If you already know the peyote stitch, you can make these Beaded Beads in about five minutes each. If you don’t know peyote, this project is a great way to learn.
You’ll need:
*Delicas
beading thread & needle
scissors
*I’ve tried this with other seed beads, but I really recommend Delicas whenever you do peyote. Their uniform, square shapes make a big difference with this stitch.
In the following pictures, I’m using some weird colors - purple thread and cream and burgundy Delicas - in order to help you see what I’m doing.
1. Thread your needle, and slip on one bead.
2. Bring the needle back up through this bead, and leave a 6 inch tail. This is your stop bead. It will allow you to work and your other beads won’t slide off. You will need to slip this off after you finish your bead.
3. Now thread on 6 beads, and push them up against your stop bead.
4. Next, thread on one bead, skip a bead, and bring your needle through the next bead.
5. Repeat step 4 two more times. At this point you have finished the first two rows of your piece. This is a quirk with peyote and is the reason I’ve used two different color beads for this part of the bead. You should have a piece that looks like this.
6. Flip the piece around so your needle and thread are on your right (if you’re right handed), and continue threading on a bead, skipping a bead, and then going through the next bead. Repeat this until you have a total of 10 rows. I double check this by counting the beads on either side of the little square that I’m making. You should have five on one side and five on the other. In peyote, that means you’ve done 10 rows.
7. Now fold the piece in half. If you’ve done the stitch correctly, the sides should fit together like a zipper so that where a bead sticks out on one side, there is an indent for it on the other side.
8. Connect both sides by threading the needle up through the teeth (beads sticking out) so you zig zag back and forth.
9. Repeat this back down the bead.
10. Pull off your stop bead, and weave in your thread and tail and slip off.
These Beaded Beads are nice to string up in a bracelet, necklace, make simple earrings, or can be added to a strap or fringe. So, next time you need a bead in a certain color, try using Delicas to make your own Beaded Bead.
For more information and instructions on peyote, try these links:
For more bead projects, take a look at the Bead Projects Archives.
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