Pre-Stringing Beads for Your Crochet Project

Adding beads to a crochet lace shawl or sweater is a fun way to add pizzazz and something extra special to your project. There are different ways that you can add beads to your crochet project and in this video crochet expert Mary Beth Temple demonstrates how to add beads by pre-stringing them onto the yarn.

Beads can be added to a wide variety of projects, worked in different weights of yarn. The most common crochet bead projects use fingering weight yarn with size 6 glass seed beads. When working a project that requires beads, the materials section of the pattern will tell you exactly what size beads you need. For the demonstration, Mary Beth is using a chunky yarn with plastic pony beads.

Mary Beth begins by threading the yarn onto a big-eye beading needle. She leaves a long tail, so that the yarn doesn’t come out of the beading needle while she is threading it. Once the yarn is in the needle, she threads the beads onto the yarn. She adds a few at a time and then slides them down onto the yarn. The same process will be used no matter what yarn weight and bead size you’re using for your project.

If the beads are being added to the yarn in a color pattern, there is a chance that a bead will get pre-strung in the wrong color or one is missing. To remove a bead, Mary Beth suggests using a small hammer or pliers to break the bead off the yarn. If a bead needs to be added, then use the bead-as-you-go method for that bead in the project.

Once the beads are loaded onto the yarn, Mary Beth begins crocheting, working the beads into the stitches. She is working on a swatch of double crochet. She works a double crochet stitch up to the last point (before the final yarn over, pull through two loops) and then slides the bead up to the fabric and finishes the stitch. This catches the bead into the top part of the double crochet. She notes that the bead goes to the side of the fabric that is away from her. This means when you’re using this method, you would add the beads when working a Wrong Side row so that the bead goes to the Right Side (or public side) of the project.