Welcome back to Bead Weaving 101.
Today we are adding a new bead weaving stitch to our skill-set as we continue the review of the Bead & Button Bead Stitching Handbook.
Before we get into the tutorial, let’s talk for a moment about Square Stitch and how it is used.
Square Stitch Basics
You can use a Flat Square stitch to create bead woven fabric with a lovely drape.
In Square stitch, the beads are aligned in a true grid formation, with straight horizontal rows and vertical columns.
You perform Square stitch by working back and forth, switching direction with each row.
In today’s tutorial, I demonstrate the traditional Square Stitch technique of bead weaving, using a single bead per stitch.
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Tools and Materials
- Color A Bead 8/0 Delica
- Color B Bead 8/0 Delica
- Stop Bead
- Beading Needle – Size 10 Pony
- Beading Thread – 8 pound Fireline Black Satin
- Ultra Thread Zap
I have also added my affiliate links above to the items I prefer to use when beading.
You can use any size or color beads you prefer. You can even use just one color.
The beads do not have to be Delica beads but this stitch works really well with them. Round seed beads work just fine and the technique is exactly the same.
The Technique
You will definitely want to use a Stop Bead when you are working on a Square Stitch project, to keep the beads of the intial row in place.
Row 1
Square Stitch is very similar to Ladder Stitch.
The thread path is exactly the same. The difference is that all the beads of the first row are picked up at the beginning.
Pick up six beads, alternating colors if you prefer.
Notice that I postition the beads so that the stop bead is pointing away from me.
We will stitch the beads, back towards ourselves, as we work the sample.
Row 2
Pick up a bead and pass the needle down through the last bead of row one, from top to bottom.
Pull the bead into position, so it sits side by side with the Row 1 Bead.
Step up into the new bead from bottom to top.
Pick up a bead and pass the needle down through the next bead on the base row, from top to bottom.
Step up into the new bead from bottom to top.
The working thread should fall into place at the bottom the two beads sitting side by side, in this case the purple beads.
Repeat the last two steps, adding one bead at a time, to the base row beads.
Remember to step up into the new bead before adding another.
Reinforcing the rows, is part of what makes this stitch so durable.
It also adds a more professional look to the rows.
Follow the next steps at the end of each new row to reinforce your work.
Pass the needle down through all the beads on the first row.
Move the stop bead out of the way if needed, but tighten it back up afterwards.
Pass the needle back through all the beads of the second row, to get back into position for the next row of bead work.
It is very important that you pass through every bead in the steps above. If you accidentally skip a bead, you will see exposed thread on the outside of the bead work.
Simple, in this sample, but when you are working on a larger piece of bead work, you may find it best to take the beads a few at a time to avoid this common error.
Additional Rows
Repeat all the steps above for each additional row.
I find that flipping the bead work and sewing in the same direction helps me to maintain tension.
Add the beads, one at a time, just as we did in Row 2.
Remember to step up after adding each new bead to the row.
At the end of each new row, reinforce the previous row, by passing through all the beads on that row.
Get back into position by passing through all the beads of the newest row added.
Once you are comfortable with the basic technique, there is plenty more we can do using Square Stitch.
In upcoming posts, we will continue to explore Square Stitch.
Look for these topics soon:
- Flat Square Stitch Variations
- Increasing and Decreasing Flat Square Stitch
- Tubular Square Stitch plus Increase/Decrease and Variations
You will not find all of these additional techniques in the Handbook, but I am happy to share them with you.
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