Learn About Peyote
Peyote Stitch, which can also be called gourd stitch, is an off loom bead weaving technique. It has a few varieties the most commonly seen is made as flat strips which can be worked with either an odd or even number of beads per row. Particularly useful when wanting to make a beaded toggle clasp as you can use the circular and tubular technique to make the perfect clasp to finish your bead woven piece.
Examples of peyote stitch have been found in many cultures around the world. Members of the Native American Church use the stitch to decorate objects that are used in peyote ceremonies which is where the name comes from.
Technically one of the easiest stitches but can often take a bit of practice to make a piece that you are happy with. The basic steps of peyote stitch are pick up one, skip one, pass through one, repeat, sounds easy but do not be discouraged if you first attempts appear less than perfect, read on for a few tips on how to master this essential stitch.
Beads
Technically you can use any form of seed beads to weave peyote but what you choose will make a big difference in the way the beadwoven piece looks. My personal favourites to use are delica beads ( picture 1 ), these beads are about as wide as they are long and lock together beautifully forming a wonderful and tactile piece of fabric. If you find the standard delicas too small try weaving with double delicas for a much chunkier piece of beadwork.
Size 11 seed beads will also make a lovely piece of beadwork but don't lock together quite as neatly as delicas. Japanese seed beads (picture 2 )tend to be easier to use than Czech (picture 3 )as they tend to be more uniform across the finishes, for instance silver lined tends to be smaller than opaque. If using Czech keeping the finish the same will make things much easier.
You may also find that tiny little cubes will work as well but as with all beads make sure to cull any that are not evenly shaped.
Threads
The beading thread you use will generally come down to personal preference and there is plenty of variety out there. Work with a few until you find a thread that you feel really comfortable working with. S-Lon D is probably the most well known beading thread, it is inexpensive and comes in a wide variety of colours making it easier to match your thread to your beadwork. Working with beading thread like this will create a fairly flexible piece of beadwork.
Wild Fire
If you are looking for something a bit stronger or are after a stiffer piece of beadwork then a braided thread such as Fireline may help. It can also make a big difference when first starting out with peyote as the first few rows will have a bit more stability.
Starting Rows
These first few rows are often what put people off of this stitch, can be fiddly to start and see where your next beads should go. We’ll show you the standard way of starting and a little hack for another option.
Step 1
Thread your needle with a comfortable length of stretched beading thread, pick up 10 beads, I have alternated colours to keep things easier. Picture 4
Step 2
Pick up a red bead, skip the red bead and pass through the black bead. Repeat all the way down adding red beads. Picture 5
Step 3
Now pick up a black bead, skip the black bead and pass through the red bead, repeat all the way along. Picture 6
You should now start to see the beads you need to pass through are sticking out making it more obvious which is your next bead to pass through. After working a few more rows you can always go back and remove the first couple of rows if they are not sitting right for you.
Hack Start - Step 1
Take a length of beading wire and thread 5 red beads onto it, you can knot the ends of the wire to stop the beads falling off. Picture 7
Step 2
Thread your needle with a comfortable length of stretched beading thread, pick up 1 black bead and pass through the 1st red bead on the wire. Pick up a black bead and pass through the next red bead on the wire. Repeat to the end. Picture 8
Step 3
Pick up a red bead, skip the next red bead and pass through the black bead. Repeat all the way down adding red beads. Picture 9
Step 4
Now pick up a black bead, skip the black bead and pass through the red bead, repeat all the way along. Picture 10. You can now remove the wire and continue working your length of peyote.
Even Count Peyote
A strip with a starting row of even beads as in the example above.
Step 1
Thread your needle with a comfortable length of stretched beading thread, pick up 10 beads, I have alternated colours to keep things easier. Pick up a red bead, skip the next red bead and pass through the black bead. Repeat all the way down adding red beads. Picture 5
Step 2
Now pick up a black bead, skip the black bead and pass through the red bead, repeat all the way along. Keep repeating alternating colours. Picture 11
Odd Count Peyote
Similar thing but starting with an odd count. This can help with centralising designs, particularly anything with diamonds.
Step 1
Thread your needle with a comfortable length of stretched beading thread, pick up 11 alternating beads. Picture 12
Step 2
Pick up a black bead. Skip the black bead and pass through the next red bead. Repeat down the length. Picture 13
Step 3
Pick up a black bead, pass up through the next red bead and the 2nd black bead. Picture 14
Step 4
Pass across and go down the 2nd to last black bead, the red bead again, the 1st black bead and the new black bead. This is the only time you have to make the turn this way. Picture 15
Step 5
Work a row of red beads as normal. Then work another row of black beads, this time when you get to the end, pass your needle under the joining thread from the 1st row and go back through the new bead. Picture 16
Tubular Peyote
Working in tubular will produce a rope with nice flexibility to it. Your starting circle of beads will determine how thick the rope is, it is better to go up a size of beads than start a large circle of tiny beads or you may need to add something inside the tube for structure (aquarium tubing is perfect for this). Perfect for stripy designs. When working with graduated sized beads this will form a Cellini Spiral.
