Adding Beads Using a Crochet Hook

Some advantages to placing beads with a crochet hook:

– Less planning than pre-stringing. You can just grab a bead with your hook and place it. This can be especially helpful if there is a color pattern to the bead placement.
– Less handling of the yarn. When pre-stringing beads, the yarn runs through the beads as you are knitting. This can flatten any halo to the yarn, if using a fuzzy yarn like alpaca or mohair.

To demonstrate how to add beads as you go with a crochet hook, Mary Beth knits on the Right Side of her Stockinette stitch swatch to the point where she wants to place the bead. She places the bead onto the hook, takes the stitch off the left needle, and puts it on the crochet hook as well. She slides the bead onto the stitch, so that both legs of the stitch are inside the hole of the bead. She places the bead back on the left-hand needle, being careful not to twist. She then knits the stitch.

Mary Beth also demonstrates how to work a bead into the fabric on the Wrong Side of the Stockinette stitch fabric. Most often, the beads will be added on the Right Side, but adding a bead on the Wrong Side is done in a similar manner. Mary Beth purls to where she wants to add the bead, takes the stitch off the left needle, and places it onto the crochet hook. She slides the bead onto the stitch and puts the stitch back on the left needle, once again being careful not to twist. She then purls the stitch.

With this method of beading, the bead is seated tightly on the fabric and can be seen on both the Right Side and Wrong Side. Most knitters find this method to be quicker and easier than pre-stringing beads, but you can decide for yourself. Which method of adding beads to your knitting project do you prefer?