Pre-strung beads

Machine types that can knit it

• Single bed, punch card
• Single bed, electronic
• Single bed, no patterning
• Single bed (punch card) + ribber
• Single bed (electronic) + ribber
• Double bed with pushers (Passap type)
• Double-bed hand flat (V-bed)

Steps

1. Count the beads for the whole piece from the chart.
2. Thread them onto the yarn before casting on, last-used bead first.
3. Push the beads down along the yarn, out of the way.
4. Knit to a bead position; slide one bead up and place it.
5. Continue; keep the rest of the beads moving down the yarn as you go.

The full card

What it looks like

Beads lying on the strand between two stitches, or on the face of a stitch in hand knitting. On the machine they show as beads strung along the horizontal bar of yarn between stitches (the sinker loop) [inference].

How it behaves

Flat, with the same weight problem as any beading: the more beads, the more the fabric drops.

How it works

All beads are threaded onto the yarn before knitting. As you knit, you slide one bead up to the needles and let it sit where you want it, so the yarn itself carries the bead into the fabric. In hand knitting the bead is pushed up and caught as you work the stitch. On a machine the bead can be pushed up between two needles before the carriage passes, so it sits in the sinker loop between them [unverified].

Machines

Best for hand knitting, or for a few beads on a machine. On a machine the threaded beads must pass through the tension mast and the yarn feeder; usually they cannot, so the yarn is hand-fed (carriage threaded without the mast, or the bead row laid in by hand) [unverified].

Parameters

Number of beads = exact count for the piece, plus a few extra. Thread them with a big-eye beading needle or a loop of thread. Order: string the beads in reverse order of use when the colours vary [inference].

Steps

1) Count the beads for the whole piece from the chart. 2) Thread them onto the yarn before casting on, last-used bead first. 3) Push the beads down along the yarn, out of the way. 4) Knit to a bead position; slide one bead up and place it. 5) Continue; keep the rest of the beads moving down the yarn as you go.

Charting

Bed chart in plain front-bed stitches with a bead mark between the two needles where each bead sits, plus a running count of beads per row, so you know how many to string [inference].

Limits and common problems

Works best with a small number of beads: with many beads the yarn tangles at the start, and if you string too few you cannot add more without breaking the yarn. Beads rub the yarn as they slide: fluffy or soft yarns fray [inference].

Combines with

bead-hook-placement (beads on stitches); hand-knitted trims and edges.

Pieces and assembly

Small beaded edges and accents; hand-knitted parts of a mixed machine/hand garment. Store flat.

Related techniques

• Beads placed with a hook, or with needle and thread