Beading Guide

Illustration of needle going through stiff felt. There is a knot anchoring the thread to the felt.

Step 1

Thread your needle, knot one end, and go up through your stiff felt.

Illustration of needle, now below the felt. There are 4 beads resting on top of the felt with the thread going through them.

Step 2

Pick up 4 beads and tack them down, leaving about ½ - 1 bead’s worth of space between the last bead and the thread.

On the left, there is an illustration of the needle and thread going up between the 2nd and 3rd beads. On the right, the needle and thread is going back down between the 2nd and 3rd beads. There is a circle in the middle of the page that shows a birds eye view. The thread is going over the thread from the previous steps. There is text in the circle that reads "top view" and "space between beads exaggerated for clarity". Finally, on the top right, there is a red stop sign saying "do not pull too hard!"

Step 3

Take the needle up through the 2nd and 3rd bead and go back down ensuring that the working thread is going over the thread that tacked down the 4 beads (see top view). Repeat this step for in-between the rest of the beads (1st – 2nd and 3rd – 4th). NOTE: Do not pull the thread too hard or else the beads will not lay flat.

Illustration of needle and thread looping up before the 4 beads and threading through all of them

Step 4

Take the needle up before your 1st bead and thread through all 4 beads.

Illustration of thread and needle going through to bottom of felt. There are 8 total beads on top of the felt.

Step 5

Thread on 4 more beads and repeat steps 2 and 3.

Step 6

fter completing steps 2 and 3 again, take your needle up before the 4th bead of your previous string of 4 beads. Then, thread through 5 beads total. Repeat steps 2, 3, and 6!

REMEMBER: this is just the basics! Sometimes you need to tack on more or less beads, or a particularly stubborn bead needs to be tacked down again, etc… be flexible and open to making mistakes! Good luck!