Then I covered two with dark wax, and two with light wax similar to the beads, scraping away any wax which had overflowed on to the cardboard. Before it was cold I pressed a tiny ring of the small yellow beads round the immediate edge, finishing off with a spot of the yellow wax in the centre of each, and a scrap of broken china in the centre of that, again.
I found the buttons a little rough on the edge, but, with the aid of a nail file, I rubbed them fairly smooth, and they did not notice when sewn on the frock.
I have made buttons and buckles galore from old oddments, using up different coloured beads in an inlaid fashion.
A most effective way is to cover the surface of a button with a thin layer of glue, and to lay the beads on in a design like a mosaic. This is a really beautiful way of decorating buttons, and a very pretty opaque look can be given by sprinkling the beads, while the gum is still wet, with a little of the flitter used in pen painting.
Various Ways of Using Beads.
A very pretty way of using beads also is to hem a skirt with them, simply tacking the hem in the desired depth, and then, with a long cotton and needle, make a stitch through to the right side, slip on a bead, pass the needle through to the wrong side, take a long stitch underneath, and come up on the right side for a bead again. This is a most effective way of finishing a hem, and has the advantage of being much quicker done than ordinary hemming. I feel sure that, once having tried this way, you will confess it is very much prettier than an ordinary hem.
Tops of tassels can be made to match buttons and bead chain in the exact manner that the sealing-wax beads are made themselves.
If a whole set, consisting of chain, buttons, tassel-tops, belt and shoe-buckles, are made to match, you have no idea how lovely they look; and also what a very “Parisian” look it gives to an otherwise plain and rather ordinary frock.
Of course, if you are very industrious, and would like to complete your outfit, I would suggest knitting one of the ever-popular bead-bags.
For this all that is necessary is a ball or two (according to the size of the bag) of coloured knitting silk, and a bunch of small beads, either the same or a contrasting shade. For instance, a golden brown silk, with tiny yellow beads, would look beautiful, especially were it lined with a daffodil lining, and finished off at the end with a bead tassel made to match.