Beads have been used by cultures, religions and subcultures for personal adornment, communication and trade for thousands of years. Today, we see beads used in artworks, jewellery making, embroidery, costume design and more.
In the UK, beadwork has been an important art form since the Middle Ages, when elaborate beadwork was used for both decorative and pictorial purposes. In medieval England, richly decorated garments were worked in beads made from precious and semi-precious stones and were so expensive that they were worn only on significant days and holidays, and then only by the nobility or the clergy. From the Renaissance to the 17th century, beadwork was a popular form of decoration for the wealthy and included decorations for clothing, apparel, objects and pictures.
In the 18th century beadwork fell out of favour, but became popular again during the 19th century. Many women’s dresses were richly ornamented with beads of all kinds and beading could be found on many small articles such as gloves, belts, purses, bags and parasols. Beadwork as dress decoration recurred periodically in the 20th century.
Today, beadwork is a popular hobby that takes inspiration from beading traditions all over the world.
Beads come in a variety of materials, shapes and sizes. Beads are used to create jewellery or other articles of personal adornment; they are also used in wall hangings and sculpture and many other artworks
Beadwork techniques are broadly divided into loom and off-loom weaving, stringing, bead embroidery, bead crochet, bead knitting, and bead tatting.
Specific techniques include:
Bead stringing – the most straightforward form of beadwork, but not necessarily the simplest. Stringing beads involves adding beads to any type of thread, cord, elastic, leather, beading wire or similar material. The resulting beadwork can be a single strand, multiple strands, or braided strands. Stringing beads through elastic or wire can be used to make jewellery, for example
Off-loom beadweaving – the use of needle and thread and one or more beading stitches to create an intricate chain or fabric of beads. It is often done with small beads called seed beads. Each stitch has its own unique thread path and creates a different type of beadwork, and many stitches have variations which can create either a flat strip of beadwork, a round tube, a spiral or a flat circular shape.
Loom beading – a bead loom is a device used to weave beads into a cloth-like beaded fabric, and can be used to create strips of flat beadwork or larger sized panels for incorporating into pieces such as purses or artwork. While faster than off-loom beading, it requires additional steps to set up the loom first.
Bead embroidery – another form of beadwork where beads are stitched or sewn onto a fabric or backing. With many different embroidery stitches, this type can be used by itself or in combination with other crafts such as cross-stitch or quilting.
Beadwork can also be incorporated into knitting, crochet and macrame, by first stringing beads into a heavy thread for usage in these crafts.
Beadworking has extensive social, economic and religious meanings and functionalities. Due to this, beading products and processes have multiple distinct forms and patterns around the globe. The local forms are varied from small decorative single beads that at a time served as a currency (called chevrons) through to lighabi, beaded girl’s aprons used in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
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