Brick stitch: the stitch that turns corners
Brick stitch looks like peyote turned sideways but behaves very differently: it increases and decreases easily, which is why it is the go-to for earrings and shaped pieces.
If peyote is the straight road, brick stitch is the one with the lovely bends. Instead of passing through beads, you stitch each new bead onto the thread loop between two beads of the row below. That loop-based construction is what lets you make triangles, fans and leaves with hardly any planning.
The ladder foundation
Brick stitch starts with a ladder — a single row of beads stitched side by side. Pick up two beads, pass through both again so they sit next to each other, then add one bead at a time, passing back through the previous bead and the new one. Make the ladder as wide as your widest row.
Stitching the rows
- Pick up two beads to start each row (this gives a clean edge).
- Pass the needle under the thread loop between the first and second beads of the previous row, then back up through the second bead you picked up.
- Pick up one bead, pass under the next loop, back up through the bead. Repeat to the end.
- For a triangle, simply start each row one loop in from the edge.
Reading brick charts in the designer
Choose Brick stitch when you create a chart and the beads are drawn wider than tall with each row offset by half a bead — exactly how the finished piece sits. Round beads work beautifully for brick stitch; switch the bead shape in the chart settings to see the difference.
The first time a triangle came together in my hands I actually laughed out loud. It felt like magic.
- #brick stitch
- #earrings
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