BEADS ALWAYS IN

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32702, 3 September 1971, Page 5

BEADS ALWAYS IN

Ever since man discovered ' that a string of pebbles fron the cave floor strung around his hairy neck added a touch of exterior decoration, members of every race have been gleefully preening themselves in all sorts of baubles and beads. Over the years crazes for beads have waxed and waned and their use varied from country to country. There is still, however, strong interest in beaded garments and accessories. As Natalie Giltsoff says in her book, “Fashion Bead Embroidery,” published by Bats-

ford and Branford, “Beads lever go out of fashion.” Indeed, fashion uses beads n whatever way it sees fit, >e it in men’s beaded headland or a nightclub singer’s sequinned dress. Natalie Giltsoff has obviously gone to great pains to prepare “Fashion Beads Em- ' broidery.” She includes a I footnote in the acknowledgei ment thanking her longsuffering friends who “helped. , encouraged, advised, and ■ tolerated me while I was i working on this book. For 1 * thought and talked of nothing ■ else but beads, beads, and ■ more beads.”

For a beginner and an expert “beader” alike, this book would be a gem. It contains 88 pages of succinct simple instructions on such things as making a frame for beading fabric, choosing fabric, transferring designs, and hints for obtaining the best effect of bead embroidery on garments. Jane Hood’s sketches are clear and effective in showing suggestions for the use of beads on fashion garments, and the book includes full-page photographs—some in colour—by Derek Mossman.