Turning Scraps of Fabric into Boho Beads

by Dorothea Newham

After being inspired by Helen’s recent article encouraging us to repurpose fabric, I decided to search for ideas to use really small scraps and that’s how I came across Boho or Bohemian beads on YouTube.

I just love the variety of results you can get using the tiniest of fabric scraps and by some makers threads, to make from the very simplest to really embellished beads depending on what you have to hand, how ornate you want to go and how you want to use your finished beads. Some ideas are to attach your Stitchbook pages, to sew onto work, embellish clothing, to make jewellery, bag tassels, key-chains, bead lengths for décor, book marks...whatever your imagination comes up with!

So, to make basic beads you only need fabric scraps, paper or a straw and glue. Very simply you start with a roll of paper about the dimension of a straw (or an actual straw), make or cut the length to what you want your finished bead to be, then glue scraps onto your ‘roll’ building up the thickness using any scraps, as you don’t see these, then finish with your favourite fabric scrap.

Points to remember, don’t cover the holes at either end, also you might like to add more fabric to the middle section so the bead tapers at either end (this looks good on longer beads).

To embellish your basic beads you can add a length of bead-wire through the centre of the tube in order to add a hanging loop, beads, sequins, tassels, charms etc. On some tutorials makers also add thin wire with seed beads and wrap around and over the fabric.

I encourage you to have a look on YouTube for ‘Boho bead tutorial’ for a wealth of video instructions and ideas of how to use them...warning...this could become addictive!

Using simple techniques, Helen Birmingham shows you how to create fabulous jewellery that you will love making, and adore wearing! Her unique, eye-catching designs, coupled with her fantastic use of bright, jewel -like colours, makes this book a treasure trove of ideas and inspiration that you will want to plunge into again and again.

This is no longer in print, but you can still find copies of it on ebay and Amazon (used) for pennies!

see BOOK REVIEW on Page 15

I am very lucky to have been good friends with Phillipa Griffiths for over 20 years! She is a member of The Stitchbook Collective and also a close friend of Textile Artist and Author, Kim Thittichai. I have always found Kim’s work hugely inspirational, and Phillipa’s enthusiasm is infectious, so I asked her if she would write a few words about Kim for the magazine.. If you ever get a chance to buy one of Kim’s books or attend one of her workshops JUMP AT IT!. Helen x

Kim Thittichai

by Phillipa Griffiths

I’ve always been creative, I can’t paint or draw, but I’m creative in other ways; baking, sewing, costume design, mixed media and card making for example.

2010.

I’m at a craft fair in Brighton when I’m drawn like a magpie to the stand of the most magnificient Kim Thittichai which is full of sparkly samples of gorgeousness.

I knew of Kim’s work through my interest in mixed media and I owned one of her books Experimental Textiles, which I devoured. Her work is a glorious mix of textiles, papers, certain plastics, Bondaweb, heavy interfacings and Vlieseline, which are painted, torn, moulded, melted, stitched, heated and manipulated.

Kim studied at Brighton Polytechnic in the 1970s, taking the Wood, Metal, Ceramics and Plastics degree course. Later she studied creative embroidery. She combined the two to create her own, very unique style. An hour with one of her books or videos awakens and sparks your imagination, leading to rummaging through your craft stash and endless lost hours of wondering ‘what will happen if I do this…’

I was a bit of a fan girl, so was initially rather tongue-tied to be talking to her at the show but we were soon chatting away, in fact I offered to give her the sparkly butterfly ring I was wearing in exchange for one of her local day courses!

I was fortunate to attend many of Kim’s 1-3 day courses in Brighton, where, with her expert tuition & guidance, we would be encouraged to expand and develop our mixed media pieces and, most simply put, to ‘play’.

I have a love of combining bright, bold colours, much like you’d see in India and the Caribbean. I recall Kim looking at one of my glitter-tastic samples of bright layered papers and saying “it’s like a circus darling!” www.kimthittichai.com

I also experimented with manipulating pieces into hair accessories, with an idea to develop these further. Sadly, like many crafters, it ended up on my craft ‘to do’ list.

On her courses Kim encouraged us all to find our own way and not to merely copy her samples – something which Helen also encourages. They were wonderful days full of freedom to experiment, support & admiration of others in the group and, of course, eat cake.

I’ve kept all of my work from Kim’s courses, in fact, writing this article has made me look at them once more and vow to put them at the top of my crafting ‘to do’ list. It’s really got my creative juices flowing once more.

Kim now lives in a remote part of the west coast of Ireland. She still delivers courses and lectures both face to face and via the wonders of the internet.

This year she will have a stand at the Festival of Quilts, which is 3rd – 6th August at the NEC in Birmingham.

She will also be teaching in Australia at the Fibre Forum in Geelong in September.

She is an ambassador for Vlieseline.

Her new Experimental Textiles video library will soon be available by annual subscription on her website.

For further details, please view her website but, be aware, you may be there for several hours!

And a word about Helen Birmingham: Having met Helen in her shop That Arty Place in 2003, she kindly took the time and showed great patience in expanding my creativity. As a former Art Teacher she had a great knowledge of many crafts. I have dexterity issues as part of my disability, so Helen & I worked out a) whether I enjoyed the craft and b) whether I could do it.

I feel very privileged to have Helen, first & foremost, as a friend but also as a tutor. She most definitely opened my mind to mixed media and built on my arty farty skills and she continues to inspire me.

Journeys

After considering many options I decided to depict a scene of a shipwreck now in land, that I had witnessed on the Skeleton Coast, Namibia……’Journey’s End’!

by Glennis Walton

Thank you so much for the inspiration which comes with The Stitchbook Collective. The first represents a regular walk round the farm where I live. It’s a pleasure to see the changes over the seasons - what’s growing, what isn’t, and what should be.

My piece depicts the journeys bees make. The sky is a piece of painted fabric from a 2022 Stitchbook project. I also had 2 attempts at adding a path for the bee keeper but found it dominated the embroidery too much.

by Christine Medcalf

The second incorporates weavingespecially using dodgy home dyed threads which are difficult to use for hand stitching. I hope it evokes the landscape and interesting weather here on the North Yorkshire moors.

by Eileen Gibson