Editing Bead weaving

{{Short description|A set of techniques for weaving sheets and objects of seed beads}}
'''Bead weaving''' (or '''beadweaving''') is a set of techniques for weaving sheets and objects of [[seed beads]]. Threads are strung through and/or around the beads to hold them together. It can be done either on a [[loom]] or using one of a number of off-loom stitches.
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==On-loom beadweaving==
[[File:Bracelet in progress on a bead weaving loom 25Jan2011 arp.jpg|thumb|A [[bracelet]] in progress on a bead-weaving loom]]
[[Image:Apachebeadloom1903.png|thumb|355px|A 1903 [[Apache]] bead loom. 1. Roller. 2. Roller end. 3. Spacers. 4. Spacers.]]
When weaving on a loom, the beads are strung on the [[weft]] threads and locked in between the [[Warp (weaving)|warp]] threads. Although loomed pieces are typically rectangular, it is possible to increase and decrease to produce angular or curvy shapes.  [[Fringe (trim)|Fringe]] can also be added during weaving or before the piece is removed from the loom.

===Frame looms===
The most common{{cn|date=March 2023}} modern loom bead weaving technique requires two passes of the weft thread per row of beads.<ref>{{Cite web |title=как вышивать бисером |url=https://biseroc.ru/stati6.php |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=biseroc.ru}}</ref>  First, an entire row of beads is strung on the weft [[yarn|thread]].  Then the beads are pressed in between the warp threads from below. Then the [[Sewing needle|needle]] is passed back through the beads, but above the warp threads, to lock the beads into place. 

Bead looms vary in size and are typically made of wood or metal.  Usually, a [[comb]] or [[Spring (device)|spring]] is used to hold the warp threads a bead-width apart (the lede image shows a [[threaded rod]]).  Some looms have roller bars; these allow the weaver to produce pieces that are longer than the loom.  Most looms are meant to sit on a table, but some have floor stands or are meant to sit in the [[lap]]. Cheap bead looms are sometimes made from styrofoam trays, wrapping the warp through evenly-spaced small slits notched into opposite edges.

===Heddle looms===
[[File:Beadwork heddle, Winnebago, undated - Wisconsin Historical Museum - DSC02948.JPG|thumb|Undated [[rigid heddle]] for beadwork, [[Ho-chunk]], Wisconsin.]]
[[Rigid heddle|Heddle]] bead looms were popular in the United States near the beginning of the 20th century. They allow weaving of beads by raising every other thread and inserting strung beads in the [[Shed (weaving)|shed, the space between the lowered and raised threads]]. There are still a few heddle bead looms being manufactured today. The most difficult part of loomwork is finishing off the warp threads.

==Off-loom beadweaving==
[[File:Bead Weaving, Sarawak (7246866286).jpg|thumb|An example of off-loom beadweaving, specifically plaiting, from Sarawak, Malaysia.]]

Off-loom beadweaving is a family of [[beadwork]] techniques in which seed [[bead]]s are woven together into a flat [[Cloth|fabric]], a tubular rope, or a three-dimensional object such as a ball, clasp, box, or a piece of jewelry. Most off-loom techniques can be accomplished using a single needle and thread (no warp threads), and some have two-needle variations.
Different stitches produce pieces with distinct textures, shapes, and patterns.  There are many different off-loom bead stitches, including new stitches (distinct thread paths) published as recently as 2015:
* albion stitch, developed by Heather Kingsley-Heath, published May 2009<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kingsley-Heath|first1=Heather|title= Albion Stitch: An Introduction to the New Beadwork Stitch |year = 2009 |publisher=Useful Booklet Company |isbn=978-0954367275}}</ref>
* [[brick stitch]], also known as Comanche or Cheyenne stitch
* chevron stitch, a triangular form of bead netting<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Art & Elegance of Beadweaving|last = Wells|first = Carol Wilcox|publisher = Lark Books|year = 2003|isbn = 978-1-57990-533-0|location = USA|pages = 54–64}}</ref>
* diamond weave, developed over a number of years by Gerlinde Lenz, published August 2015<ref>{{cite book|last1=Thomas|first1=Cath|last2=Lenz|first2=Gerlinde|title=Diamond Weave: A complete guide to mastering the bead world's newest stitch|date=2015|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform|isbn=978-1-5147-3715-6}}</ref>
* [[herringbone stitch]], also known as Ndebele stitch
* hubble stitch and wave hubble stitch, created and developed by Melanie de Miguel, published 2015<ref>{{cite book|last1=de Miguel|first1=Melanie|title=Let's Hubble: A Journey into the Brand New Beadwork Stitch|date=2015|publisher=SRA Books|isbn=978-1-909116-47-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=de Miquel|first1=Melanie|title=Hubble Stitch|journal=Beadwork, US Version of Let's Hubble|volume=Oct/Nov 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=de Miguel|first1=Melanie|title=Hubble Stitch 2: Further Adventures into Planet Hubble|date=2016|publisher=SRA Books|isbn=978-1-909116-72-6}}</ref>
* netting, to avoid confusion specifically ''bead'' netting
* [[peyote stitch]], also known as gourd stitch
* plaiting, crossing multiple threads as in a plait or braid, using beads to connect the crossings<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hector |first1=Valerie |title=Bead Netting and Plaiting Techniques in the Peranakan World |journal=BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers |date=2016 |volume=28 |issue=1 |page=69-86 |url=https://surface.syr.edu/beads/vol28/iss1/9/ |access-date=18 August 2021}}</ref>
* [[pondo stitch]], also known as African circle stitch
* [[right-angle weave]]
* [[Saint Petersburg chain]]
* [[square stitch]], an off loom stitch that mimics the look of loomed bead projects.  
*ladder stitch, a foundation stitch that is used to build a base for brick stitch or herringbone stitch.
* [[triangle weave]]
Spiral Bead Weaving Stitches
* Cellini spiral, a tubular peyote stitch<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Gerlach|editor1-first=Julia|title=Best of [[Bead&Button magazine]] : peyote stitch beading projects|date=2005|publisher=Kalmbach Pub.|location=Waukesha, Wis.|isbn=0-87116-218-0|pages=46–47}}</ref>
* [[Dutch spiral]]
* [[African helix]]
* Russian spiral
*Chenille

==See also==
*[[Glass beadmaking]]
*[[Beadwork]]
*[[Bead embroidery]]
*[[Bead knitting]]
*[[Bead crochet]]
*[[Quillwork]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Virginia Blakelock, ''Those Bad, Bad Beads!''  Virginia Blakelock Publisher, 1990.
* Don Pierce, ''Beading on a Loom.''  Interweave Press, 1999.  {{ISBN|1-883010-63-2}}
* Carol Wilcox Wells, ''Creative Bead Weaving.'' Lark Books, 1996.  {{ISBN|1-887374-05-1}}

{{beadwork}}

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[[Category:Weaving]]
[[Category:Beadwork]]