Quilting and Beadwork

I love adding beads to my quilts, especially those destined to go on for competitions. The sparkle of beads gives the finished product that extra "wow" dimension. Stringing beads together, then attaching the strand to the quilt is difficult. More so, if there are no visible knots on the back side of a quilt, which takes enumerable hours.

Recently, I began to wonder if I could quilt and bead at the same time. I found various tools on the market to help push beads through your sewing machine using a zigzag stitch. These tools and techniques did not result in an appealing quilt back. You would not realize how judges scrutinize the back side of your quilt. I pondered how beads are sewn on clothing. Invisible stitches especial that of formal wear was my inspiration.

I began to investigate how haute couture and saree beadwork. Now I have fallen down a rabbit hole! So now I am self-teaching myself about Aari/ Luneville techniques as seeing if I can apply it to quilting.

Of course, learning a new technique requires new tools and supplies. I ordered a set of Aari needles from India. and to my surprise, the package did not come in the typical box wrapped in tape or covered in a plastic bag. Instead, I find a box covered in cloth which was sewn closed and the seams sealed with wax!

I played around with the needles and got the "very basic" chain stitch figured out. Accuracy and speed will come with practice. The decision to go from a single fabric to a quilt sandwich in a hoop was not as big of a change as I thought it would be. I had one of those "What do you know it works!" moments. Now I can bead and quilt at the same time and the Quilting on the back is delicate and unobtrusive. This technique is going to take some time to perfect. Frayed threads are my new enemy; caused by wrapping too many times around the hook. Also, finishing knots are difficult. There is a lot of practice time ahead of me!