Decreasing on the Edges

Decreasing at the beginning of a row can be simply a matter of skipping a bead if you don't mind the thread showing. If you want to hide the thread you must god own and to the right through the bead directly below where your thread is coming out, then through the bead that is down and to the right on a diagonal from that bead and up and to the left through the bead above that. Then up and through the second bead from the left edge on the top. Now you can continue the row normally.



At the end of a row, continue through the last bead in the previous row. Go left through the bead below, through the bead that is up and left on the diagonal, down and right through the bead directly below, then up and to the right through the second bead from the top on the final column. Then go to the left through the top bead on the final row and then through the bead to the left of it. Continue the row normally.

Decreasing on the Inside

Decreasing in the midst of a row will cause distortion, practice with it to make sure you will get the effect you desire.

To decrease inside a row, skip a bead and finish the row normally.



On the way back, treat the space with the missing bead just as though it were a normal sized space and put a bead in it. :-) Finish the row normally.

Acknowledgements: I learned many of the techniques discussed here from Creative Beadweaving by Carol Wilcox Wells. Others were learned from books whose names are lost in the mists of my mind (and I'm only 28!). The rest are the result of my endless struggle to get peyote stitch to do what I want it to.

Practice

As an exercise, see if you can figure out how to make this cute little bracelet with the techniques discussed on these pages. If you can't, don't despair, I will post instructions eventually. :-)



As always, you are invited to write to me at beadwork.guide@about.com with any questions or comments you may have. I'd love to hear from you!

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