Seed Bead Stitching Kit

Small glass beads sized by the "aught" system — 11/0 means about 11 beads per inch when strung (the standard seed-bead size, a good balance of detail and visibility). Smaller (15/0) is finer; larger (8/0, 6/0) is bolder. 11/0 is the all-purpose beadweaving size; buy them by the tube in a color assortment.

A non-slip, fuzzy surface (velvet or foam) that holds the beads in place and stops them rolling — beadwork is fiddly enough without chasing beads across the table. The mat is the workspace; a hard surface fights you. A good mat and a task lamp (the beads are tiny) are the two workspace essentials.

A foundational off-loom beadweaving stitch — beads sewn in a staggered, brick-like pattern that makes a flat strip, a tube, or a bezel around a stone. It is the first beadweaving stitch most learn, and the base of much beadwork. The brick stitch (beads stacked like a brick wall) is its close cousin; both build structure bead by bead.

Beadwork patterns are charted on graph paper (one cell per bead, color-coded) — the design is read stitch by stitch, like counted cross-stitch. A charted pattern teaches the structure and the rhythm; free-form beadwork comes later. Start with a charted strip (a bracelet), learn the stitch, then design your own.