Main Bead Embroidery Kit Home iconostasis «Our Lady»

The home iconostasis panel “Our Lady” is a waist-length image of the Mother of God with the Child, the second panel of the set. Both figures face the viewer, and the Child stands on the right with his hand raised in blessing. The colours are strong: crimson, blue and gold on a warm ochre ground.

What the picture shows

The maphorion is stitched in a saturated red with a green lining beside the face and a gold edging along the hem; gold stars sit on the brow and shoulder. The Child wears a pale shirt and a blue cloak. The halos are laid in concentric rows of gold and bronze beads, and the warm ochre ground carries a plant pattern that is also fully beaded. A border of blue, red and gold ornamental inserts with squares at the corners runs around the edge, and a pale panel at the bottom holds a beaded Church Slavonic inscription. The faces and hands stay as print on the canvas, which keeps their painterly softness next to the dense shine of the beadwork.

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, 17 colours
• Beading needles
• Instructions and finishing guide

Specifications

• Finished size: 190×250 mm (7.5×9.8 in)
• Beads: approx. 8,162
• Bead colours: 17
• Difficulty: medium
• Base: artist canvas

The piece is vertical and exactly the size of the other panels of the iconostasis, so all three can hang in an even row. It is a small image and needs very little wall space. Gallery finishing is possible — the canvas stretches over a bar, with no frame or mount.