"The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery" — Mark Van Dorena

Selecting the beads

• 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.