Beaded Cabs
 

I just took a class on beading cabochons. It was not, I fear, very well
taught, and left me with a bunch of questions.

Question 1 is about backing. The directions I have always read said to glue
your cab to Lacy's Stiff Stuff. We just glued ours to leather, which was a
bit hard to sew through, then just glued another scrap of leather on top of
that to cover up the stitch lines. This resulted in a fairly thick, fairly
bumpy back since the leather had been wadded up in a bag. I'm assuming
Lacy's Stiff Stuff would have been easier and neater for the first layer,
but I'm also wondering if any non-wover interfacing would do as well?

Question 2 is about making a bale. We peyote'd a bail directly off the top
of the cab, which I didn't much like. I've taken my off, put a picot around
the edge of the whole thing (and peyote'd around much of the back to cover
up most of the bumpy ugly leather). I'm probably going to reinforce the two
top picots and come off them to attach to a necklace. How do you attach a
beaded cab?

Question 3 is about thread. This is the second class I've taken where the
teacher didn't bother to either condition or stretch her thread (Nymo --
sorry, Sooz) before beginning. I am pretty compulsive about conditioning
and stretching. Is this just a matter of preference? Or is there a reason
I go through my stretching and conditioning rituals?

Question 4 is for the Grammar Curmudgeons amongst us: Can I use peyote as a
verb?

Inquiring stitchers want to know ...

Elise

I'm not a big authority, and mostly I just offer common sense. I don't
really believe in right answers.

1) I've never used Lucy's stiff stuff so I'm not precisely sure what it is.
I've used a stiffer weight of pellon for backing. And I know people who
like to use super suede, which is much easier to go through than leather. I
can't imagine a needle heavy enough to go through leather and still fine
enough for beads.

2) Not sure

3) I don't worry a lot about conditioning my thread. But I only use Nymo
from a spool, and I pull at my thread as I work. Also, I always bring my
thread of choice when I take a class.

4) And yes, you can, grammatically, peyote a cab.

Tina




"EL" wrote in message
...
I just took a class on beading cabochons. It was not, I fear, very well
taught, and left me with a bunch of questions.

Question 1 is about backing. The directions I have always read said to
glue
your cab to Lacy's Stiff Stuff. We just glued ours to leather, which was
a
bit hard to sew through, then just glued another scrap of leather on top
of
that to cover up the stitch lines. This resulted in a fairly thick,
fairly
bumpy back since the leather had been wadded up in a bag. I'm assuming
Lacy's Stiff Stuff would have been easier and neater for the first layer,
but I'm also wondering if any non-wover interfacing would do as well?

Question 2 is about making a bale. We peyote'd a bail directly off the
top
of the cab, which I didn't much like. I've taken my off, put a picot
around
the edge of the whole thing (and peyote'd around much of the back to cover
up most of the bumpy ugly leather). I'm probably going to reinforce the
two
top picots and come off them to attach to a necklace. How do you attach a
beaded cab?

Question 3 is about thread. This is the second class I've taken where the
teacher didn't bother to either condition or stretch her thread (Nymo --
sorry, Sooz) before beginning. I am pretty compulsive about conditioning
and stretching. Is this just a matter of preference? Or is there a
reason
I go through my stretching and conditioning rituals?

Question 4 is for the Grammar Curmudgeons amongst us: Can I use peyote as
a
verb?

Inquiring stitchers want to know ...

Elise

Here's what I have done in the past -
With e6000 glue, attach some fusible interfacing fuse side up onto an index
card. Then glue your cabochon onto the interfacing side of the card. Using
a number 11 or 12 English long beading needle, sew your beads (I use a back
stitch, 4-6 beads at a time, weaving through my work on occasion to secure
it) on around the cabochon (or in whatever design you wish) using
conditioned Nymo or Silamide (I use Thread Heaven to condition). Then take
some Ultrasuede (polyester, very durable, get it at fabric stores) and glue
a piece a little larger than your design to the back of the paper, covering
all stitches.
Then snip the paper/suede backing close to your design, without accidentally
snipping your stitches. (Fingernail clippers work great, getting close to
the design without ruining it.) Then do a picot stitch (or whatever you
prefer) around the edges, catching both the suede and the paper, weaving
through your work to attach all the elements of the design.
This I learned a long time ago in a book, but I can't remember the book. :)
Hard to describe without pics, but I hope it helps a little!

--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net

I just took a class on beading cabochons. It was not, I fear, very well
taught, and left me with a bunch of questions.

Question 1 is about backing. The directions I have always read said to
glue
your cab to Lacy's Stiff Stuff. We just glued ours to leather, which was
a
bit hard to sew through, then just glued another scrap of leather on top
of
that to cover up the stitch lines. This resulted in a fairly thick,
fairly
bumpy back since the leather had been wadded up in a bag. I'm assuming
Lacy's Stiff Stuff would have been easier and neater for the first layer,
but I'm also wondering if any non-wover interfacing would do as well?

