Making the Harapeko Brooch. A beady Adventure in Translation and Stitching

Making the Harapeko Brooch. A beady Adventure in Translation and Stitching

Making the Harapeko Brooch  A Beady Adventure in Translation and Stitching

If you love a good bead embroidery kit as much as I do, you’ll understand the joy of diving into something completely adorable,even if it’s all in Japanese.

Recently, I made the Harapeko Brooch kit from Miyuki, which features the cutest little fruit slice motifs: banana, strawberry, and kiwi. I was gifted the kit from Joanne at Cranberry Beads, and while it didn’t come with English instructions, that didn’t stop me. With Google Translate on my phone and a bit of patience, I set out to decode the steps and stitch my way through it.

Translating the Instructions

The instruction sheets were covered in beautiful Japanese characters. Using the live translation tool on my phone, I hovered over the text and discovered helpful gems like “basic stabbing method” and “banana seed.” It made me smile every time something unexpected popped up, especially the reminder that the glue in the kit is “not food or eye drops.”

The translation might not have been perfect, but it was enough to get started. I could follow each step, from inserting beads into the outline, to shading the banana with ivory and transparent yellow beads. The kit came with a handy colour map that showed where each bead belonged, ivory for banana, green for kiwi, and so on.

Working Through the Kit

Once I’d sorted out which beads were which (thanks to the translations on the packets), I got to stitching. I used the included needle and thread – although threading it was a bit tricky at first. My trusty thread-knotting technique (handed down from my Mum and Grandma) came in handy.

Stitching each piece – the banana, the strawberry, the kiwi – was incredibly relaxing. There’s something really satisfying about following someone else’s design, especially when it’s this cute.

The beading was straightforward, and before I knew it, I had completed all three fruity sections. I especially loved how each shape used different types of stitches and shading techniques. And I have to say, the banana slice might just be my favourite.

Assembling the Brooch

The kit includes everything you need, even the glue and brooch backing. I applied the glue to the back of the felt and waited for it to dry (putting it near the heater helped speed things up). Once dry, I trimmed around the shape carefully to avoid snipping any threads.

Then I used a little trick I like for placing the brooch pin – cutting two tiny slits in the felt backing so it could be slotted in neatly. Once everything was glued in place and dry, I added a bead edging for that perfect finish. I love how it turned out.

Final Thoughts

This project was an absolute delight. From translating the instructions to stitching the last bead, I had such a lovely time making it. And I even had a little visit from my dog Milo during filming, he makes a brief appearance in the video.

If you’ve ever been intimidated by non-English kits, I hope this gives you a bit of confidence to give one a try. The Harapeko Brooch is a sweet and satisfying project, and I’ll definitely be wearing mine with pride.

Thanks for joining me on this little beady journey. You can watch the full video tutorial on YouTube here and see exactly how it came together.

If you’d like to be notified when I post new videos or share more kits like this, you can sign up for my mailing list here.

Happy beading,
Cat x

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