Embellish on the Fly: Tips for Sewing Beads on the Go - Quilting Daily

✓Our best-selling online course is back and better than ever! APQS Longarm Certification Sponsored by Quilting Daily has been revised and updated. Not only will you learn how to make beautiful quilts, you’ll also gain skills to turn your passion into a paycheck with tips on how to run your own quilting business.

I am absolutely loving my still-new job as editor of Quilting Arts Magazine. But even a dream job requires some trade-offs, right? In my case, I’ve had to sacrifice some studio time.

Beaded embellishment by Lyric Kinard called “Sol”

I’m not complaining! I have just realized—like so many others with busy lives—that if I’m going to get any of my own artwork done, I’m going to have to squeeze it in on the fly, embroidering by hand here and sewing embellishments there.

‘Sol’ art quilt with beaded embellishment by Lyric Kinard.I find one of the keys to making creating-on-the-go work is to prepare a variety of kits you can take along with you, whether you’re on the sidelines cheering at your kids’ soccer games or flying across the country on a business trip.

One of the most productive fiber artists I know, Lyric Kinard, put together a list of tips and supplies to make it easier to create on the go that appeared in the February/March 2011 issue of Quilting Arts Magazine.

Fabric embellishment, especially sewing beads on fabric, is one of the easiest creative tasks to do outside the studio. Lyric suggests you make a travel embellishment kit using a tin box, like the kind used for holding mints.

embellish bead kit — A travel tin for sewing embellishments on the go.

Stocking your travel tins:

Cut a little square of felt to stick your needles in.
Glue a magnet to the lid to hold your needles and scissors.
Nymo Thread ® and C-Lon® beading threads are great and come in many colors.
Try #11 applique needles for beading on cloth; they don’t bend as easily as a beading needle.
Use a rubber finger to pull the needle rather than using a thimble to push it.

Lyric’s tips for taking your fabric embellishing kit on the road:

Take a needle threader that has a thread cutter attached if you are worried about flying with scissors. (But don’t rule out carrying a small pair of scissors; my fold-up pair has never been questioned at an airport.)
Use shorter lengths of thread and learn to pull your needle with the point facing you. Your seatmate will appreciate it.
Thread a bunch of needles ahead of time if you have trouble threading in a bouncy car or plane.
Close the tin after picking up beads on your needle when you are in a moving vehicle. (Seed beads could fly everywhere on a bumpy road or when a plane hits turbulence.)
Wrap a bit of tape, sticky side out, around your finger and dip it in your beads so you won’t have to open and close the tin as often.

sewing beads — Sewing beads and thread fit in a small tin.

When I look back at Lyric’s article and the other issues from 2011, I realize there are many parts of a fiber art composition you can work on when you’re on the go, in addition to quilting embellishments.

If you missed it, you can get Lyric’s article and the entire set of 2011’s issues on the Quilting Arts Collection. Just think, you could take an entire year’s worth of Quilting Arts inspiration and techniques with you when you travel and pop it into your laptop any time. Or, save even more space by downloading the Collection directly to your computer.