Adventures in Bead Embroidery

I love bead embroidery. I have done many dolls, and I wanted to expand into beaded pictures, especially after I did my crayon box. I beaded this box on Lacy's Stiff Stuff, which I love, and it worked wonderfully. However, it is a bit expensive, so when I decided to do a larger wall piece, I wanted to try some other materials.

My first choice was "canvas paper", which is recommended by CelitCat, the wonderful beader who hosts the Delphi Bead Art Forum. However, the paper tends to rip if you get too many needle holes, and I tend to miss my mark often and make extra holes! My picture is coming along, but I do NOT intend to try using this material again! This led me off on a search of suitable materials.
(You can see my finished piece "Ever Upward" on this page, which is stitched on the canvas paper.)
On another website, I saw buckrum was recommended. I hadn't even heard of it, but I was told to ask at the counter at a fabric store. So off I went to Jo-Ann Etc. :)
I purchased four different products, and they are all pretty good, except for one which is too much like fleece and is much too soft. Here are the others:

First, I did find the buckrum, altho it is labeled "Unicorn Buckrams". This is 20 inches wide, and quite stiff. Cost about three dollars for a yard. Seems like it would work really well. I plan on doing my next project on this material.
Update! I love this stuff!
(You can see my finished piece "He Is Risen" on this page, which is stitched on the buckrum.)

Next, I purchased some Decor-Bond. It is 45 inches wide, and was about four dollars a yard. I really like this too- seems like it would work very well. It is much like Stiff Stuff but has a shiny backside that seems to hold up very well to the stitch holes.

The next choice was heavyweight Pellon, #50. This is like a thin version of Stiff Stuff... feels the same, but thinner. It is about 22 inches wide, and was three or four dollars a yard.

So, next time you want to try bead embroidery, I think one of these materials might work for you!

These directions, patterns, and illustrations are copyrighted. You may use them to create your own necklace, which may be sold for pin money but not massed produced. It is acceptable to give them as gifts or sell at a shows. Credit must be given to CheckerBeads for the design, and you must include the address to my homepage. Do not sell them over the internet, as this would compete directly with me. Mass producing and selling them is NOT allowed. It is NOT acceptable to teach a class using these instructions and patterns.

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