Beading.Beadwork.Beads

Adding More Thread

I hate adding more thread. It's right up there with finishing work; when I'm done knitting a sweater or stitching a bracelet, I want to wear it, not sew it together, weave in threads, add findings, etc. But, alas, adding thread and finishing work are almost always necessary in handwork.

There are a couple of ways to add thread to a project in progress. This post covers the technique that can be used in literally every project.

The most important rule is this: Always add a new length of thread BEFORE you end the old thread.

Why? Because in some stitches/projects, if you end your old thread first, you have no way of knowing where to start stitching again. In other words, use your old, short thread as a place marker. Don't end your old thread until your new thread is coming out of the same bead in the same direction  as your old thread.

So, to anchor a new thread, begin by going through some beads some distance away from where your old thread is hanging. Pull the thread through the beads, leaving just a short tail (see Figure 1). In Figure 1 below, the old thread has a stop bead on it, and the thread is purple. The new thread I'm adding is yellow.

Figure 1

Using your needle, pick up a thread that’s in the ditch (or between connected beads) next to the bead where your thread is exiting (see Figure 2). Pull the thread, forming a small loop, and take the needle and thread through this loop to make a knot embedded in the beadwork (see Figure 3). This is just as if you were hand sewing or sewing on a button, etc.

                                  
Figure 2                                                                            Figure 3

Weave through some more beads (Figure 4) and make another knot. Make a total of three or four knots, always weaving through beads between knots, and always heading toward the bead your old thread is exiting.

Figure 4

Figure 5 shows the new, anchored exiting the same bead in the same direction as the old thread. Cut off the short tail left at the beginning of the anchoring (the one on the right in Figure 5). This photo pictures the real thread I added to the project; I didn't really want to stitch with yellow thread with this.

Figure 5

To end your old thread (which you can do as soon as your new thread is in place, or you can do it later), weave through beads and make little knots between the beads, just like you did to anchor your new thread. After making three or four knots, weave through a few more beads, and then trim the thread.

Thread Conditioners

Hey! I'm back!

It's been an interesting summer and fall. I closed the retail front of my bead shop, Bead Obsessions, and opened the online shop. I still have lots of work to do for the online shop, but it's coming along.

I thought I'd ease back into blogging by writing a bit about thread conditioners. I can't imagine stitching without them.

My favorite is Thread Heaven. It's great on nylon-based threads, such as SoNo and OneG (and 
 
essential on Nymo, if you're still using that!). It uses static electricity to deter tangling and knotting, and it protects your thread against UV damage and mold. It's also acid free, so it won't eat your threads. I've learned through my association with the Washington Ship Model Society that museums use it on threads used for rigging in model ships to help preserve said rigging.

The other conditioner I use, mostly on Fireline, is Microcrystalline. 

If the maker of this has a Web site for this product, I couldn't locate it immediately. It is synthetic beeswax and is white (beeswax is yellow). It will add stiffness/body to your work and also deters tangling and knotting.

Which you use is personal preference, unless you want your piece to be on the rigid side; then you should use Microcrystalline or beeswax.

To use either, hold your thread on top of/pressed into the product with a finger/thumb of one hand while drawing the thread with the other hand. Then run the thread through your fingers again; in the case of both products, this will remove clumps and excess product, and in the case of Thread Heaven, this last action is what actually statically charges the thread.

If the air is particularly dry or if I've been away from the project for a long time, I reapply the product before resuming stitching.

A Bit About Needles

Here's what I think is the best way to thread a beading needle.

Hold the very end of the thread in your nondominant hand between your thumb and index finger. Hold the needle in your dominant hand. Then put the eye of the needle over the end of the thread (see the photo below). If this technique isn't working for you after you've practiced it a few times, try holding the thread closer to the end, so less thread is exposed between your thumb and index finger.

 

Thank you to my hand model, Cindy Sayers (my hands are way too gross for this shot!).

Still having trouble? Try turning the needle over.

The eyes of needles have smooth and rough sides. Check out these photos:

Can you see that the inside of the eye in the top photo is smoother than the inside of the eye in the bottom photo (click here for zoom-able photos)? True, this is a huge tapestry needle, which I used to illustrate this point, but beading needles can have the same properties. Thread will most likely go through the needle from the side pictured in the top photo.

Using a Stopper Bead

Sometimes, with some stitches, your beads can easily fall off the end of your thread before you have a chance to use them. Annoying!

To prevent this, start with a stopper bead.

1. On your threaded needle, add a bead that does not look anything like the beads you're using in your project. In the photos below, I'm using a dark purple bead as a stopper in a project using white beads. 

 

2. Go through the stopper bead again, in the same direction. For example, the needle and thread in the photo above are going through the bead from bottom to top; therefore, go through the bead again from bottom to top, as in the photo below.

 

3. Notice the thread travels across the outside of the stopper bead.

 

4. See a stopper bead in action in the photo below!

 

You'll notice the stopper bead still slides around. This makes it easy to take off when you're finished with it, but it also means that if you push against it hard enough, your beads will still fall off the thread. Just be careful not to lose your stopper bead and/or your tail thread.

If you need a stopper bead that stay in place (doesn't slide), then stitch through it twice. This means you'll have to pick these loops out with a needle later, but that's not hard to do if you use a larger bead as your stopper.