The bead stitch is a pretty stitch perfect for adding textured detail to any project. It is made by crocheting a puff stitch around the post of a double crochet with your rows of beads seperated with rows of half double crochet stitches.

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I first used the Bead stitch in my first crochet along – The 50 Stitches. It’s such a wonderfully pretty stitch that I chose to use it again as part of my String Of Pearls triangular shawl pattern.

The Bead Stitch is usually used to add some detail to a plainer stitch rather than having the whole fabric made of beads. It’s a great stitch to use as a penultimate Row for a project before finishing the piece with a plain stitch like half double crochet. In this way it can be used as a round at the top of baskets, to edge a wrap or around the hem of a sweater. You can see the beads being used in the 2nd to last row of the String Of Pearls scarf above.

This how to guide is part of Froggity Frog’s Stitch Vault collection. Have you seen all the other stitches in there? You can take a look here all the guides are free to access and maybe you will discover some new stitches to create for yourself.

The yarn I used in this stitch guide is Stylecraft Cotton Classique DK, a 100% cotton yarn. It’s a non mercerised cotton that is lovely and soft, but it can get a bit splitty if you frog it a couple of times. It does makes lovely cosy blankets though and is the yarn that got me hooked on cotton as my fibre of choice. I think I first got a ball of this yarn in a mystery bag I got off ebay, and it was a great yarn discovery for me.

I also used my trusty Clover Amour hooks which are perfect if you are looking for a good value ergonomic crochet hook that won’t cause your hand to ache if you are crocheting for long periods of time. I’ve tried many different crochet hooks over the years, but I always end up coming back to my trusty Clovers. They just sit so well in my hand and never let me down.

The Bead Stitch

The stitch guide below is written in US terms

Abbreviations

• Ch = Chain
• St = Stitch
• Hdc = Half Double Crochet
• Dc = Double Crochet

Start with a foundation chain in multiples of 2 plus 2 (plus 2 stitches for your turning chain)

Row 1. In the 4th chain from your hook make a hdc (the turning chain counts as your first stitch of the row). Make a hdc in every chain across.

Row 2. Turn and chain 1. Make a dc turning chain in the first stitch, tyen in the next stitch make another dc.

Around the post of the dc you just made, make a puff stitch (yarn over, insert hook around the post, yarn over and pull up a loop. Repeat twice more until you have 7 loops on your hook then yarn over and pull through all 7 loops.)

The double crochet and the puff make your first bead stitch.

*Skip the next stitch and make a bead stitch* repeat until you have 2 stitches left in the row. Skip the next stitch and make a dc in the last stitch of the row.

After every bead stitch you need to skip a stitch as the bead counts as two stitches. Both the double crochet and the puff create a stitch each to work into in the next row.

Row 3. Turn and chain 1. Make a dc turning chain in the first stitch and then make a hdc in every stitch across.

Having the rows of half double crochet in between each bead row means that all your beads will be facing the same way. The puffs do tend to slant upwards when finished, so this keeps everything nice, neat and with a symmetry.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until you have made the number of rows that you need for your project. You should end your Bead stitch piece on a row of hdc (a repeat of row 3). Then you can cut off, weave in your ends and admire your beautiful handy work.

You can find more free crochet stitch guides here in Froggity Frog’s stitch vault. Come on over to our Facebook group – Froggity Frog’s Ribbit And Stitch and show us what you made with the Bead stitch. I’d love to see what you created. 

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