Beads

I LOVE knitting with beads. I'm not saying it isn't a bit slower than regular knitting but I love the little sparkle. I knit with seed beads on the whole. Of course they only really work with laceweight, you'll need something larger if you are using a thicker yarn.

I don't like to thread all my beads on the yarn first, I've done that for cast on rows when I've wanted beads at the very edge, but I prefer to add them individually after that. I generally use what's known as the "crochet hook method" but I don't use a crochet hook (it's a pain finding one small enough and it's fiddly), instead I thread some beads onto some non-fraying thread (with a beading needle attached), then take the needle through the stitch, through the bead again and slide the bead on.

There is a handy Knitty article:

Although I have yet to try it, I think Knitting with Beads by Jane Davis is a good resource.

Yes, what VP said about adding them in as you go: more control over their placement, less fuzzing up of the yarn as you push hundreds of beads along, and less frustration because you AREN'T pushing hundreds of beads as you try to pull up a few feet of yarn.

Check

for ultra-wee steel hooks suitable for #8 and #10 seed beads. I use #10 seed beads when I work with htings like Schaeffer Andrea (100% silk, 2-ply, millions of yards per pound), #8 with Zephyr when I knit it by hand.

I like

you want to float a sample project I'd just hit whatever passes for a craft store and see what sort of seed beads they have in stock. One tube ought to be adequate for a headscarf or a small moebius.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and advice. Whew! I can see how people get involved in beadwork! What gorgeous stuff! I'm thinking small: Beading the fringe for a Montego Bay Scarf. I don't remember if that's part of the pattern or I just got it in my head to do it. It's a simple net scarf with a fringe & I thought it would look nice with some beads dangling from it.

I need to go upstairs and fish out that issue of IK to see if it's called for and has directions, or if I have to figure it out for myself.

Thanks again ya'll!

Hesira

Y'all. You + all. Properly pronounced - which I can't do since I'm not from here and didn't learn how to speak here - by a good old boy in a dirty Stetson and beat-up Ropers it sounds more like yuh-awl only run together.

Sorry. I always confuse its and it's (always have, always will) but y'all is one contraction I know well, as my father-in-law who called me a Damned Yankee until the day he died spelled it for me my third day here :D

As in, All y'all damned Yankees get on home now, y'hear?

I've seen it spelled both ways. I think the ya'll spelling indicates less of a division between the y sound and the rest of the word. I pronounce it the way everyone else around here does: YAWL or YAW, one syllable. I think Texans have a different drawl than Mississippians and Alabamians (I don't know if that's the right term). They may draw it out into 2 syllables. I don't really mind how it's spelled, but what irks me is when someone uses it as a singular rather than a plural.

I am a born and bred Mississippian, but still get called a Yankee because my mom is from Pennsylvania. My dad's folks are from Texas and Okalahoma, but that doesn't count, I guess :)

Hesira

Hesira

In The Prolific Knitting Machine, the woman who wrote it suggests that if you are using beads on a sweater to make sure the beads are closer to the top of the shoulders than around the bottom hem. Beads can be heavy and distort the fabric when hanging off the bottoms if they are really large. I'm sure this applies to HK items as well.

For an all over beaded look, there are many books about knitting beaded purses. Threads Magazine published a book with a collection of their knitting articles, and it includes working with sequins and making beading purses. They recommend silk thread for their beaded purses, as it doesn't get abraded as easily by the beads.

has a few different books on knitting and crocheting with beads that might be helpful. I have just picked up one of her books and have a beaded amulet purse in mind. Her method involves slipping strands of beads rather than having 1 bead = 1 st as the article in Threads focuses on.

For threading beads, for really fine ones, they suggest either a beading needle or you can apply a bit of glue on your thread, rolling it to a point and allowing it to dry/harden, and then using that to thread your beads, re-applying glue as needed.

HTH

Leah

Depending on the size of your yarn, you will need to be careful that the hole is big enough. There are beads called "pony" bead that have a larger hole. You may have quite a hard time finding the semiprecious stones with large enough holes, unless you are happy to do very small beads and very thin yarn. There is bead knitting, where you fix a bead with a twisted stich, and beaded knitting, where you sting the beads first and then do straight garter with beads on the right and wrong sides. The little beaded purses are made that way, and you can use crochet cotton and seed beads. I've done two of those. Madelaine

I've seen "ya'll" a number of times, including printed on a T-shirt. It is a misspelling. And the way Hollywood comedians use the word...they do not know that it is a plural, never a singular. They seem to understand New York's "youse"; why can't they stretch their minds just a bit farther and accept Southern/Western idiom?

Alabama and Mississippi do have different accents than Texas does. Texas has five different ones!

Cece

I don't do beaded knitting but I've been to bead shows and yes, it is normal to buy beads by the strand. The strand is on a thread that is just strong enough to hold the weight, so you can't just add a clasp, you have to slide them off and string them properly. Natural semi-precious stones will vary in color, which makes the strands of beads kind of a run-of-the-mill thing. If buying by mail I would get an extra strand so you can weed out any slightly different ones. If you're at the show you can pore over the strands to choose which ones have the most of the kind you like, but you still can't unstring them and pick only the good beads!

=Tamar