Unlike life flowers, French beaded flowers could literally
last for generations. All they require
once a while is a quick feather-dusting to retain their splendour. The most basic technique involves using seed
beads, but I discovered adding a sprinkling of other materials here and there –
like pearls, crystals, cup-chain, gemstones or even alternating some of them
with plastic flowers can really make a piece seem that more dimensional. After all, French Beading is more like
sculpting rather than sewing – so I even refer to these pieces as sculptures –
“air”broidery, rather than embroidery…
Originally, medieval French- and other European peasants
would collect discarded beads from the noble’s lavishly embellished clothing and
by stringing those beads onto steel wire they developed the art of fashioning
them into beaded leaves and flowers. Even
in 16th Century Venice beaded flowers were created for churches, parade
floats and banquet tables.
It is also known that Princess Grace of Monaco owned
beaded flowers for she appreciated their durability and charm. Today, more people are rediscovering and
embracing this seemingly lost art which can be viewed on popular sites like
Etsy and Pinterest.
