Hello, I'd appreciate any guidance on recreating a photo or picture with bead embroidery.

I'd like to know where to start, For instance, Does the picture have to be imprinted on the cloth? Do I start on the out side or the middle of a picture.

If I want to do a cross stitch picture in seed beading  how do I get the picture on the  paper grid to the cloth?

Thank you so much.

Hi Stephanie,

Yours is quite an unusual request, as most beaders who work with seeds use offloom weaving techniques, especially peyote, to create beadwork from photographs (example: http://cs.beadandbutton.com/bnbcs/forums/p/9556/43179.aspx#43179 ).

One of the few beaders that comes to mind who's blog could be of help to you is The Lone Beader. She does award-winning multimedia bead embroidery sculptural type work that can't be explained, it must be seen! She keeps step-by step logs on her blog, has several websites and it's worth some time to take a look at them. Her blog is here: http://blog.thelonebeader.com/, from there you can access her various other web presences.

 Where to start - you need to start with a lightweight tracing paper. Tape the tracing paper at the corners to a normal sheet of white paper (so your printer won't mangle it) and make sure to place the two pieces you taped together in your printer so that the tracing paper side will get printed on, not the normal paper side. It should all lay flat so it feeds nicely into the printer. Print the image you want to use making sure its sized correctly for your project. Wait a minute before handling the printout so the ink will be perfectly dry. Remove the tape from the corners with care and discard the normal paper.

If you're using a xerox machine to transfer the image, same procedure with the normal paper and tracing paper. 

You now have your image to be beaded.

 Take the printed tracing paper and cut out the image leaving a good (1/2" or more) margin all around it. Now center the tracing paper on the foundation you'll be using for beading, and baste it to the foundation through the margin you left, making sure its secure.

 You will actually be embroidering through the tracing paper - it does not need to be removed, and once your beadwork is complete, you won't even know there's tracing paper underneath it! Just baste it on and embroider. It will feel weird at the beginning, but trust me...it works perfectly.

 Where you start embroidering is not really an issue, but if you haven't done a whole lot of embroidery I'd start from the middle and go outwards.

To transfer a cross-stitch image, a photograph, a drawing or anything at all, the technique with the tracing paper and printer or xerox machine will work perfectly. The only problem with the cross stitch pattern is that you'll no doubt lose the grids if you use a xerox machine, only the colored parts will be transferred...probably - not entirely sure about that. Another note about xerox vs. printer - if you can get a color xerox copy done anywhere, go for it - you won't have to keep referring to the original image for colors that way.

Hope that helps! :)

If you go to http://www.beadtool.net/ there is a software they sell that will allow you to import photos and assimilate them into a pattern - brick stitch, square stitch, loom stitch, peyote, whatever you want. You can download a free trial of it to try it out too.

I think the sqaure or loom stitches would translate well for you - once printed, it would be like following a tradistional cross stitch pattern. The program also has all the Miyki and Toho colors, and you can create your own custom color palletes from the beads that you already have in your stash - so if you import a picture, it will apply your color palette of beads you have already to the color chart. Makes it really easy!

 good luck to you -

mdg

Original Sin:  NICE explanation!!!

Thank you very much, Hannah! At least somebody appreciated it....and no doubt you could have given the same reply just as well. Your work is fabulous! I took a look at your website and Etsy shop. Gorgeous stuff and quite unique - I really enjoyed taking a peek.

No, I probably wouldn't have been nearly as thorough as you were, OS.  Do you teach? Because if you do, and are that detail oriented, I'm sure you are very good. 

Actually, the funny thing is that I've never worked from a photo beforehand.  I've done some square stitch and loomwork from graphs, but I'm only just getting ready for my first piece that isn't just a freeform design-as-you-go piece of embroidery.  Its for a fundraiser here in New Mexico for a equine rescue and I'm planning on using size 15 beads.  I'll probably go blind doing that!  (grin) 

Hi Hannah,

No, I don't teach, but I am a stickler for detail in just about everything, from explanations to beadwork

That horse is wonderful....I sure would love to see it when it's done!!!!  I don't know how big you plan on making it, but if you're using size 15's....don't plan tooooooo big, it'll take you forever and a day. Gorgeous pic....I'm sure you'll do an awesome job with it! I'm going to be tackling a big offloom project in size 15s soon myself...frankly the idea scares me, but then I pick up my size 24 goldplate seeds and take a good look at them to put things back into perspective :). I don't know if I'll ever have the courage to use those...they look like grains of sand with a hole in the middle

 Thanks for mentioning me, and for your kind words, OriginalSin! I appreciate that! :D

Yes, I do document the progress of my beadwork on a daily basis, and I try to answer as many questions as possible, etc...  Also, there is a link in the sidebar of my blog to my basic bead embroidery tutorial. That might help get you started! 

http://www.ebsqart.com/ArtMagazine/za_522.htm

 I hope it helps!