Brick Tree Ornament

If you know brick stitch, or even if you don’t, you can quickly make this Brick Tree Ornament. It’s quick and easy because, first of all, brick naturally forms into a triangle. If you just start with an odd number of beads in your ladder row, you will soon have a triangle that can then become your tree. Also, I used size 6 beads. Since they are fairly large, it makes the project go very quickly.

You’ll need:

45 green size 6 beads
8 seed beads (your color choice)
1 hematite star bead
4-6 colored round beads in sizes from 4mm to 6mm
scissors
beading needle & thread

1. Start by making a ladder stitch using 9 green beads.

2. Use brick stitch to continue, working back and forth with green beads until you have one bead at the top of your triangle. Your needle will be coming out of the top bead on your triangle.

3. Slip on the hematite star bead.

4. Now thread on about 8 seed beads in your choice of color. (I used pink for mine.)

5. Insert the needle back down through the hematite star and the top green bead so that your seed beads form a loop.

6. Tie an over hand knot with the thread right under the top green bead.

7. Go back up through the top green bead and the seed beads in order to reinforce the loop.

8. Now snake the needle back down through some of the green beads in your tree. This can be anywhere.

9. Slip on one of your colored beads, and then go back down through the bead you came out of in order to attach the colored bead to your green "tree."

10. Continue adding ornaments onto your little tree as described in step 9. You can also use more seed beads and make garlands to drape across your little tree.

If you’re new to brick stitch, this is a fun little project to practice the stitch with. You can make the tree larger or smaller. You only need to remember to start with an odd number of beads in the ladder row. Not only can the loop created with the seed beads be used to dangle this ornament from a tree, but it can also be used as a bale so the tree can be added to ear hooks or a chain.

All graphics created by Tammy Powley.

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