I have been drying fruit from the orchard…the pears are coming out quite nice.

Sometimes it seems like time flies in the wink of an eye…again it seems to be that time of year for me. The kids have started back to school, I am getting the fruits from the orchard harvested (I am making my first attempts at using a dehydrator this year, so far it has been a success), and my fingers are nimbly working on various designs that you’ll see out in the world this next Spring & Summer.

Working my flying crochet hook, I have undertaken a couple of new techniques, some that I have not undertaken for a while. I would like to share with you one that I am working on that I will admit is outside of my complete comfort level…beading.

I believe that beads can really add to a crochet design, that they give a nice texture difference, sometimes some needed weight for a project, and sometime just a hint of added sparkle; so why is it not a constant wheelhouse in my work…I hate threading those little beads on the yarn. It seems like a daunting task and I inevitably get it tied in knots, it is just that one added step that doesn’t allow me to mindlessly crochet.

Thread dental floss through the sewing needle and tie a knot creating a loop, slip yarn through loop and fold back on itself (creating a link of 2 loops), thread beads onto sewing needle and slide them over the dental floss and onto the yarn

That being stated, I have been playing with ways to get beads in my stitches, and here is what has worked for me; a sewing needle and dental floss. Yes, it does sound a little funny, but it works better than other approaches for me (although I am always open to new ideas!).

First I thread the dental floss through the sewing needle, creating a tail on either side of the needle of at least 4” (10cm) (so a piece of floss at least 8” (20cm) long to begin with), and tie the ends making a loop. This loop is the trick. I then tread the yarn through the loop of floss and fold to back on itself; this creating what would appear to be 2 loops linked together. I using the sewing needle I thread through the beads and slid them down the needle, over the dental floss and then over the yarn.

So now I have them threaded, and the playing can begin.