Sarah
Carol from the comments asked about the crochet method of beading I mentioned in my last post, so I figured I'd put together a little tutorial for anyone who hasn't run across this nifty method of beading before.
Whenever I've used beads in the past, I strung them on the yarn and then slid them down as needed. There are some obvious downsides to this method -- if you've got a lot of beads, they can wear on the yarn and cause it to break (which is exactly what happened to me a few days ago while I was working on my Mystery Stole.) You also have to know exactly how many beads you're going to be using beforehand, so that you can string them onto the yarn. There is a better way! I have tried the crochet method of beading, and I am now a convert. If you haven't tried this method before, here's how it goes:
First, you place your bead on your crochet hook. The Beadwrangler page has some recommendations on what size hook to use with what beads -- and obviously, that size is very small!
Next, using your hook, lift up the stitch you want to bead.
Now you can slide your bead down over the stitch, and slip the stitch back onto the needle to be knit.
The beaded stitch is now ready to be knit, and on you go!
Awesome! Thanks for the tip!
Posted by: Betty | July 09, 2007 at 07:32 AM
I was wondering how it was done, thanks for the tutorial!
Posted by: Michelle | July 09, 2007 at 07:39 AM
Wow, so simple and yet revolutionary! Sadly, my MS3 will be beadless...but I'll use this technique for the next opportunity.
Posted by: Heather | July 09, 2007 at 07:50 AM
Ooooh cool! Thanks for the tutorial. Now what can I add beads to???? *sounds of stash tossing*
Posted by: Carol | July 09, 2007 at 08:10 AM
Woah. That's amazing.
Posted by: Rachel | July 09, 2007 at 10:35 AM
MS3 is my first beading experience and the crochet beading has been going pretty well. I keep misplacing the tiny crochet hook though!
Posted by: Kim U | July 09, 2007 at 10:46 AM
Oh, well, that's so painfully simple I don't know why I haven't been beading all along. Thanks for the tutorial.
Posted by: Suzanne V. (Yarnhog) | July 09, 2007 at 01:23 PM
That's completely brilliant! I don't have any beaded-knitting projects in the works, because the old methods drove me crazy, but now I'm going to go looking for one to start. Thanks! (I'm here via craftzine.com's blog, by the way.)
Posted by: Little Red | July 09, 2007 at 05:08 PM
Wow, that is really neat! Thank you.
Posted by: Isela | July 09, 2007 at 05:36 PM
That's so pretty, I'll have to learn to do this for all the Xmas scarfs I'm going to make!
Posted by: Emily | July 09, 2007 at 05:56 PM
Thanks for the tutorial. This is especially helpful since the Mystery Stole #3 is well on it's way with 6700 knitters signed up! Btw, even though I lurk here on a regular basis, I saw this linked from the Craft magazine blog. Woot!
Posted by: Jeni | July 09, 2007 at 07:23 PM
Oh! That looks so easy.
Thank you!
I hadn't even bothered looking up a tutorial because it sounded so hard. I really love this approach.
Wow. I am so doing it that way.
Thanks again.
Posted by: Miss Scarlett | July 09, 2007 at 09:09 PM
wow that rocks!!!! and haven't tried beading with my knitting because of all the stringing and all involved!! this is amazing!!! thanks so much!!! hugs Linda
Posted by: Linda | July 10, 2007 at 06:41 AM
wow, that is really great to know. Thanks! I actually have a bunch of tiny crochet hooks- I think the last person who lived in this house left them, eight years ago, and I've kept them ever since, and never used them! I've never tried beads in knitting precisely because pre-stringing seemed like such a hassle. But now I have no such qualms!
Posted by: Claudia | July 10, 2007 at 01:18 PM
OMG! I'm so glad you posted this, I was just contemplating the need for bead-stringing. This is perfect, thank you! I like your book meme, by the way, I boosted it from Librarian Knits.
Posted by: the Lady | August 17, 2007 at 02:02 AM