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BEAD IDEAS and PROJECTS Knitting with beads.
The hanks come tied with a loose double knot at the top, to ensure safe delivery and handling till you are ready. So first undo the two knots. Now separate one strand (or loop) of beads from the hank by pulling it gently out from the others.. At one end of the strand tie a knot that the beads cant slip past. At the other end form a loop, by tying a slip knot. You are now ready to transfer the beads smoothly over onto your thread or pearl cotton or whatever you need it on for your project. Thread the end of the thread/perle cotton into the loop and pull it through approx 10 cm folding it over and holding in place whilst you start the process of gently sliding the beads from the strand onto the thread. Once they are all over discard the empty strand cotton, and start again with another. Till you have as many as you need. Free Ideas and inspiration, tips and tricks on what to do with your beads.
FREE PATTERN - KNITTED BEAD BAG - Simple You will need a hank of seed beads (you can actually get 3 or more bags made from one hank) No 8 Perle cotton (use one that is complimentary to the bead colour you choose). Size 1.25 knitting needles. A needle for finishing off. Start by transferring 4 strands of seed beads (following the instructions above) over onto your ball of Perle cotton. Don't cut the cotton, just thread it onto the end. Now Cast on 18 stitches. Knit one row. On the next row knit one and then slide a bead over up next to the needle and then knit the next stitch. Continue to the end of row. On the following Row just knit plain to the end. So you only knit every second row with the beads included. Keep going until your work is approximately 12 cm long, knit one plain row and then cast off. Double over and use a needle to sew up the sides. The basic bead bag shape is finished. See below for handle and decoration ideas. FREE PATTERN - DECORATIVE KNITTED BEAD BAG
You can use the basic pattern above for completing the bag. Now the fun starts. Deciding how you want to project your own personality into the project. This can be done in a number of ways, here are just a few ideas. The handle - use a decorative or plain braid cut the the length you desire. Simply secure with a matching thread to the sides. Plait your own braid, or if you want something a little more fancy, use the same beads as in the bag. Follow the example in the picture, using strong beading thread, knot it to one side string 15 beads on and then one larger decorative bead, repeat until you reach the desired length required (ending with the 15 seed beads) attach with a couple of small stitches to the other side, and heading back the way you have come string another 15 seed beads now push the needle through the decorative bead and then another 15 and so forth till you reach back to the other side you started from. Sew a few small stitches to end off and snip. Another way to personalise your bag is with the decoration. There are endless ways here to add your own touch, or you can follow the two examples shown. Decoration 1: Hanging fringe on the bottom.
Using a strong beading thread, knot to the bottom corner, thread the other end onto a suitable beading or slim enough needle. Now slide on 10 seed beads, one decorative hanging bead, and draw the needle and thread back through the seed beads to the bottom of the bag. Do a couple of small stitches to anchor in place, and then bring the needle a little further along and start the next part of the fringe, thread on 5 seed beads, one decorative bead, 6 seed beads and then a hanging bead, draw the needle back up through the beads. Now repeat the process using the following numbers of beads: for the third string - thread on 7 seed beads one decorative bead, 8 seed beads and then a hanging bead for the fourth (middle string) 9 seed beads, one decorative bead, 10 seed beads and a hanging bead for the fifth string 7 seed beads, one decorative bead 8 seed beads, and a hanging bead, for the sixth string 5 seed beads, one decorative bead 6 seed beads and a hanging bead for the seventh string (last) 10 seed beads, a hanging bead. When you have threaded back up through the beads to the other corner of the bag, do a couple of stitches in place to finish off and snip thread. Decoration 2: Decorative looped edge on the top. Using a strong beading thread, knot to the top corner, thread the other end onto a suitable beading or slim enough needle. Now slide on roughly 4 cm of seed beads, and putting the needle in back 1 - 2 mm along from where you started, do a couple of stitches to knot in place, repeat, for the third loop slide on roughly 2 cm of beads and then one ornamental hanging bead another 2 cm of seed beads and back up to the top again where you knot in place. Repeat doing two plain loops and 1 loop with the ornamental hanging bead until you reach the other side of the bag. Do a couple of knots in place to finish off. |
