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Tambour beading

Are any of you familiar with tambour beading?  I've never tried this form of bead embroidery, and it looks kind of wicked cool.  What do you think?




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Comments

Anonymous said…
Wow that is pretty cool! What kind of fabric do you think they are using? I don't know if I would have the patience for that!
Cyndi L said…
Probably a high-count linen or cotton? I am not sure that I really want to tackle it, but it's intriguing...
Shirley said…
Cyndi, that is very unusual. What a great fine motor skill. (oops, the teacher in me is showing!) I really had no idea those pieces were created that way. I thought they were just sewn. It does make more sense, as the stitches would be more secure. Thanks so much for finding this!
Bobbie said…
Fascinating! I love that it's how they do the beading on couture fashions. Thanks for letting me discover something new!
Joann Loos said…
I tried doing it once with a regular steel crochet hook. It works, but you can't put the hook very far through because the shaft gets larger. LOL
flyingbeader said…
I took a three day class & let me tell you that just because you can bead doesn't mean you can pick this up easily. It is very hard to do & took me all three days just to figure out what I was doing wrong. Had to give it up as I sew left to right & with tambour you need to do it right to left. Even the ladies who were with the Embroidery Guild of America were having problems learning this. But once you get it the work goes very fast. Unfortunately, I just never "got it".
Cyndi L said…
You know, I had a feeling that it was probably a lot trickier to pick up than the video would suggest! I wonder how long most people have to work at it before they feel their results are consistent and attractive. That doesn't mean it isn't worth exploring...just that it won't be something to take a "casual" interest in!
I have a vague remembrance of doing punch embroidery with a little tool on fabric stretched on an embroidery hoop when I was a kid, so this makes sense to me! I've taught beaded knitting (with 8 perle cotton) and it's kind of the same idea-the beads pop up on the opposite side as they are slid into place. Thanks for sharing! Now I know where those beautiful appliques and beadwork are done on formal clothing!
Genevieve said…
This looks very interesting. I can see that once you have mastered the technique, you can go pretty fast.
Caren said…
I took a class with the video creator, Bob Haven in May. Bob is a wonderful and generous teacher. I took the 4 day beginner class and 3 day advanced class. It took me a while to catch on but I loved it right from the beginning even when I was all thumbs! It's done on silk organza. When I got back home I started a web site for it ... http://www.tambourbeading.com. Click on the gallery and you'll see the 2 pieces I made.

--Caren
www.BeadedGarden.com
www.CarenCohen.com
Cyndi L said…
That's great Caren! Thanks for sharing that info and your pictures!
Marginalia said…
Just hit upon your blog. My wife has been doing this stuff for many years.

You may be interested in her Facebook page and website.

www.facebook.com/#!/LesleyCoidan

www.couturebeading.com
I'm a tambour beader too. I learned from Lesley Coidan who was mentioned in a previous link. Les is brilliant. She taught me way back in the late 70's and started my career as a beader for costume and couture. Its a wonderful craft and well worth learning.
Jan Timms
www.tambourbeadembroidery.com
Cyndi L said…
Fabulous! Thanks for leaving your link :-)