Beads Work

Beads work is beads line of embroidery. This beading craft developed in India in the 19th century because of the influence of the European traders. They bought beads as articles of trade. Unlike other places where the beads are stitched on cloth to form a pattern, here they are used with no backing material at all. A large number of different beads and a needle and thread are the only materials with which the craftsmen create chaklas, door hangings, belts, bags, pot covers and a variety of other things.

The design is woven with the thread and needle. The beads work is done row by row on a tri-bead system, three beads being taken up at each stitch. On the return row, the stitching of the beads moves one position forward, so that a tight network is created. Usually the background is white with the pattern in different colors. The same motifs are used here as cloth embroidery.

Even though the patterns are of necessity, more geometric than in ordinary embroidery the sense of movement is achieved in ingenious ways---by bending a leg, elongating an arm or by bending to form the reigns of a horse. Kathiawar, in Gujarat is a popular center for this craft.

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