Question 2 is about making a bale. We peyote'd a bail directly off the
top
of the cab, which I didn't much like. I've taken my off, put a picot
around
the edge of the whole thing (and peyote'd around much of the back to cover
up most of the bumpy ugly leather). I'm probably going to reinforce the
two
top picots and come off them to attach to a necklace. How do you attach a
beaded cab?

Question 3 is about thread. This is the second class I've taken where the
teacher didn't bother to either condition or stretch her thread (Nymo --
sorry, Sooz) before beginning. I am pretty compulsive about conditioning
and stretching. Is this just a matter of preference? Or is there a
reason
I go through my stretching and conditioning rituals?

Question 4 is for the Grammar Curmudgeons amongst us: Can I use peyote as
a
verb?

Inquiring stitchers want to know ...

Elise

Check out the October/November Beadwork magazine. Page 30. There's cab
instructions there that may help answer some of your questions about backing
materials, etc. HTH!

Question 1 is about backing. The directions I have always read said to glue
your cab to Lacy's Stiff Stuff. We just glued ours to leather, which was a
bit hard to sew through, then just glued another scrap of leather on top of
that to cover up the stitch lines. This resulted in a fairly thick, fairly
bumpy back since the leather had been wadded up in a bag. I'm assuming
Lacy's Stiff Stuff would have been easier and neater for the first layer,
but I'm also wondering if any non-wover interfacing would do as well?


~~
Sooz
-------
"Those in the cheaper seats clap. The rest of you rattle your jewelry." John
Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance
~ Dr. Sooz's Bead Links
http://airandearth.netfirms.com/soozlinkslist.html

Thanks, Tina -- I shall go forth and peyote without worrying about the
grammar police.

I think I'm going to try some non-woven interfacing I have on hand and see
how it does.

Elise
"Christina Peterson" wrote in message
news:1064723374.645417@prawn...
I'm not a big authority, and mostly I just offer common sense. I don't
really believe in right answers.

1) I've never used Lucy's stiff stuff so I'm not precisely sure what it
is.
I've used a stiffer weight of pellon for backing. And I know people who
like to use super suede, which is much easier to go through than leather.
I
can't imagine a needle heavy enough to go through leather and still fine
enough for beads.

2) Not sure

3) I don't worry a lot about conditioning my thread. But I only use Nymo
from a spool, and I pull at my thread as I work. Also, I always bring my
thread of choice when I take a class.

4) And yes, you can, grammatically, peyote a cab.

Tina




"EL" wrote in message
...
I just took a class on beading cabochons. It was not, I fear, very well
taught, and left me with a bunch of questions.

Question 1 is about backing. The directions I have always read said to
glue
your cab to Lacy's Stiff Stuff. We just glued ours to leather, which
was
a
bit hard to sew through, then just glued another scrap of leather on top
of
that to cover up the stitch lines. This resulted in a fairly thick,
fairly
bumpy back since the leather had been wadded up in a bag. I'm assuming
Lacy's Stiff Stuff would have been easier and neater for the first
layer,
but I'm also wondering if any non-wover interfacing would do as well?

Question 2 is about making a bale. We peyote'd a bail directly off the
top
of the cab, which I didn't much like. I've taken my off, put a picot
around
the edge of the whole thing (and peyote'd around much of the back to
cover
up most of the bumpy ugly leather). I'm probably going to reinforce the
two
top picots and come off them to attach to a necklace. How do you attach
a
beaded cab?

Question 3 is about thread. This is the second class I've taken where
the
teacher didn't bother to either condition or stretch her thread (Nymo --
sorry, Sooz) before beginning. I am pretty compulsive about
conditioning
and stretching. Is this just a matter of preference? Or is there a
reason
I go through my stretching and conditioning rituals?

Question 4 is for the Grammar Curmudgeons amongst us: Can I use peyote
as
a
verb?

Inquiring stitchers want to know ...

Elise

The one in Beadwork is attached to a brickstich base, which is kinda neat.

But my real question about backing is whether or not Lacy's Stiff Stuff is
worth ordering, since I can't find it locally and since it seems to be so
highly recommended in most sets of directions I've read.

Elise

"Dr. Sooz" wrote in message
...
Check out the October/November Beadwork magazine. Page 30. There's cab
instructions there that may help answer some of your questions about
backing
materials, etc. HTH!

Question 1 is about backing. The directions I have always read said to
glue
your cab to Lacy's Stiff Stuff. We just glued ours to leather, which was
a
bit hard to sew through, then just glued another scrap of leather on top
of
that to cover up the stitch lines. This resulted in a fairly thick,
fairly
bumpy back since the leather had been wadded up in a bag. I'm assuming
Lacy's Stiff Stuff would have been easier and neater for the first layer,
but I'm also wondering if any non-wover interfacing would do as well?


~~
Sooz
-------
"Those in the cheaper seats clap. The rest of you rattle your jewelry."
John
Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance
~ Dr. Sooz's Bead Links
http://airandearth.netfirms.com/soozlinkslist.html

I've not heard the index card trick before -- sounds interesting.

I can't run down either ultrasuede or Lacy's Stiff Stuff locally, although
I've got my eye on some ultrasuede scraps on eBay.

