Bead and Thread Word Art

It was inevitable after pin & thread and then brad & thread that I would try another way to recreate nail and thread art without having to use the hammer [or nails].  Today, I offer beads and thread as an alternative.

 

 I chose to create my design on card, however; you can easily adapt this to paper or fabric.  The preparation follows very much the same as when using brads, creating a template [either using the computer or free-hand] and using this to mark the outlines with spaced [as even or random as you like] holes using a pin or needle.  As I created a word, the pin points needed to be much closer together to make sure the shape and details were not lost, compared to geometric shapes, where the joining points only need to be marked.  The closer together your pinpoints, the more defined your design.  Bear this in mind time-wise – it can end up taking quite a while…..

[I'm not sure if you can even see here, but I promise it is a word, outlined with pin points] 
Once my word was outlined with pin points, I used these to guide thread through the card with a needle, adding a bead and then threading the needle back through the same pin point to secure:

I'd also recommend piercing right through the card when outlining your design to help thread through and prevent the card from bending with the needle. 

I chose a clear bead as I wanted to use a brightly coloured thread, but choose any colour that compliments your taste, décor or the design:

…continue along all the pin points:

Depending on the design you are after, you could leave the design like this, without adding the thread - a mixture of colours, or an ombre effect would look brilliant......

Once I'd completed the beading, I threaded the end of a multi-coloured embroidery floss pack through a pin point at one end, knotting and securing at the back to then allow me to use as much of the floss as needed to wind around the beads in a zig-zag effect, also preventing me from guessing the length needed, wasting any thread or having to add extra lengths if I ran out:

However; it soon became clear that the embroidery floss [as pretty as it is] was too thick for securing with the beads, so I had to abandon the idea and swap for sewing thread in a bright raspberry shade.  This allowed me to wind around the beads and secure them underneath:

I started by outlining the word:

…and began filling the letters with wraps of the floss in random zig-zag patterns, using the beads to wrap around and secure the thread to prevent the whole thing from untangling: 

Continue until the entire word, shape or design is filled - the more you wrap and overlap the thread, the more defined your design will be.  Once complete, push the thread back through a pin point at the end, tie and trim to secure: 

...and then it is ready to hang - framed or washi-taped to the wall:

...it's a design with impact and an effective way of recreating the nail and thread look:

Mix different threads, colours and beads to personalise the design.

Have I exhausted the alternatives now?

see you next time x