I usually enlist the help of Hana and other staff members to make up our kit examples, it’s a great way to test our patterns and ensure they’re easy to follow, particularly for someone just getting into Brick Stitch. However it’s sometimes very easy to forget what it’s like to be a complete beginner when you’ve been beading as long as we have. So I enlisted the help of one of our very talented customers who is relatively new to beading and has mostly worked in Peyote Stitch so far. So I asked Emma if she’d be willing to test out our designs as her first foray into Brick Stitch.
Picking a simple design to start with;
Fortunately for me Emma said yes to having a go. She’s also a speedy beader. She very sensibly picked designs that looked the most straight forward to begin with. The snowman was her first piece. I think it looks great even if Emma was a little frustrated as she realised she’d not used the right colour bead at the bottom of the scarf. But as I pointed out to her it doesn’t effect the finished snowman and no one will know (except if you’re reading this).
After only 1 more simple design Emma decided to challenge herself with a more complex one. We chatted about how to approach a design that has a missing middle and she made this really sweet wreath design. Which again looks great. Emma only realised after completing the wreath, that there should have been an extra bead in between the middle of the bow. This is so easily done as a beginner. There’s a lot of new things to think about and this is definitely one of the more challenging designs in the kit. However I prefer the design without that bead. So I have decided to omit it from the actual design – thank you Emma!
My chats with Emma were really helpful, and have enabled me to elaborate a little more on some of the features in the more complex patterns. I thought I’d also share some of the tips that came out of our discussion below.
Top tips;
- Starting with a simpler design, which has very little increasing and decreasing or complex shaping, is a great way to get used to the stitch and process before trying the more elaborate designs.
- Emma found the edge beads of the foundation row became a little loose as you start working the second row. She reinforced these beads by stitching through them a second time. This is a great tip as a beginner and the more you do, the more your confidence will increase as you become more comfortable with the stitch. You may find you no longer need to add the extra reinforcement.
- If you end up with a wonky bead, usually at the edge of you work, you can weave your thread through your work and stitch it into place by anchoring it to the adjacent bead (like the ladder stitch for the foundation row).
- If you do miss a bead or pick up the wrong colour, as long as you’re happy with the finished piece, don’t worry about it!
Christmas Brick Stitch Kit
Everything you need to make your own festive charms and pendants.
4 in stock
Here’s the kit if you fancy trying it out for yourself. It could be the perfect collection of projects for you to get into Brick Stitch. its also the perfect way to build your bead weaving skills. Just a word of warning; brick stitch can become very addictive!!
Happy Beading!