Main Bead Embroidery Kit St. Seraphim of Sarov

The icon of “St. Seraphim of Sarov” is a waist-length image of the grey-bearded elder in a green mantle over a golden ochre undergarment. His right hand is pressed to his chest and his gaze is turned straight at the viewer.

What the picture shows

The halo is stitched in concentric rings of gold and bronze beads, and the background is a warm ochre with a faint plant pattern. The mantle is laid in deep green with black shadows in the folds, the garment beneath in golden mustard, and a narrow red cuff shows at the wrist. A decorative border of red and green floral motifs runs around the image with larger clusters at the corners, and a pale panel at the bottom carries the saint's name in a beaded Church Slavonic inscription. The face, the beard and the hand stay as print on the canvas, which preserves every fine feature, while the beads do their work on the ground, the robes and the ornament. The overall range is warm: the green of the mantle balances the gold halo and the ochre ground.

What is in the kit

• Artist canvas with the full-colour pattern printed on it — no chart to follow on a screen
• Czech Preciosa beads, 11 colours
• Beading needles
• Instructions and finishing guide

Specifications

• Finished size: 190×250 mm (7.5×9.8 in)
• Beads: approx. 7,475
• Bead colours: 11
• Difficulty: medium
• Base: artist canvas

The piece is vertical and small in format, easy to place in a home icon corner or to stand on a shelf. It uses fewer bead colours than the other images here, so the stitching runs evenly, without constant changes of shade. Gallery finishing is possible — the canvas stretches over a bar, with no frame or mount.