Even Count Tubular Peyote.
Step 1
Even Count Tubular Peyote.
Thread your needle with a comfortable length of stretched beading thread and add a stop bead or bead stopper to the end. Pick up 10 beads. Loop around and pass through a few beads to form a circle. Picture 17 . TIP You may find it easier to slip the circle onto a dowel or pencil for the 1st few rows to help maintain the shape.
Step 2
Pick up a bead, skip a bead and pass through the next bead. Repeat around to add 5 beads to this row. Picture 18
Step 3
Pick up a bead, skip a bead and pass through the next bead. Repeat around to add 5 beads to this row. Picture 18 . Step up by passing through the 1st bead added at the start of the 2nd row. Picture 19
Step 4
Repeat step 3 and step 4 to work your tubular length. Picture 20
Odd Count Tubular Peyote
Worked in exactly the same way except that you do not need to step up when starting with an odd number in your circle. This works perfectly for stripes around your tube.
Step 1
Thread your needle with a comfortable length of stretched beading thread and add a stop bead or bead stopper to the end. Pick up 11 beads. Loop around and pass through a few beads to form a circle. Picture 21. You may find it easier to slip the circle onto a dowel or pencil for the 1st few rows to help maintain the shape.
Step 2
Pick up a bead, skip a bead and pass through the next bead. Repeat until your tube is the required length. Picture 22 and 23
If you are wanting to create stripes then always pick up the bead that your thread is exiting, this will cause the stripe to wrap around the tube.
Drop Peyote
Drop Peyote
Drop peyote is worked exactly the same as normal peyote, you just pick up more beads per stitch, normally worked in 2’s or 3’s.
Step 1
Thread your needle with a comfortable length of stretched beading thread and add a stop bead or bead stopper. Pick up 12 beads alternating 2 black and 2 red. Picture 24
Step 2
Pick up 2 red, skip the 2 red and pass through the 2 black. Repeat down the length. Picture 25
Step 3
Pick up 2 black, skip the 2 black and pass through the 2 red. Repeat down the length. Picture 26
Spiral Peyote
Spiral Peyote
This is a slightly complicated version of peyote and can take a while to master but the beautiful tactile nature of the finished piece is so worth it.
Step 1
Thread your needle with a comfortable length of stretched beading thread, note that this is quite thread hungry so start with a much longer length than you would normally, especially if working a necklace length. Thread on a stop bead or add a bead stopper. Pick up enough beads to make double the required length, for ease make sure it is an even number. Picture 27
Step 2
Pick up 2 beads, skip a bead and pass through the next bead. Repeat along the length. Picture 28
Step 3
Pick up a bead, skip a bead and pass through the next bead. Pick up a bead and pass through the next bead. Repeat along the length. Picture 29
Step 4
Pick up 2 beads, skip a bead and pass through the next bead. Repeat along the length. Picture 30 . Repeat the 1 bead row and 2 beads row as many times as you like. The more rows you make, the “fluffier” the spiral. You can either leave the spiral in its more organic twist or you can manipulate the beadwork around to form a perfect spiral.
Circular Peyote
This technique is perfect for making your own toggle clasps and is the basic start for bezelling.
Step 1
Thread your needle with a comfortable length of stretched beading thread. Pick up an even number of size 11 beads, loop around and pass through a few beads to form a circle. Picture 17
Step 2
Pick up a bead, skip a bead and pass through the next bead. Repeat around and then step up through the first bead added in this step. Picture 18 and 19
Step 3
Pick up a size 8 bead, skip a bead and pass through the next bead. Repeat around. Picture 31. You can add another row of 8’s or maybe add some crystals or small pearls, the possibilities are endless. Or maybe even use size 15’s in the centre to really snug the ring in.
Zipping Up
Zipping Up
One of my favourite things to use peyote for (apart from bezelling shiny rivolis) is making my own beaded toggles. We’ve covered most of the basics to make the actual components (odd or even count peyote for the toggle, circular peyote for the ring) but how do you turn a strip of peyote into a toggle bar? You zip it up!
Step 1
Create your strip of peyote finishing on an even row. Fold your strip in half, you will notice that the sticking out beads will slot together. Picture 32
Step 2
Thread through the 1st sticking out bead from the beginning, then through the bead at the end and keep alternating between the 2 sides “zipping” your work up. At the end pass up through the very 1st bead. Picture 35. You can decorate the ends or embellish the tube further, just ensure that the piece of circular peyote created is large enough for the tube to pass through.