I love beaded knitting because in almost no more time than I spend on a regular knitting, I can make something much more. You won’t know what a handful of glittering beads in soft pastels will do for you knitting until you try beaded knitting! I promise you won’t be disappointed. Do you think that you can’t spare the time required? Don’t worry, if you use a knitting machine you can still knit with beads and follow bead knitting patterns. For the machines there are a lot of extra tools to purchase but in this case you can use the ordinary knitting hook. Just knit a row and then put the beads on the knitting hook as you continue knitting the rows. In beaded knitting the beads are put between the stitches. The pattern is composed by varying the number of stitches and rows between the beads.

As you can read in the previous articles, different beaded knitting techniques places the beads in straight or diagonal lines and in different degrees embedded in the knitted fabric or on the surface, all according to bead knitting patterns. In beaded knitting the most common stitch to use is garter stitch. This is the most basic knitting pattern there is and is probably the first one you learn when you begin your knitting career. Simply cast some stitches and then knit every row! In beaded knitting you slide one or more pre-strung beads from the yarn to the knitting and the continue to knit. If you purl both the stitches that follows the bead, the bead will end up on the front of your work. If you instead knit the two following stitches the beads will sit on the back of your knitted item.

If you slid more than, lets say three, beads between the stitches at at time, the beads will hang on the yarn of the beaded knitting, weigh it down and create a little arc. This can make a very ornate impression, especially if the arcs are composes by beads in different colors and also if, for example, one arc is made of four beads, the next arc of six and the following of four beads again. As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, the procedure and methodology in beaded knitting differs from the ones in bead knitting. One advantage that comes with beaded knitting compared to bead knitting is that it is much less time demanding; a beaded knitting of the total size of a square foot or less shouldn’t take more than a few hours to knit, if you follow bead knitting patterns. That is, if you have some experience and don’t have to think some much about the ordinary knitting stitches. Beaded knitting is also easier and contains less complicated steps in the process. The result gives a lighter feeling both concerning the surface and pattern and also the actual weight. The knitted fabric will be smoother and, if you use a fine yarn, almost fluid to the skin. I hope that this text has given you some inspiration about beaded knitting and that you’re eager to learn more!

If you want to be very exact you will find as many bead knitting styles as there are people who bead knit, whether they follow bead knitting patterns or not. The knitting style is very individual but here I will talk about general bead knitting styles. The two most common bead knitting styles are beaded knitting and bead knitting. You could say that these are the only techniques but to make a stitch work with beads you can of course “cheat” and sew the beads on afterwards. To decorate your stitch work even more you may discover that there is a wide range of bead fringes to purchase and machine stitch in place after you’ve finished the knitting part. The main bead knitting styles result in very different stitch works and if you compare them you will find that both has their advantages and disadvantages. But there are also similarities. In the next two articles; “Beaded knitting” and “Bead knitting” I will explain these bead knitting styles.

Your bead knitting patterns will show you where the beads should be placed, no matter which of the bead knitting styles you use, but maybe not how to get them there. The two main approaches are “Threaded on in advance” and “Threaded as it is knitted”. The first, which is the most used in bead knitting styles, means that you string the beads on the yarn in advance, before starting to knit. When a bead should be put on, you bring the yarn to the front of the work so that the bead doesn’t get on the wrong side. To get the bead into the stitch work you can use different methods like to use a crochet hook, to put the bead on the stitch, to put the bead over a slip stitch or to put the bead between the stitches. You may find this information useful for different bead knitting styles.

Beads with crochet hook

When you are about to add a bead you just slip it onto the stitch you are knitting with the crochet hook. Then you put the stitch on the left needle again. The crochet hook is indeed a very helpful tool for all bead knitting styles!

Beads between stitches

Here the beads almost melt into the stitch work and together they form a smooth and beautiful unit. The bead is put between to bights and then onto the stitches.

Beads over slip stitch

This bead knitting style is a fast one since you don’t put so many beads onto the stitch work at once. The bead is visible on one of the sides of your item. Since you can only slip one stitch one time, the beads will not be placed in straight rows. On bead knitting patterns you can see what it will look like.

Beads on stitch

You use a pre-strung bead and this is the method in which you have to make sure the bead gets on the front side of your work. Another important thing is that if you don’t put the bead on the back loop it will not be fastened in its place. This may be a bit difficult at first but practice will make you feel confident enough to use this method as much as the others.

The second bead knitting style means that you put the beads individually onto your work while knitting using a needle. You put the bead onto the bight, that is the loop of yarn before knitted. When you use the knitting style “Threaded as it is knitted” the beads will be visible from both sides of the stitch work. Something you must have in mind before starting to knit by this knitting style is that the beads must be larger than usual because the you must be able to pull the yarn double folded (two strands of yarn) through the hole of the bead. Using a type of stitch called elongated stitch has proven helpful in this case. You just pull the strand of yarn more than once around the needle before pulling the stitch of the other needle. There are of course more bead knitting styles but these are the most common ones which you’re most likely to find in bead knitting patterns.

There are different kinds of knitting with beads and beaded knitting is one of them. It’s an exclusive, maybe time-demanding way to create unique and personal things for yourself to wear in a time when clothes usually follow similar rules. The most usual activities in this area is to beads knit your own mittens, caps and scarfs following bead knitting patterns. Knitting clothes for babies is also common. The chose of color, pattern and structure (what kind of stitches you use in your knitting) offers great variation possibilities. But to add something extra to your piece of knitting you may use beads of different kinds, colors and sizes. In this case, you’ll find out that knitting with beads is a perfect choice. In beaded knitting the stitches are decorated with glass or ceramic beads which make the knitted fabric both more beautiful and lasting because the beads protect the yarn from from being damaged and worn out.

There are two different methods of knitting with beads; bead knitting and beaded knitting. Though the names are very similar these two techniques of knitting with beads differ from each other in some aspects which may make the results almost incomparable. In bead knitting (or beads knitting), the beads cover the yarn completely. This is achieved through putting the beads into the stitches. In beaded knitting on the other hand, the yarn is visible since the beads are put between the stitches. Thus, in beaded knitting the beads are merely the decoration and not the main part. Both are variants of knitting with beads and in this text I use ”bead knitting” as a summary word including both bead knitting and beaded knitting. When you knit with beads you need a “starting kit” including bead knitting patterns, some basic materials and tools. These can be of different quality and sizes but as you can read further down on this site, it’s a good idea to keep in mind that, for example, all beads doesn’t fit all types and sizes of yarn. So you need to match up your material a bit and not chose randomly. This is a short list of basic things you need when knitting with beads:

•    Yarn
•    Beads
•    Bead knitting needles
•    Bead knitting patterns

I’ve created this site to let you know how much there is to learn about knitting with beads. The main theme is bead knitting patterns in different aspects but you can also read about other bead knitting methods and history of bead knitting. In two articles I explore the differences and similarities between the two techniques of knitting with beads; bead knitting and beaded knitting. I also let you know a lot about bead knitting yarn, bead knitting beads, bead knitting needles and at last bead knitting stitches. I hope you will find the site interesting and that you learn something new and inspiring. Good luck with and enjoy your new knitting with beads project!