Knitting With Beads

I have long loved adding beads to my knitting.  I have two small beaded bags that I use for going out, just for money, phone, etc. when I don't want to carry a larger bag; I also have a couple of scarves with beads.

If you have never tried knitting with beads, I hope this will encourage you to do so!  It isn't as hard as you may think.

Beads come in many sizes, shapes, colors, and are made from different types of materials.  You can find them in craft stores such as Joannes and Michaels; your local yarn store may even carry beads.  There are also plenty of places online to find beads.

One thing to consider when choosing your beads, is whether or not they will fit onto the yarn you want to use.  If you are in love with a particular bead, but your yarn is too thick to fit through the hole, you can use a thinner yarn to put the beads on, and knit with both strands.  Choose a complimentary color, or a contrasting color - the choice is yours.  If you only want a few beads here and there, sewing them on afterward is also an option.  Something else you may want to consider is how much weight the beads will add to your finished item.  Using lots of big, glass beads for example may make your scarf uncomfortable to wear.

There are probably as many ways to add beads to your knitting as there are knitters.  The most common is stringing the beads onto your yarn before you begin knitting, or adding the beads one at a time as you go along with a crochet hook.  The second method is the one I prefer.   My problems with stringing the beads on beforehand are:  A) If the yarn is a fine, thin yarn the weight of the beads may break the yarn  B) The moving of beads up and down the yarn can cause a bit of fuzziness or pills on the yarn.  If you are using a fine, delicate yarn and prefer to pre-string your beads, just do a few at a time.  When you run out of beads, break the yarn, add more beads, and continue.  This will also leave you with extra ends to weave in, which can be a pain.

As I said, I prefer adding the beads one at a time with a crochet hook.  This method is the fastest and easiest for me, and the beads appear equally well on both sides of the fabric.  There is no worry that a bead may be stubborn and want to show itself on the wrong side of your fabric!  To add beads this way, you will need a crochet hook that is small enough to fit through the hole in your bead.  I use a US Size 11 hook, which is teeny tiny.  Since it is so small, it tends to snag on thicker yarns sometimes as you pull the yarn through the bead.  If that happens, all you have to do is pull the rest of the plies through the bead, and it will be fine once the stitch is back on the needle and you have knit it.

How to Knit a Scarf

Extreme Pastels Scarf pattern below

Also check out my other scarf patterns.  Video tutorials on each scarf.

Free Patterns:
 Flutter Scarf (a potato chip scarf) 
Amazing Curly Scarf (a spiral/corkscrew scarf)
Lacy Ruffle Scarf 

Available for Purchase:
Quite Contrary Scarf

If you are new to knitting, you may be wondering how to knit a scarf.  Scarves are good beginner projects, because you generally don't need to worry about gauge - something which often confuses newbies.  Scarves can be knit as long as you want, as wide as you want, as skinny as you want.  You can use any yarn you like, any needle size, and any stitch pattern.  It can be simple, such as garter stitch, or something more complicated like lace.

Even though a scarf is a simple project, all of the options can be overwhelming.  If you aren't ready to go it alone, there are more scarf patterns available on the web than you can shake a knitting needle at.  If you would like to design your own, here are a few steps to get you started.

Find a stitch pattern you like.  There are many web sites with stitch patterns if you don't own any stitch pattern books.  The Weekly Stitch has a new stitch pattern posted each week, most with a video demonstration of the stitch.  

Choose your yarn and needles.  If you aren't sure of which needle to use for you yarn, check the ball band and start with the recommend size.  While you don't have to swatch first, you certainly can if you like; you can decide from there if you like how the fabric looks, and if you'd like to make a denser fabric then try a needle size smaller than the one recommended.  If you'd like something looser and airy, shoot for a larger needle size.    Also, a swatch can tell you how wide your scarf will be.  Myself, I just guesstimate and don't worry about it.  Obviously, what type of yarn and needle size you use will affect the width.  Finer yarn will require more stitches, and heavier weight yarn will require less. 

Once you have your yarn, needles and stitch pattern you are ready to cast on.

 There are many cast ons - use which ever cast on you like.  Long tail cast on is one of the most common ones.  Backward Loop is also common, or you can even do a knitted cast on.

Begin knitting your scarf; keep going until it is as long as you want it to be.  Now you can cast off, or bind off.  Use any bind off you like.  The standard knit bind off will do fine, but of course there are many different bind offs.  If you like to purl, you can try the standard purl bind off, or if you crochet perhaps the single crochet bind off will feel most comfortable for you.

If you have knit your scarf with wool or another animal fiber, you may want to block it before wearing it. Blocking is not required, but can open up your stitches and give the scarf a more finished look.  You can always add fringe to your scarf if you like!  Now you are ready to wear your new scarf!

Scarves are a good way to use up left over yarns; you can use several strands at once, or just knit with one until you run out and then begin with another.  The scarf above was knit with four strands of yarn on large needles.  I wanted to use up some scrap yarn, as well as get it done fast.