GetCrafty Craft Facts

Q: Has anyone ever used seed beads to make a pattern from a cross stitch layout?

A: I haven't done it yet, but just today, I purchased the materials for that very type of project. I'll let you know how it works out. If you plan to stitch them onto the usual fabric following the chart, that works great - I recommend using a thread which matches the fabric rather than bothering to change colours of thread with the bead colours. It looks good and works up much faster. If you are planning to loom or square-stitch the beads together, bear in mind the squares on a cross stitch are really square and seed beads are NOT (they are wider than they are long, in the main) so the pattern will come out distorted - squashed or stretched. I've used cross-stitch patterns several times to make seed bead designs. I used waste canvas to apply a rose pattern from directions for a towel decoration on a soft velvet hat. It worked just fine. I've also used the cross-stitch patterns in a loomed design for a hat band. I have done this. I made a pin out of a Leprechaun pattern for cross stitch. It came out so cute, and as far as I know is one of a kind! I am planning to make one using a turkey pattern I got now! I've done several pieces off of cross stitch patterns. I've done them 2 ways: 1) Make a transfer pattern off the cross stitch pattern and fill in the spaces, or 2) follow the cross stich pattern making adjustments as you go. Seed beads are not square. I have made some loomed projects from patterns designed for cross-stich. One thing to keep in mind is that regular seed beads aren't square like cross stitch fabric. This will make the design taller and thinner than it would be if cross stitched.