Faking Beading

by Lisa Ashton

A beaded effect can be highly desirable but too difficult to accomplish because:

Fabric is too difficult to work on - too gauzy or heavy.
The right types of beads are unavailable.
Lack of time.

You can get a beaded effect without beads. One of the best is with squeeze fabric paint in the one ounce bottles. Tiny, even dots of color, evenly spaced, can mimic fine beadwork. Especially when used on a matte surface like denim or suede. Special fabric paints are made for this purpose, and special fine metal tips are available to facilitate tiny dots.