Bead embroidery and embroidery with beads, in my mind, are two different things.

When I talk about embroidery with beads I’m usually referring to regular embroidery featuring surface embroidery stitches worked in floss, with the addition of beads as accents.

Bead embroidery, on the other hand, is a specific embroidery technique, wherein beads adorn the surface of the fabric, and stand on their own as the decoration. It rarely involves decorative stitches with embroidery threads, and if it does, the visible stitches are minimal, compared to the bulk of decoration done with beads.

I have no idea if this is a “technically correct” distinction, but since I like to add beads here and there as accents on some of my embroidery projects, I’ve had to make a distinction in my head, and that’s how the distinction established itself.

Today, I want to show you, up close and personal, a book on bead embroidery, or the embellishment of fabric predominantly with beads. The book is The Art of Bead Embroidery: Japanese Style by Margaret Lee, and it’s a doozy.

Let’s take a look!