Easy Beading

 Things look pretty with a bit of sparkle:

What You Need:

Template

Fabric

Beads

Beading Needle [the thinnest possible]

Thread / Scissors

The method I use in this post, largely follows the same guide as this post, using a printed template as my guide and then removing when finished.

I started by printing and cutting to size my monogram template and sticking lightly around the edges to keep in place on my chosen fabric [if you would prefer, pin in place to stop the template moving]

I then thread my needle through the template at the start of the letter and then threaded a bead, looping back into the stitch to secure in place.  Pull the stitch tight, but not too taut that the fabric bunches:

Continue your stitches, threading a bead in to each one and looping back into the stitch to secure until you have completed your letter.  Keep the stitches fairly close together, about a beads width apart:

Once complete, start ripping away your template, taking care when reaching the stitches.  Tweezers can really help get rid of any tricky areas, but the paper should tear away easily:

...and there you have it.  A beaded monogram letter.

You can leave the beading here, as the letter looks perfectly fine as it is, however; the neat-freak in me can't rest until all those beads are facing the same way and lined up neatly.

Here's my quick how-to:

Start a new stitch, threading in the same place as the first stitch you made:

thread the needle back through each bead, a small section at a time and threading so that the beads line up, facing in the same direction.  Continue this through each and every bead in the sequence:

Once you reach the final section, you will have already noticed all the beads line up in a nice, neat line. Pull the thread and then stitch back into the final stitch previously made and secure tightly at the back.

...and now you have a nice, neat beaded letter.

This effect could also have been achieved by threading the beads with a back-stitch, as opposed to a running-stitch, but for me, this is quicker and easier [and I am all about that].

Heres a side-by-side, so you can see the [slight] difference:

I'm going to be using this technique on quite a few finishing touches this Christmas, mixed with embroidery and sequins and anything else that I can use to make things sparkle and each time, the projects will use this basic technique - I hope this simple how-to has been useful!