Ok, this is how I am doing the beaded DC

[Landon]

Ok, here we go, LOL

First, I double crocheted a small piece of about 4 by 4. I cut it off from the ball of crochet thread I was using.

Then I completely unravelled it to add the beads.

This is the tool I used to add the beads to the cotton thread:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1155[/ATTACH]

I pushed the skinny metal wire part through the bead leaving most of the skinny metal part outside. Then I ran the cotton yarn through the skinny metal prong dealie. Then I pulled it out to pull the yarn through the bead.

Does that make sense?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1156[/ATTACH]

Then after doing that several times, I ended up with this:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1157[/ATTACH]

So, I kept going adding the beads I wanted to and did the double crochet piece again, this time placing the beads at random and got this:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1159[/ATTACH]

As you can see n this last picture, I still have a lot of cotton thread and beads to double crochet.

Does this help yawl see what I am doing? I am trying to include each step as I go through it.
Did I leave anything out?

[nothingnowhere]

That looks cool!!

[twinfaye]

Ok, I can sorta understand this but why did you have to crochet and then pull it out? Maybe we should do this in a private conversation? I may be the only one that isn't getting this right away?

[Landon]

This is a great question!! The reason I crocheted the swatch first was because I didn't know how long the yarn I would be stringing was going to be. I wanted an idea of how much yarn is needed to do that piece.

You can add the beads directly to your piece, but you have to add them before you start. There prolly is a stitch you can do and add them after you have started, but I don't know what it is. This seemed easier to me, that's all.

[twinfaye]

Well, if you wanted to add stitches and you are using a pattern where joining didn't show you could use one of the joining techniqes and you would cut your yarn/thread add a bead and then use the joining to connect your thread and then crochet along. I don't know if this is done but it is one way that I thought of. I use the double knot joining but I am going to learn the russian joining if it kills me!! Is this possible?

[Landon]

I think that is another way to do this, yes. I had forgotten about the Russian joining technique. And it would be smoother than knots, right? I have yet to learn the Russian joining technique myself. The only pieces I have worked on where I had knots were crocheted with ribbon. And those knots were to big for my taste.

[Lynn E]

The book, Crochet Squared by Marsha A. Polk, has a section on adding beads & paillettes if you have it in your library. She switches to a smaller hook to pull the thread (or yarn) thru the bead, then switches back to the larger hook to continue crocheting. The smaller hook just has to fit completely thru the bead hole.

Hope this might give you another option to try.

Lynn

[Barbara G.]

I think this would be something fabulous to do with borders to begin with! It would be easy to work with and "get the feel" for adding bead work!

[Landon]

Yawl are the best, thank you both so much~!~!~