Brick Stitch Basics

Brick stitch builds beadwork row by row, with each row shifted half a bead, like the bricks in a wall. It is a favorite for earrings, pendants and shaped motifs, because you can add or drop beads at the edges of any row and the outline changes cleanly. If you know peyote stitch, brick stitch will look familiar: the finished fabric looks like peyote turned on its side.

How brick stitch differs from peyote

The look is nearly the same, but the construction is not. In peyote the thread passes through the beads of the previous row. In brick stitch, each new bead is attached by looping the thread around the thread bridge between two beads of the row below, then back up through the bead you just added. Because each bead hangs from a bridge, you can start a new row anywhere along the last one, and you can stop a row early without leaving a gap. That is why triangles, diamonds, hearts and other irregular shapes are so easy.

In a chart, the difference is the direction of the stagger. Peyote charts stagger the beads up and down; brick charts stagger them left and right, like bricks. In Krazy Stitcher the brick grid shows that offset, with the flat edges on the sides.

What you need

• Beads: cylinder beads such as Miyuki Delica 11/0 give the neatest result, because they sit flush against each other. Round seed beads work, but leave small gaps.
• Thread and needle: a thread that fits through the bead hole several times and a matching beading needle.
• A base row: brick stitch is usually started from a “ladder” of beads stitched side by side, which becomes the first row.
• A chart showing the color of every bead and where each row begins and ends.

How a brick stitch piece is built

1. Make the base row. Stitch a ladder of beads side by side so they sit in a straight line, with thread bridges visible between them.
2. Add the next row. Pick up a bead, pass the needle under the thread bridge between two beads of the previous row, and go back up through the new bead. Repeat along the row.
3. Shape as you go. To make the piece narrower, start or stop a row one bridge further in. To widen it, add an extra bead at the edge using the loop of thread at the end of the row.
4. Finish and secure. Weave the thread back through several beads, tie a half-hitch knot or two, and trim.

First rows are easier to follow in a photo or video than in words; the logic above is the same in every tutorial, even where the details of the first row differ.

A worked example: a triangle earring

A brick stitch triangle shows how shaping works. Start with a base row of 7 beads. Each new row sits in the gaps of the row below, so it naturally has one bead fewer: 6, then 5, 4, 3, 2 and finally 1. The whole triangle uses 7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 28 beads. Chart it in Krazy Stitcher with the Brick stitch type and the Counts tool lists exactly how many beads of each color you need, so you know how many to buy before you start.

Why it suits earrings and pendants

• The outline is easy to control, so you can make fringe, drops and geometric shapes from one technique.
• The edges come out clean, with little extra finishing.
• Small pieces use few beads, so it is a quick way to try a color combination.

Common mistakes

• Pulling the thread too tight. This makes the row curve and can distort the shape.
• Looping the wrong bridge. If a bead sits crooked, you have probably caught the wrong bridge; unpick back to the last good bead.
• Losing track of row length. Mark your chart row by row, because a shaped piece changes length every row.
• Using too much thread at once. A long thread tangles easily around the bridges.
• Splitting the thread. The needle is going under thread bridges, so watch that it does not pierce the thread already there.

For the stitch brick stitch is most often compared with, read What Is Peyote Stitch?. If you are weighing off-loom against loom work, see Loom vs Off-Loom Beading, and for sizing see Choosing the Right Bead Size.