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THREADING
YOUR BEADS
You
will need a strong sewing thread and a fine sewing needle.
You
could lay a piece of craft felt or a fine flannel over a saucer or small bowl
to hold the beads as threading from the palm of your hand or a slippery flat
surface can be troublesome.
The
size needle you would usually use to sew a knitting yarn will be far too large
to thread beads, so you are going to make your own version of a needle threader
in order to get the beads onto your knitting yarn. It is essential that the
beads are threaded onto the yarn before casting on.
Thread
the needle with the sewing cotton and make a small knot to join the ends and
form a loop. Move the knot so that it is not in line horizontally with the
sewing needle, place the knitting yarn through the loop created by the sewing
thread
Pass
the beads over the eye of the needle and push down onto the sewing thread as in
the image below:
Push
the beads along the sewing thread then down onto the knitting yarn. The first
few beads may be a bit tricky, but so long as the beads are large enough,
threading will become easier. Once you have threaded all the beads onto the
yarn distribute them over the first few meters of yarn and re- wind the yarn:
Sometimes
you will come across a bead with a smaller hole than the others or a bead with
a slight fault, so it is a good idea to thread the beads onto the yarn in small
batches. I tend to thread about 5 beads at a time. If using a large number of
beads it may be necessary to thread the beads onto the yarn in sections, too
many pre-strung beads can make crochet difficult and can affect tension/gauge
and the appearance of the yarn.
I
always use beads from the Debbie Abrahams range, which are specifically sourced
for knitters and crocheters. Debbie’s beads come in a variety of shades in
sizes 6/0 and 8/0.
Beads
are often given a number reference. The number refers to the size of the hole
through the centre of the bead.
The
higher the number, the smaller the hole.
Size
8/0 beads are suitable for 4ply and finer yarns.
Size
6/0 beads are suitable for yarns thicker than 4ply such as Rowan Cotton Glace
and most DK weight yarns.