Brick Stitch
We'll be working with the heart pattern shown here. The rows with x's indicate completed rows; red indicates the row on which you are currently working.
The first row of any brick stitch pattern—called the foundation row—is worked as a basic bead "ladder." Beads are attached to each other in side-by-side "rungs" that form a ladder-like strip, on which the rest of the pattern is based.
There are two methods used to create the original ladder. Choose the method with which you are more comfortable. The single needle ladder method will be more stable in the first row, but takes longer to make. The double needle method is quick and neat, but is a bit more difficult to handle until the weave is established.
The single needle ladder method:
Start by placing two beads on your thread and looping back through as shown until the beads nestle securely against each other, side by side. Thereafter, add one bead at a time and loop back through it (more than once, as shown) until the added bead is stable within the ladder.
The double needle ladder method:
Two threads will be worked through each bead from opposite sides. Place one needle on each end of your thread. Place two beads on either needle. Run the other needle through as shown in the animation to create a loop. Take up the slack in the thread so the beads sit next to each other. Thereafter, add one bead at a time, each time running both needles through it in opposite directions. As you take up the slack, the ladder will form.
This is how the complete ladder will look using either method. The diagram at right shows the path of the thread through the beads, exxaggerated for clarity—when the slack in the thread is taken up, the appearance will be neat.
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