After making a few of these—and
loving them—I was addicted. I made
enough to make a hefty string to wear
as a necklace, and still kept going.
(fi gure 2) As I worked, I considered
other ways I might use them.
Earrings? A brooch? And of course,
how could I use them in an art quilt?
I’ve never really created
dimensional art, but these little beads
called out for a home. I constructed
a base (the lime green background)
from a jacquard napkin given to me
by a neighbor (it belonged to her
Belgian grandmother and she was
downsizing). I paint-dyed it with
Jacquard® Dye-na-Flow® and then
fused it to fast2fuse®, a double-sided
fusible interfacing that is stiff enough
to provide some structure and support
the weight of the beads and the hot
pink top layer.
The balls needed to be interacting
with the layers, not just stitched on
top, so I created a second layer using
the hot pink fabric I’d hand-dyed
years earlier and re-discovered in
my stash. I cut holes in the fast2fuse
where I wanted the balls to be coming
through, then fused the fabric down
to the interfacing and carefully cut
smaller holes through the fabric,
making tabs that I could bring around
to the back and fuse down before
stitching around the holes. Then I
quilted both pieces.
To create movement, I stitched the
pink layer down so that it puffed out,
creating waves supported underneath
by rolls of fast2fuse. Then I positioned
and hand stitched the balls in place.
Hand embroidery and additionalembellishments of beads, sequins, and
discs cut from old gift cards create
sparkle and movement.DIRECTIONS
- Cut a 48" length of silk sari
ribbon.
NOTE: For a larger bead, cut a
longer length. The size of the bead
also depends partly on how tightly
you wrap the silk ribbon, and how
much you embellish it with the
thread.- Cut a 24" length of hand quilting
thread. This thread has to be
strong, as you will be wrapping
it tightly around the silk. Thread
the embroidery needle with this
thread and knot the end before
doing the next step. (You’ll have
your hands full!) - Starting at one end of the silk
sari ribbon, wrap it several times
around two fi ngers, then pull it
off and wrap around the other
way. Fold it in half, and continue
wrapping around in different
directions to make a nicely
shaped sphere. It’s easier to start
with the ribbon folded up and
narrow, and then open it up to
a wider ribbon as the bead gets
bigger.
TIP:If you run out of ribbon and want a
bigger bead, simply hold the end of the
ribbon down while you start with another
piece and keep wrapping. - When the bead is the size you
want, fold under the end of the
MATERIALS
- Silk sari ribbon (I used blue/
purple.) - Hand quilting thread (I used
blue.) - Perle cotton size 3 (I used
pink/orange variegated.) - Perle cotton size 8 (I used
beige.) - Jeweler’s pliers or needle-
nose pliers - Embroidery needles
- Small sharp scissors
- Fabric cutting mat or
kitchen cutting board
fi gure 2
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