How to Make a Two Row Brick Stitch Start

Beaded brick stitch

Brick stitch is a wonderfully versatile bead stitch. It's nice and solid across it's width making it ideal for earrings, pendants and wide cuffs. It's also great for shaped items as increases and decreases are much easier and cleaner than in peyote.

Brick stitch has one draw-back. The start row is a single bead ladder that's hard to keep taut and even with just one row of beads. This can throw your whole project off if it's not done right. Using the two row start makes a good, solid base for your brick stitch project.

Things You'll Need

• Beading thread
• Beading needle
• Beads (delicas are ideal, but Czech seed beads can be used)

Instructions

1. Cut a comfortable length of beading thread and thread a needle onto one end. Pick up three beads and slide them to within about 6 inches of the end of your thread. Be sure to leave this nice long tail to hold on to. It will be tied off and woven in later.

2. Pass the thread back through the first bead you picked up going toward the tail. Pull thread taut and manipulate the beads so they form a triangle. You now have two beads on the top row and one bead centered between them on the bottom row.

3. Pick up one bead in the color of your bottom row and pass the needle up through the last bead on the top row. Pull the thread taut.

4. Pick up one bead in the color of your top row and pass the needle down through the last bead on the bottom row. Pull the thread taut.

   Repeat steps 3 and 4 to the end of your row. Work the remaining rows of your pattern in regular brick stitch.

Tips & Warnings

• If your pattern is a shaped pattern, start at the widest point and work one direction, then tie on a new thread and work the other direction.