The Making of a Beaded American Eskimo Dog Pin

This week, a Facebook friend suggested that I make a beaded American Eskimo Dog pin and I was up for the challenge!

First, I traced my sketch onto a piece of Lacy's Stiff Stuff. I don't usually use Lacy's, but I have begun to use it for the first layer of my beading foundation when working on something very small & detailed. I actually prefer to use felt because it's easier to manipulate, but for details, such as the tiny legs on this dog, Lacy's is easier to cut to shape. Then, I cut a few more layers of felt and stitched them altogether.

Next, I stitched a tiny glass taxidermy eye for the nose. Then, I stitched tiny size 15 Japanese glass seed beads to the foundation. I always start with the face, as that is the most difficult part. It gets easier from there, but still time-consuming!

As you can see, this requires quite a lot of stitches using needle and thread in a very small space (3cm x 4cm)! After I completed the first layer of beadwork, I stitched on a layer of beaded fringe (over the other seed beads) to add movement and realism to this tiny canine. Then, I stitched eye pins to the backs of the legs for added support. When the process was complete, I added an Ultrasuede backing.

This piece is now listed for sale on Etsy. You can see detailed photos by clicking the photo above. How do you think it looks? What kind of dog should I bead next? :D