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PURCHASE KITS AND INSTRUCTIONS:

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DESCRIPTION:

Strut your stuff through Tuxedo Park on the East Side of Lower Manhattan! Learn how much shaping, interest and dimensionality you can achieve with the simple, basic Brick Stitch.

The Brick Stitch is historically is found in several cultures, but it is most associated with Native American beadwork. The Brick Stitch is where beads are woven and locked into place by snagging the thread loops between them. As you add a new bead, you snag the thread loop to pull the already completed rows up to the bead. The resultant look is like a brick wall. 

For the Tuxedo Park Bracelet project we are doing here, I wanted to make a woman's bangle bracelet, about 7" long and about 3/4" wide, and which had a comfortable, somewhat loose fit on the wrist. I visualized a bracelet that would have a Chanel styling to it, with a limited 2-color palette, and a strong line or outlining in the design.

This is a project for beginners, so I wanted to start with doing the stitch flat. But I also wanted to show some versatility to the stitch, so in the course of making our 4 links, we vary the sizes of the beads, the number of beads per row, and whether we increase or decrease. We embellish the surface and edges in a way to create a sense of a continuous line.

Most versions of this bracelet use only 2 colors. In some versions, I use contrasting colors; in others, matching or coordinating colors. Because I use one of the colors to establish a very strong sense of "line" throughout the piece, more than 2 colors often makes the piece look too busy or awkward -- too much competing with that "line" which one of strongest design elements of the piece.

SKILL LEVEL REQUIRED:

Beginner Level

PREREQUISITES:

ORIENTATION TO BEADS AND JEWELRY FINDINGS
(All students are required to begin our curriculum with this ORIENTATION CLASS.    The Orientation Class is offered once a month.)

BEAD WEAVING BASICS (or equivalent)

GOALS:

LearnToBead Goals:
- History of Brick Stitch
- Brick Stitch bead weaving basics
- Managing Thread Tension
- Reading a Pattern/Creating a simple Figural Representation
- Increasing and Decreasing with Brick Stitch
- Embellishing above your brick stitch base
- Varying bead sizes to create curvature 
- Finishing off the edges 
- Discussion of when Brick Stitch works well
- Making measurements when making a bangle bracelet (thus, when you do not use a clasp and the bracelet is meant to slip over the wrist)

PROJECT/TASKS:

Make 4 bow-tie shaped links and 4 round links using brick stitch
Embellish surface and edges of links.

SKILLS LEARNED:

SUPPLIES REQUIRED:

COLOR A: DB 10/0 (12 grams)
COLOR B: DB 11/0 (.7 grams)
COLOR C: DB10/0 (3 grams)
COLOR D:  2mm fire polish round (60 beads)
COLOR E:  5mm Lochrosen (4 each)
COLOR F: 15/0 seed beads (.2 grams)
Nymo or C-Lon or ONE-G thread, size D (2 colors)