One of my all-time favorite travel souvenirs is a pair of beaded sandals. They feature traditional Nyonya bead stitching and were purchased from an artisan in Malacca, Malaysia. The shoe style is more contemporary than traditional but the decoration is consistent with traditional hand-sewn beadwork. Predictably, I don’t actually wear these beauties—instead they’re on display in my studio where I can admire them every day. They are a sweet reminder of the year I spent in Singapore and the dear friends who made it so special.
“The Baba Nyonya community [is] a subethnic group of the Peranakan Chinese community whose culture and lifestyle is a fusion of predominantly Chinese and Malay influences” is how author Datin Seri Endon Mahmood sets the context in her book The Nyonya Kebaya. She explains a pair of embroidered or beaded shoes were an important part of completing the Nyonya look which featured exquisitely embroidered blouses called “kebaya”.
“In addition to embroidery, Nyonyas are also known for their beadwork. Up until the twentieth century, when young Nyonyas stayed at home to learn domestic skills, they were taught the art of stringing, threading and stitching beads by their mothers, grandmothers and aunts. … Although Nyonyas termed all beads manik potong (‘cut beads’), the beads used in their beadwork were tiny seed beads, especially those made of coloured glass known as Rocaille beads, which came to the region via traders. Three methods of beading were employed: stringing (for making tassels and fringes); threading (in which strings of beads are knotted down to form patterns) and, most commonly, stitching (in which beads are sewn one by one over a design drawn on fabric stretched on a frame). …Sadly, beadwork is now a dying art. Rocaille beads have largely been replaced by bigger plastic ones. Nevertheless, a handful of craftspeople in Penang and Malacca still carry on making beaded shoes”
Here’s a closer look at the intricate beadwork on my Nyonya beaded sandals.
This beautiful beadwork has fostered an appreciation for and curiosity about the art of beading. So, when I saw a workshop called Bead-Embroidered Semi-Precious Stone Pendant listed amongst the many offerings at the recent Berea Festival of LearnShops, I signed up. I’m so glad I did!
The instructor, Fran Morris Mandel of The Beading Angel, creates one-of-a-kind beadwork jewelry. She originally studied beadwork from renowned jewelry artists in California. Her art has been published in exclusive beading magazines including Bead & Button, Beadwork and Bead Unique. As stated on her website, Fran has a “passion for sewing tiny glass ‘seed’ beads one-by-one, using a needle and thread … [she] loves using seed beads, crystals and semi-precious stones to create intricately woven pieces of jewelry, essentially becoming wearable works of art.” Not only does Fran create stunning beaded jewelry, she’s also a skilled teacher! She led us through the steps to create our own masterpieces with gentle guidance, patience, attentiveness and flexibility. Her upbeat, friendly personality put us all at ease. (Many thanks, Fran!)
Here are a few examples of Fran’s striking one-of-a-kind pieces.
The workshop description stated “Participants will surround a semi-precious stone cabochon with seed beads and back it on ultra-suede to create a wearable necklace pendant.” And that’s exactly what we did! There were only 3 students in the class which made for an easy-going, relaxed setting with lots of ideas and tips being shared. (Thank you Candi and Holly!)
Here are the bead-embroidered, semi-precious stone pendants we created (mine is on the left, Candi’s is in the middle and Holly’s is on the right). I think we were all amazed at what we accomplished in only a few hours!
Here’s a closer look at my beaded amethyst cabochon.
It all started with a terrific selection of semi-precious stone cabochons which Fran provided. A cabochon is a stone, gem or other object (such as glass) that has a flat back and smooth dome surface. In her book Beading Cabochons, author Jamie Cloud Eakin advises “For your first projects, I recommend that you choose either round or oval cabochons with a dome that’s approximately 4mm high and that has a good slope tapering to a thin edge. This shape and configuration is easiest to bead properly.” Fran had already glued each cabochon to a small piece of Pellon interfacing on top of a small piece of manila file folder.
Next we selected seed beads in colors to enhance our chosen cabochons. Seed beads are tiny, round, glass beads, named for the seeds they resemble. They are also referred to as rocailles. Seed beads come in a wide variety of colors, finishes and sizes. We chose two colors in size 11/0.
Pictured below is my workplace with my materials. I chose a gorgeous amethyst cabochon along with silver and purple seed beads. Other supplies included Hana beading thread, Thread Heaven thread conditioner, and E6000 adhesive.
Using a thread conditioner was new to me. I learned Thread Heaven is considered both a wax and a conditioner. The wax makes the thread slide through the work easier and the conditioner stops the thread from fraying. We simply pulled our thread through the thread conditioner to coat it. By the way, Thread Heaven is no longer available but Thread Magic seems to be highly recommended as an alternative.
We needed very few tools—only small scissors, a size 10 sharp beading needle and a beading pad. The beading pad, which resembles a small fleece blanket with a short, velvet-like nap, worked great. The pad made it easy to pick up beads with the needle while preventing them from rolling away.
Later on, we would also use a jump ring, jewelry pliers and a neck chain.
We started by sewing a base row of seed beads around the cabochon. We used a backstitch and did our best to space the beads evenly while keeping them tight against the base of the cabochon.
We added more rows of beads working up the slope of the cabochon to form a nice, snug bezel. The number of rows needed varies depending on the size and shape of the cabochon. I used 5 rows of silver seed beads.
At this point, I switched to the purple seed beads and added a row of beads around the bottom edge.
The next step was to attach the outer backing. We trimmed the Pellon interfacing and manila file folder close to the edge of the cabochon. Then cut a matching piece of ultra-suede and secured it in place with E6000 glue.
After the glue dried, we carefully trimmed all the backing materials to align with the bottom row of beads. A final row of beads in a peyote stitch gave the bezel a pretty finished edge. The final step was to create a bail at the top of the pendant.
All that remained was to add a jump ring and chain so we could proudly model our new beaded cabochon pendants!
Here is a final look at my bead-embroidered amethyst cabochon pendant.
More Info
You can learn more about the Baba Nyonya culture and the Nyonya Kebaya in the book, The Nyonya Kebaya: A Century of Straits Chinese Costume by Datin Seri Endon Mahmood. (Many thanks to Gary for gifting me this gorgeous book along with heartfelt thanks to Judy and Sam for the memorable weekend in Malacca!)
The charismatic town of Berea Kentucky hosts the Festival of LearnShops every summer. The LearnShops are short workshops on a wide variety of subjects such as sustainable living, Appalachian crafts, fiber arts, jewelry making and quilt block painting. To learn more about Berea, the Folk Arts & Crafts Capital of Kentucky, check out the Visit Berea website. Information about the annual Festival of LearnShops is available there.
You may also enjoy my previous post, Lessons Learned from my First Barn Quilt Block, in which I share my experience attending a Quilt Block Painting LearnShop.
The book, Beading with Cabochons: Simple Techniques for Beautiful Jewelry, by Jamie Cloud Eakin can be found here on Archive.org.
Today’s Takeaways
1. Beading can involve various techniques such as stitching into bead fabric (eg my beloved Nyonya sandals) and jewelry making (eg my new beaded amethyst cabochon pendant).
2. Consider attending a workshop to learn a new skill or technique.
3. Tiny seed beads can be combined into an astonishing variety of forms.
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