How To Ladder Stitch

In this lesson, you will learn how to ladder stitch a basic beaded base row for brick stitch bead work.

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102:  Simple Ladder Stitch

A simple ladder stitch base row for brick stitch beading.

You can download a printable pdf of this lesson by clicking the link below:

Lesson 102:  Simple Ladder Stitch

You can view the images below larger by clicking on them, then download them by right clicking and selecting save.  Scroll to the bottom of this page to view a video presentation of these slides.

The ladder stitch is the most common stitch used to build a base row, or the first row, of brick stitch bead work.  It is also used to increase brick stitch rows by more than one bead.  Knowing how to ladder stitch is vital to brick stitch beading, especially with advanced pattern work.

String the first two beads of the base row.

Leaving a 6-8 inch tail of string,
hold both beads side by side so that a loop of string forms above them.

While holding the two beads in place,
send the needle up through the first bead.

Pull the thread taught, but not tight.  Do not pull so tightly on the thread
as to cause tension in it.  The two beads are now held together
by a small loop.

Continue holding the two beads in place.  Run the needle down through the
second bead.

Continue holding the two beads in place.  Run the needle up through
the first bead.

Continue holding the two bead in place and pull the thread taught.
Then, run the needle down through the second bead.

Continue holding the two beads in place and pull the thread taught.
String the next bead onto the needle.

Continue holding the first two beads in place.  Position the third bead
next to the second bead so that a loop forms below the two beads
and hold it in place.  Run the needle down through the second bead.

Continue holding the three beads in place and pull the thread taught.

Continue holding the three beads in place.  Run the needle up through the third bead.

Continue holding the three beads in place and pull the thread taught.
String the fourth bead.

Continue holding the three beads in place.  Place the fourth bead next to the
third bead so that a loop forms above them in the thread.  Hold all four beads
in place while running the needle up through the third bead.

Continue holding the four beads in place and pull the thread taught.  Then,
run the needle down through the fourth bead.

Continue holding the four beads in place.  Pull the thread taught.

Thread the fifth bead and repeat steps nine through 15 until you have reached
the desired number of beads for the base row.

Here is a video presentation of this lesson:

You can view this video on YouTube by following this link:

https://youtu.be/UFmVZiwLS4M

Learn how to brick stitch with Brick Stitch Beading University by Brick Stitch Bead Patterns Journal where all lessons and tutorials are free!

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What Is Brick Stitch Beading?

So, what is Brick Stitch Beading?

Brick Stitch Beading is an off-loom technique where the beads are arranged to look like a brick wall, with the beads connected by loops of thread.  They are stacked, horizontally, either above or below a Foundation Row, also called a Base Row.

Brick Wall VS. Brick Stitch

The Brick Stitch style of beadwork has been around for centuries.  No one really knows for sure where and when it originated.  It is closely related to the Peyote and Gourd stitches; but is more challenging to learn.  However, Brick Stitch is just as versatile, if not more so, than the Peyote and Gourd.  The results of the more stiff, firmer finish work of Brick Stitch makes it ideal for 3-D and shaped patterns.  Brick Stitch can be worked from Left to Right, Right to Left, Top to Bottom, Bottom to Top, Increased, Decreased, Skipped, Stacked, Layered, Worked in the Round, Worked in Tube, and when combined with the popular Foundation Row stitch, called the Ladder Stitch, can become nearly any shape imaginable.

Native American woman teaching daughter to bead.

Brick Stitch was popularized in the U.S.A. by the beautiful Native American Plains Indians’ beadwork.  Brick Stitch is also known a the Cheyenne Stitch and the Comanche Stitch due to

their noted use of this technique. Though the Brick Stitch style is largely associated with Native American beadwork, they were not the creators of this beading stitch.  There is seemingly little evidence that the Great Plains tribes used the Brick Stitch technique before pioneering tradesmen introduced European glass beads to them.  Their beadwork previous to the explorations of Columbus primarily consisted of shells, seeds, bones, and rocks.

Arts of Africa collection

Gift of Mrs. Herman Eggers

Attribution: Brooklyn Museum

Brick Stitch was also used in South America, the Middle East, and in Africa.  It is in Africa

where we can find the most prolific and very creative use of this technique.  The Zulu women embraced the Brick Stitch style of beading, using it to create their own visual language through beadwork.  Their structurally intricate beaded jewelry conveys social rank, stages of courtship, where they live, and much more.

San Eggshell Brick Stitch Necklace
From:
The David Draper Dayton Fund

The San of the Kalahari Desert in Africa, also know as the Bushmen, may have used the Brick Stitch technique far earlier than the Zulu, though.  Early beadwork of the San was created with handmade ostrich eggshell beads and the Brick Stitch technique.  When trade beads were introduced, they simply transferred their skills with Brick Stitch from the ostrich eggshell beads to the newly available

glass beads. 

The Brick Stitch technique probably flowed out of Africa as the bead trade grew, into the Middle East, then carried to the Native Americans of both North and South America through trade expansion.

Learn how to brick stitch with Brick Stitch Beading University by Brick Stitch Bead Patterns Journal where all lessons and tutorials are free!

Support this blog and buy me a coffee at 

https://buymeacoffee.com/brickstitchbeadpatterns

Follow Brick Stitch Bead Patterns Journal on Social Media:

YouTube:  Brick Stitch Bead Patterns Journal

Pintrest Board:  https://www.pinterest.com/jentennille/brick-stitch-bead-patterns-journal/