Beaded Garter Stitch: A Peek Behind the Scenes

Beaded Garter Stitch is exactly what it sounds like: garter stitch with beads. Beyond this simplistic explanation, there are several intriguing things about this beading technique. Let’s take a closer look at Beaded Garter Stitch —

Beaded Garter Stitch is a Type of Beaded Knitting

A prime characteristic of Beaded Knitting is that the beads are between stitches, rather than on the stitches themselves.

Beads are between stitches, rather than on the stitches themselves

Because the bead is on the running thread between the stitches, this places the bead in it’s distinctive upright orientation.

Basics of the Beaded Knitting Technique

To do Beaded Knitting:

• Beads are strung onto the yarn with which you will be knitting.
• The beads are pushed down along your yarn until needed.
• When you come to a place in the knitted fabric where you want a bead(s), slide one (or more) beads into place right next to the last stitch worked on your right-hand needle. Work the next stitch, taking care that the bead(s) do not come through the new stitch.

Slide a bead next to right-hand needle

Tip: I like to insert my needle into the next stitch (but not make actually make the new stitch yet) before I slide the bead next to the right-hand needle. This stabilizes both needles so that I can free either my right hand or left hand to move the beads as needed.

Close-up of Slide Bead and Knit Next Stitch

Work Beads on Wrong Side Rows

In Beaded Garter Stitch, you work the bead(s) on wrong side rows. The opposite side is where the beaded pattern is actually going to show up. So you might at first feel like you need to peek around to the other side to see what is going on when you are doing your beading rows. Don’t worry, you will eventually get over this urge, lol.

This is because the beads want to go to the bumpy side of the row. If you have ever knit with eyelash yarn, you know how the strings want to go the bumpy purl side of the fabric, rather than stay on the smooth stockinette side. It is a similar thing that is happening with the beads when they are placed between knit stitches.

The 2 Sides of Beaded Garter Stitch

Even though garter stitch by itself is inherently reversible, Beaded Garter Stitch makes the fabric have a definite Right Side and Wrong Side.

The Right Side is the side where the beaded pattern shows up (even though the beads were worked on Wrong Side rows).

The Wrong side of Beaded Garter Stitch just looks like — well, garter stitch.

You can’t even see beads on the wrong side. This is an advantage for articles to be used for warmth; i.e. the beads do not touch your skin. Examples where I have put this to good use in beaded designs are wrist warmers and socks with sideways-knitted beaded garter stitch cuffs; e.g. Beaded Fleuron, Beaded Winter Wonderland and Beaded Shamrock.

Even-count Designs

Because the gauge of garter stitch is basically 2 rows = 1 stitch, the fabric is a great canvas on which to design even-count designs or even adapt simple even-count charts from other fiber disciplines such as cross-stitch, needlepoint and filet crochet.

Tip: Since beads are placed from the wrong side when doing Beaded Garter Stitch, be sure to mirror your chart if there is a definite left and right to your even-count design.

Simple, Almost Mindless Fun

Best of all, Beaded Garter Stitch is simple enough for even a beginner knitter to do. And because it is almost mindless, it can appeal to even the most advanced knitters when they just want something fun to work on that doesn’t take much attention.

Building up the design with beads can be purely addictive. I hope you are starting to get excited about knitting with beads. This is just the beginning. I have lots more to share with you in BOBBOL 2013.