RSN Essential Stitch Guides: Bead Embroidery

If you embroider and bead then you need this book. This beautifully illustrated book shows you how to marry the two media together. 

A good portion of the book shows the basics, the materials you will need to get started, the threads, needles, beads, fabric and all the rest of the bits required. 

Basic stitches including how to get your thread onto the fabric with no knot to spoil the work. Clear diagrams show the stitch placement with hints and tips to get the best results. 

Counted thread stitches on canvas shows how to build stitches which have beads as part of the design either on the work already done or within the pattern. 

The Bead embroidery section includes using just beads to create works of beauty. There is good advice on the best fabric to use and a line about just going for it, being brave and letting the beads do the talking, which made me smile. There is a lovely section on how to create motifs with step-by-step photos; how they build up, lines, loops and circles are all covered. These can be used or adapted to bigger or alternative designs. Bead running and satin stitching along with sequin lines will give a new dimension to ideas. The sequin rosettes are also lovely.

Beaded surface stitch is based on normal embroider stitches. The combination of all threads or all beads or a bot of both opens up a whole new world. There are some lovely samples showing what can be achieved, with photos showing how the stitches will look using the various combinations. 

The last chapter is Fringes, featuring various types and how to do them, with very wise words, 'Have you got enough beads to complete?'. I know that feeling very well.

This is a beautiful 'how-to' book that will encourage the creative juice to flow and get a new dimension to your embroidery. This is also a good reference book to dip into if a bit of inspiration is needed. If you can embroider then you can do this! I did some samples just from reading a few pages ... then I went off on a bit of a tangent.

-- Tina Holmes * Bead Society of Great Britain Issue 137 *

I found this book well written & informative. It has stitch instructions along with samples of different ways to use stitches and beads. I now need to sort out my bead stash & give it a go. I won this book in a giveaway.

-- Maggie Goodsell

This book is larger than I expected having seen previous editions of this book series before but this reformatted version of the 2010 original has been made larger (A4) and thus much easier to read and use. It’s absolutely full of step-by-step pictures and instructions to show you how to do very basic beading patterns all the way up to much more complicated pieces incorporating multiple different beading and embroidery techniques. The instructions are clearly worded and pictured in detail so that you can easily follow along. There is a vast array of different patterns/layouts for beads from traditional designs to more modern interpretations and all sorts of different colour schemes which can be mixed and matched to your hearts’ content. The techniques include seed beads and bugle beads as well as sequins and near the end there are also patterns to create beaded fringes for your work. It’s really wide-ranging for something I assumed would be quite niche and specific. There are some really nice suggested projects for your work including glasses cases and decorative boxes and the fringes could be attached to curtains or clothing, a real labour of love. All in all, if you’re wanting to incorporate beads and sequins into your embroidery work then this is a great book to have and it’ll give you plenty of ideas and techniques to use time and time again.

-- Lucy Fyles * Customer Review *

This book is typical of RSN guides in that it contains comprehensive instructions, diagrams and photographs of finished pieces for inspiration. I like the larger format as the details are clearer and it is sufficiently detailed for a relative beginner to follow and thus keep this aspect of needlework relevant.

-- Marilyn Ralston * Amazon Customer Revi