).

It is suggested to involve children to make snowflakes, beaded garlands, beaded Christmas trees for table ikebana and easy crafts from beads - the symbol of the New Year.

Easter beadwork

Easter bunnies and beaded eggs have become quite common at the holiday feast. The braiding is done on a different basis, you can even take an ostrich or goose egg, but it will have to be emptied.

Instead of real eggs, papier-mâché blanks, "Kinder-surprises," and wooden blanks are used. The most beautiful are openwork hollow egg-shaped decorations. They are made in a traditional pattern on copper wire.

Handmade products made of beads are simple and affordable, original gifts, decorations and unusual interior décor. They do not require large investments, but require patience, assiduity and great accuracy.

An ancient form of applied art has been transformed into a modern form of needlework, which can be used by people of any age.

A photo of easy beadwork for beginners