Beetles, Part 1

The starting point: lovely fabrics and rayon threads.

I've hit a wall working on my large figures, so I've decided to spend some time making beetles.  If you are familiar with my work, you know that each figure has a beetle companion.  I'm running low on beetle inventory, so it's time to make a new collection.  Usually, I only do this once a year, so I don't have to go through the tedium of making a few every time I make a batch of figures.

Each beetle requires two short lengths of fine wire.

The process I use is derived from one described in The Stumpwork, Goldwork and Surface Embroidery Beetle Collection by Jane Nichols (see my Reference Books page for more info).  The technique is based on stumpwork, a form of three dimensional embroidery.   The beetles are made from wire, fabric, thread, stuffing and beads. Wire is necessary to give the insect structure and to form a pleasing 3-D shape.  The first step is to cut small lengths of wire; I use plastic coated 24 gauge wire to prevent rust and discoloration. 

Bending wires; my cat Gozur is providing advice.

Each wire is bent once to give a 90 degree angle (shown in the pile above left), then again around a pen to give a rounded edge.  The process creates a hairpin shape with one sharp corner and one rounded edge (shown in the pile above right, next to the cat feet). The wire is very flexible, so there's quite a bit of play here to change the contour of each beetle.  It's easy to make long skinny, or short rounded, or any other combo of shapes.  Once the wire is sewn however, the outline of the beetle can't be changed.

Each pair of wires is sewn onto fabric and backing

A pair of wires is placed on top of the beetle fabric (I usually use upholstery brocades) and black backing fabric.  A short zig-zag is used to stitch down the center and along each side wire using rayon embroidery threads.  It is important to cover as much of the wire as possible.

A set of beetle elytra ready for the next step.

After all the wires have been stitched down, each beetle back (a pair of elytra) is carefully cut out.  By sewing the brocade and backing fabrics together in this way, two channels are formed which give the final insect some dimension.

Stuffing the elytra to give dimension

The back of the elytra pair

The channels are stuffed with a small amount of polyester fiberfill, giving the elytra a realistic appearance and some 'heft' to the body of the insect. Because of the next step, it is important to use a small amount of fiberfill and to get it to the bottom of the channels. 

Folding wires to cover raw edges.

More folding to form head/thorax

After stuffing, the wires and fabrics are trimmed and the sharp ends folded to the back.  The side wires are given another 90 degree fold to cover the raw edges and form the basis for the head and thorax.

Stay tuned for the final steps!