This beaded belt is a stylish (and slightly complex) addition to any outfit, bringing an arrowed pattern and sparkle.
Okay, this project has given me so much heartache. I originally started this over two years ago, and it has been destroyed and remade several times since then. Was that obsessive? Yes. Do I think it was a good idea? Absolutely. I adore how this turned out, but I learned a lot of lessons while making it. Enough for me to restart when I was 90% finished.
So not only will this be about how I do this, but it will also be a bit more about the process changes and the journey I went through over the last two years. One of my best friends during this period was my loom. Have I used it for any other projects? No. But to be fair, it was preoccupied for quite some time.
Even with all that heartache, I couldn’t be happier with the result. I think the experience really helped balance out expectations and capabilities. I am not unskilled, but this is not my area of expertise. Not even sure if I have one of those. Trying to find ways to help balance what I want to do and what I can do really helps find the right method to approach the project.
Check out the Craft section of MCG for more fun patterns in strings and things, or more unlimited ideas.
Supplies
Originally, I only used two things: beads and thread. Do a free-flowing work that relies on nothing else, which would have been fine if I had the right tools for that. I honestly don’t know how those standalone beaded belts truly work. So, to give the project more stability, I also added a webbing strap. This worked out nicely because it grounded the belt, and it allowed me to put on a buckle clasp, which I am really into.
Process
Weaving
The original weaving that I did was made up of three colors, 9 spaces, and had me weaving the thread back and forth, in and out, of the lattice grid I was making. No stabilizer except for how the material lay. Honestly, it looked great while still taut to the loom. The issue came when it was time to remove it. The ends became messy, and it didn’t attach to the webbing strap in a way that looked good. And the more I tried sewing, the worse it became.
At some point, I just threw my hands into the air and said, I am going to start over. Tearing apart a project is never easy. I felt like I put blood, sweat, and tears into the project and got nothing out of it. But that’s not exactly true, I did gain the experience. And while starting over was daunting, I felt better knowing that I had some idea of what I was doing this time around.
Weaving…. Again
I ended up increasing the beading rows to 13 to cover the webbing strap completely. I thought this would be a better look than what I had been doing before. The start was, again, a bit messy. But this is the type of project that cleans up as you go along. You just need to start. And make sure the cat doesn’t try to eat the strings.
After I got going, I decided to attach the beaded weave to the webbing strap at the end of each row. This helped to give the project a more consistent shape and provided support. But I did notice that the edges of the beaded belt were still flaring out.
To address this, I started changing how I was doing my ends. At the end of each row, I would thread the string back through the two beads of the last line. Then go down into the webbing to keep the strap attached. And finally, I would come up two to three beads in the current row and thread that through again before weaving the next row. It feels a bit complex, but I do think the look cleans up well by doing this.
Honestly, I wish I had used this method from the start, as I think it would have made the edges a lot cleaner. And I do mean all edges. Where the work started would have had better grounding if I had employed this tactic.
Taking it Off the Loom
The second belt did not actually end with my choice. The threads because slightly too tight and broke. I decided it was too difficult to continue weaving with some of the structural lattice being broken. So, I took the work off the loom and found myself with 16 loose ends on each side. 15 of those were from the structural lattice, while the other one was from the active weaving portion.
And then, I was at a bit of a loss for what to do. The line I ended up on stayed clean and grounded. Where line where I began became quite the mess. I think I was a little frazzled at this point because there was just so much string, but all of it was relatively short. In that moment, I decided to sew all the ends into the webbing in a weaving fashion to keep everything tight. Then all I needed to do was a quick tie-off. And the belt was complete!
Reflections
This project took too much effort, but I do love the way it turned out. Honestly, once I knew what I was doing, I was able to fly through, making it so I would be potentially curious to try something like this again. One of the biggest obstacles to making this beaded belt was the cat. I would often turn around to see her trying to fit as many strings into her mouth as possible. While cute, it could have ended up as a disaster. Luckily, I was able to find a compromise for me and my feline friend. And a water spray bottle.
Lessons
What’s Hidden in the Back
While the front of this project turned out well, the back is an utter mess of stitchery. It’s messy and chaotic and obvious in some places. Luckily, this didn’t matter much to me since this was on a part that was not visible when worn, and I would be the one to use it. I think I would have been more conscious of how the stitching was affecting the back of the project if I had planned on giving this to someone else.
Pattern
Beaded Belt
Equipment
- 1 Loom
- 1 Beading Needle or a very thin needle
Ingredients
- 1 Spool Reinforced Thread
- 3 Colors Beads referenced in pattern as A, B, C
- 1 inch Webbing Strap
- 1 Buckle
Instructions
Prep
- Set up 15 strands for the length of the project (13 spaces between them). They should be taught and held in place.
- Weave one piece of thread through all 15 strands, tying the working strand to the base strands.
- For the webbing strap, add buckle to each end and adjust for size.
Standard Weaving
- Weave the active strand, alternating in front of and then behind, through the fixed strands. Attach beads in the active row of the pattern and weave them so one bead is between each fixed strand.
- The pattern for each line is outlined below (shows three rows to repeat). See image in the article above for an instructional image.A B C A B C A C B A C B AC A B C A B C B A C B A CB C A B C A B A C B A C B
- Adding grounding on the end if desired (see below) / if using a webbing strap.
Grounding
- At the end of the initial row, after attaching the beads, loop around the outermost fixed thread and sew the active thread through the webbing strap to the back. Sew the active thread back to the front 2 to 3 beads in from the edge of the active row. Sew through the three beads to get the active thread back to the edge, loop around the outermost fixed thread and begin to weave the next row.
- At the end of the row, after attaching the beads, loop around the outermost fixed thread and then sew the active thread through 2 or 3 beads in the previous row before sewing through the webbing strap to the back. Sew the active thread back to the front 2 to 3 beads in from the edge of the active row. Sew through the three beads to get the active thread back to the edge, loop around the outermost fixed thread and begin to weave the next row. See image in the article above for an instructional image.
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