Thanks for the tips --

Elise


"Kandice Seeber" wrote in message
...
Here's what I have done in the past -
With e6000 glue, attach some fusible interfacing fuse side up onto an
index
card. Then glue your cabochon onto the interfacing side of the card.
Using
a number 11 or 12 English long beading needle, sew your beads (I use a
back
stitch, 4-6 beads at a time, weaving through my work on occasion to secure
it) on around the cabochon (or in whatever design you wish) using
conditioned Nymo or Silamide (I use Thread Heaven to condition). Then
take
some Ultrasuede (polyester, very durable, get it at fabric stores) and
glue
a piece a little larger than your design to the back of the paper,
covering
all stitches.
Then snip the paper/suede backing close to your design, without
accidentally
snipping your stitches. (Fingernail clippers work great, getting close to
the design without ruining it.) Then do a picot stitch (or whatever you
prefer) around the edges, catching both the suede and the paper, weaving
through your work to attach all the elements of the design.
This I learned a long time ago in a book, but I can't remember the book.
:)
Hard to describe without pics, but I hope it helps a little!

--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net

I just took a class on beading cabochons. It was not, I fear, very well
taught, and left me with a bunch of questions.

Question 1 is about backing. The directions I have always read said to
glue
your cab to Lacy's Stiff Stuff. We just glued ours to leather, which
was
a
bit hard to sew through, then just glued another scrap of leather on top
of
that to cover up the stitch lines. This resulted in a fairly thick,
fairly
bumpy back since the leather had been wadded up in a bag. I'm assuming
Lacy's Stiff Stuff would have been easier and neater for the first
layer,
but I'm also wondering if any non-wover interfacing would do as well?

Question 2 is about making a bale. We peyote'd a bail directly off the
top
of the cab, which I didn't much like. I've taken my off, put a picot
around
the edge of the whole thing (and peyote'd around much of the back to
cover
up most of the bumpy ugly leather). I'm probably going to reinforce the
two
top picots and come off them to attach to a necklace. How do you attach
a
beaded cab?

Question 3 is about thread. This is the second class I've taken where
the
teacher didn't bother to either condition or stretch her thread (Nymo --
sorry, Sooz) before beginning. I am pretty compulsive about
conditioning
and stretching. Is this just a matter of preference? Or is there a
reason
I go through my stretching and conditioning rituals?

Question 4 is for the Grammar Curmudgeons amongst us: Can I use peyote
as
a
verb?

Inquiring stitchers want to know ...

Elise

Elise, if you bead "around the corner" to the back, the beads will be a
balanced/tight setting for the cab, and it won't matter if the kind of
interfacing is premo or not. The people I know up here are not all that
picky.

Tina


"EL" wrote in message
...
The one in Beadwork is attached to a brickstich base, which is kinda neat.

But my real question about backing is whether or not Lacy's Stiff Stuff is
worth ordering, since I can't find it locally and since it seems to be so
highly recommended in most sets of directions I've read.

Elise

"Dr. Sooz" wrote in message
...
Check out the October/November Beadwork magazine. Page 30. There's cab
instructions there that may help answer some of your questions about
backing
materials, etc. HTH!

Question 1 is about backing. The directions I have always read said to
glue
your cab to Lacy's Stiff Stuff. We just glued ours to leather, which
was
a
bit hard to sew through, then just glued another scrap of leather on
top
of
that to cover up the stitch lines. This resulted in a fairly thick,
fairly
bumpy back since the leather had been wadded up in a bag. I'm assuming
Lacy's Stiff Stuff would have been easier and neater for the first
layer,
but I'm also wondering if any non-wover interfacing would do as well?


~~
Sooz
-------
"Those in the cheaper seats clap. The rest of you rattle your jewelry."
John
Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance
~ Dr. Sooz's Bead Links
http://airandearth.netfirms.com/soozlinkslist.html

On Sun, 28 Sep 2003 16:34:39 -0400, "EL"
wrote:

The one in Beadwork is attached to a brickstich base, which is kinda neat.

But my real question about backing is whether or not Lacy's Stiff Stuff is
worth ordering, since I can't find it locally and since it seems to be so
highly recommended in most sets of directions I've read.

I think it is. It is stiffer than most non-woven interfacings and can
reliably be colored, if you want. You don't really need it just to
bezel a cab, but if you want to bead out around the cab, you will.
Here's some examples:

http://nyahnyah.basicbali.com/heartcab.jpg

http://nyahnyah.basicbali.com/moonrise.jpg

http://nyahnyah.basicbali.com/mothchld.jpg

--
Marilee J. Layman
Handmade Bali Sterling Beads at Wholesale
http://www.basicbali.com

But my real question about backing is whether or not Lacy's Stiff Stuff is
worth ordering, since I can't find it locally and since it seems to be so
highly recommended in most sets of directions I've read.

No. Because -- 1) too expensive, and 2) Pellon interfacing is basically the
same.
~~
Sooz
-------
"Those in the cheaper seats clap. The rest of you rattle your jewelry." John
Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance
~ Dr. Sooz's Bead Links
http://airandearth.netfirms.com/soozlinkslist.html