The Complete Guide to Beading Techniques: 30 Decorative Projects

I found this book to be very helpfull. I am a beader and it was helpfull to go back and review techniques and ro learn some new ones. I think this book will be very helpfull to new beaders and other beaders.

This is the most complete guide to beading techniques I've ever seen. It covers everything you could possibly want to do with beads, especially seed beads. It covers everything from beadweaving (peyote, brick, herringbone, netting, etc. stitches) to knitting, crocheting, and tatting with beads, to wire work, to bead embroidery. The instructions are wonderfully clear and well-illustrated. There are 2-3 projects to make with each technique, including a small sampler project to get your feet wet. The book is also an invaluable resource for tips and tricks and information on beads and beading. This is not a very good book for the rawest beginner, nor does it cover the basics of actual knitting or crocheting (but you can easily find basic knitting and crochet stitch directions online or in other books). But if you've had some experience with beading, this book is great, and it will take you to the most advanced beading stages. I'm an intermediate/advanced beader, and am constantly finding new information in this book.

The book is wonderful. The illustrations on how to do the various stitches are enlarged enough to easily see what's going on. You don't need to puzzle out stuff. Besides the size of the illustrations, they are clear cut with each step having its own picture along with clear written out instructions. As the title said, its complete. All of the techniques I could think of are in there, plus some I never heard about. With all of the techniques shown, there are very well written and diagramed instructions, a sample to do to try the technique, and a project that uses that techniqe. There is even a sampler project using all of the samples of each technique at the end. The photographs are beautiful. The projects they depict are bold, vibrant, and useful at the same time. The pictures of bead crafts that are show as examples of what can be done with beads are stunning. Besides all this, the section where the tools and wares of beading are mentioned is good. This section also has a how to do basic beading stitches section as well - including the looom.

For the person who loves working with seed beads in close, detailed hand work, there are a lot of techniques to try in this book. Most of the projects involve some type of sewing beads together to create beautiful tapestries for home decoration. There are pieces to be framed and hung, coasters, small bead weavings for decorating other surfaces, such as small boxes. There are projects for decorating lamps with beads and accessories such as small purses and a scissors case. Some projects require you to knit with very small knitting needles, incorporating the beads into the knitting. One project escapes from seed beads momentarily to show how to do wirework to make jewelry items.There are quite a few stitching techniques used, such as brick, square, ladder, and peyote stitch. The instructions are very good, with large drawings showing the beads and the direction of thread passed through them. One nice touch is that instructions are provided for a small practice piece for some of the techniques. The projects are beautiful and delicate pieces of art for patient crafters, and for those who have never done this type of work before, there's a lot to learn.

This book is beautiful, easy to understand, and includes beading techniques for the beginner up to the most experienced beader. A great source book for beading projects and information.