What you need
- Miyuki Delica 11/0 beads; round seed beads for the fringe if you like.
- A thin beading needle and a strong beading thread.
- Ear wires and jump rings, plus two small pliers to open and close the rings.
- A pattern: the free brick stitch patterns, or your own figure in the brick stitch pattern maker.
The base row: ladder stitch
Brick stitch is built on a base row made in ladder stitch, with the beads side by side and their holes upright:
- Pick up two beads and pass through both again so they sit side by side.
- Pick up one more bead, pass through the previous bead and then the new one to lock it beside it.
- Continue until you have as many beads as the widest row of the pattern.
Brick stitch rows
Each new bead hangs from the thread bridge between two beads of the row below: pass the needle under the bridge, then back up through the new bead. That is why the rows sit half a bead apart like a brick wall.
A row of n beads has n − 1 bridges. One bead per bridge makes the next row one bead shorter, which is how the classic triangle earring narrows. To keep or grow the width you add extra beads at the edges; the pattern tells you how many beads each row has.
Adding fringe
- Bring the thread down out of the first bead of the ladder row.
- String the fringe beads and add a turnaround bead at the end.
- Skip the turnaround bead, pass back up through the other beads and down through the next bead of the ladder row.
- Vary the fringe lengths with the pattern; a V or wave shape gives the earring movement.
Attaching the ear wire
Stitch a small loop of a few beads at the middle of the top row and pass through it twice to strengthen it. Twist a jump ring open sideways with the pliers, slip it through the loop and the ear wire, and close it. Stitch the second earring from the same pattern; counting the rows keeps the pair matching.
Wondering which stitch suits which project? See peyote vs brick stitch vs loom vs herringbone.