How to sew beads to Machine embroidered designs
Supplies
Beading thread (preferably) , a beading needle( although I have used other kinds of needles), and some 11/0 size beads. All found in any art and crafts/sewing store
Some Hints
Occasionally knot the thread so that if it should break only a few beads will come off and not the entire design.
Try to use beading thread it is strong and thin. I find I can use white with any color bead. But if your beads are translucent you may want to have an effect on the color by using a colored thread.
I recommend using hydro sticky cut away heavy stabilizer. This is best and easiest for several reasons; 1: you don’t have to hoop the fabric, 2: The stabilizer is stiff and will make a good background for holding your beading design while you bead it, 3: once it dries it is not sticky and wont gunk up your machine. Hoop only the stabilizer, wet it, then stick the area of the fabric to be sewn on the stabilizer.
Sewing beads in a line to fabric one at a time
Bring the needle up through the fabric from the wrong side at the beginning point of your design. Draw up the complete length of thread until the knot is next to the wrong side of the fabric. Then pick up a bead on to the needle and let it slide down (or push it) to the fabric. Insert the needle back down on the other side of the bead. and push the needle down through the fabric to the wrong side. Pull the thread taut but not too tight--you don't want ripples in the fabric. This is the simplest way to sew beads: one at a time. It's also terribly slow.
Sewing beads to fabric in a line with a backstitch
You can sew several beads in one backstitch. Make sure you take the down stitch at the right spot close to the end bead, on the pattern line. When sewing a group of beads, you need to come back between the second and third bead from the end and go through those last beads again.. Then pick up another group of 3 or 4 or 6 beads and line them up on the pattern ... and repeat. This is the backstitch. It secures the line of beads so they won't move. The most important skill to develop is to be able to sew on the beads in a way that secures them--in the proper position--and stabilizes them without distorting the fabric. ( This is where a good stiff stabilizer comes in handy). For example..You can have the first stitch lay down 6 beads. Then the next stitch come up behind the 4th bead and went through beads 4, 5, and 6. Then add the next group of beads, laying them down along the pattern, secure with a downstitch, and back track again, so that most of the beads are stabilized with double stitches. You can practice backstitching with varying numbers of beads to see how many beads it's possible to lay down in one stitch. I am most comfortable with adding four beads at a time.
Sewing beads onto a grid
Your embroidery machine will stitch out a grid to follow for easy bead placement. Try to insert the needle as close as possible to the center of the square.
Follow the grid by coming up at "a" putting a bead on the needle then going down at "b". Come up at "c" add a bead then come down and "d" and so on until the grid is filled. When you reach the second row, come up at "1" and go down at "X", up at 2 down at "y" and so on. This grid is specifically sized to accommodate 11/0 size beads. If you resize any design with a grid the beads will not fit properly. Therefore I do not recommend resizing. If you would like the design in a different size please write me, I am happy to do it for you. I will be able to keep the grid at the proper proportions.
Sewing beads into space left on the Embroidery Design
Some designs simply leave a hole where the bead belongs. Simply sew a bead into the hole using the one at a time method above.
Some designs leave a line of space that will have the beads sewn in. In this case attach the beads using the backstitch method above and simply follow the space!
Some other tips and tricks
Whats a good way to get the beads on the needle?
There are several methods for doing this. I like the swoop and scoop method myself. If your beads are in a small bowl simple swoop your needle through the pile and scoop some up! Sometimes I will get 3 or 4 in one swoop. Another method is the sticky finger method. Wrap a piece of tape around the top of your finger sticky side out and dunk it into the beads.
Leave your embroidery in the hoop! If you do this you have something to hold onto as you bead!
Happy Beading!