Welcome back to Bead Weaving 101.
In this tutorial, we are going to take our Brick Stitching skills to the next level.
Brick Stitch is a form of bead weaving, where the individual beads are stacked horizontally in the same pattern as bricks are stacked in a wall.
In Tubular Brick Stitch, we are simply stacking the beads in a round.
Tublular Brick Stitch, begins with a Ladder Stitch base that is stitched toghether to form a round.
Much like building a smoke stack or silo, the beads are postioned vertically, using the thread bridges of the previous row.
And just as with Flat Brick Stitch, each row will start by picking up two beads. We will use an increase at the beginning of each row, so that each row has the same number of beads, forming a tube. Otherwise, the work would naturally decrease by one bead per row and we would end up with a cone.
Tools and Materials
Let’s start by taking a look at the materials and tools used in today’s lesson.
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You can use any seed beads you prefer in this lesson.
In the video portion of this tutorial, I demonstrate the stitch using Delica Beads. During the written portion, I use the seed beads listed above in the materials section
A Ladder Start - Row 1
The length of the Ladder base will determine the diameter of your Tubular Brick Stitch project.
For my sample here, I stitched six Color A beads into a strip using Ladder Stitch.
Forming the Ladder Base into a Round
Before we can begin tubular brick stitch, we need to form the base beads into a circlular round.
When there an even number of beads on the base, the working thread and the tail thread will be exiting on the same side of the bead work. In the photo above, you see the tail thread exiting the bottom of the first bead on the row, and the working thread exiting the bottom of the last bead.
To form the round and close the bead work, we need to add two thread bridges between the first and last beads, one at the top and one at the bottom.
Without picking up any beads, sew up through the first bead and pull the row into a horseshoe shape.
This step adds the thread bridge at the bottom between the two beads.
Next we will add a thread bridge at the top between the same two bead.
Reverse direction and sew back down through the last bead and pull the thread snug to complete the stitch.
This step adds the thread bridge and closes the bead work.
Now we need to get back into position at the top of the row so we can begin the next row.
Reverse direction and sew back up through the first bead on the base once more.
Starting the Brick Stitch Row
The tubular form of brick stitch is exactly the same as flat brick stitch with an increase at the beginning of each row.
Just like all forms of the stitch, we begin by picking up two beads, sew under a thread bridge and step up.
Next we straighten the first bead before proceedind to the next stitch of the row.
Take a look at the top of the bead work we have created.
(The tail thread exits to the bottom of the bead work.)
You can disctinctly see the thread bridges we will use in the next round.
To create the increase, we will stitch the first two bead using the first thread bridge.
Pick up 2 Color B beads and sew under the first thread bridge, between beads 1 and 2 on the base.
Note the direction that the needle is inserted from back to front, toward myself.
To step up, we pass the needle back up the the second bead.
The second bead will always be the one on the same side as the direction I am sewing towards.
I am stiching to the right, so the second bead is the one on the right.
To straighten the first bead, we will add a thread bridge at the top and bottom of the two new beads.
This will position the beads side by side and position the working thread for the next stitch.
Completing the Row
My base row has 6 beads. I have added two beads in the new row. I need to add 4 more to complete the round.
The 4 remaining beads are added one at a time using the remaining thread bridges.
Pick up a Color B Bead.
Sew under the next thread bridge on the base, between beads 2 and 3 on the base row.
Step up through the new bead before adding the next bead.
Repeat these steps, until you have the same number of beads on the new row as you do on the base row.
For my sample, which began with six beads, I need to repeat the steps three more times. Remember to step up after adding the last bead.
Closing the Rows
Finally, at the end of each brick stitch row, we need to connect the first and last beads, just like we did on the base.
Sew down through the first bead of the current row, to add a thread bridge at the top, between the first and last beads.
To add the thread bridge at the bottom, between the first and last bead, sew back up through the last bead of the current row, once again.
This also positions your working thread to begin the next row.
Repeat all the steps above to start each new row with two beads, with the increase (first thread bridge) to keep the rows even with the same number of beads per row.
Remember to straigten the first bead.
Step up after adding each new bead of the round.
Close the round and step up before beginning each new row.
I recently read an article that says you can substitute tubular brick stitch in Bead Crochet patterns
Later this spring, we will explore two ways to create faux bead crochet.
But first we are going to wrap up our study of Brick Stitch.
In the next Bead Weaving 101 post, we will continue exploring Brick Stitch.
This tutorial will demonstrate how to create a continuous spiral using Tubular Brick Stitch methods.