Pick beads with a large enough hole to fit over a double the thickness of your yarn
Avoid beads with sharp edges, they’ll fray your yarn
Preparing the beads for knitting
String all the beads you’ll need for the project onto your yarn before casting on
Use a “long eye” needle to string the beads (this is why the bead hole has to be twice the yarn thickness)
For beads pre-strung in a “hank”: Lay the needle along the bead string and push the beads onto the needle
For loose beads: Push the needle through the beads, in a shallow container, to catch beads on tip
If you need to add more beads: Cut the yarn and add them there, or unroll the ball and add them at the end
You’ll have a bunch of beads strung onto the beginning of your yarn, as you knit you’ll be pushing all them down the yarn strand. So avoid using bumpy or fragile yarn. Elastic hair ties around the ball help hold things in place.
Adding the beads as you knit
The beads are slid down the yarn to sit BETWEEN knit stitches
Inset the right hand needle to start the next knit stitch
Slide a bead down the yarn to rest against the previous stitch
Continue to knit the next stitch
Knitting with beads
Knit tight. The bead’s weight pulls loose stitches tight, causing the beads to sag
Knit all rows (Garter Stitch)
Beads can be placed on alternate rows for a one sided piece: a sewn on patch, necklace pendent, or a decorative touch to your current knitting project.
Beads can be placed on each row for a double sided display: earrings, keychain fobs, sun catchers, etc
