The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Stitching Beaded Jewelry!

I am a highly visual learner, so being able to "see" my way or understand visually what I'm supposed to do is critical to how I process information.  This was never more apparent to me than when I began my journey and love of beadweaving.  Can I get an Amen!  Before I discovered youTube and all that that has to offer, when I asked about reference guides and tools to help me learn this craft, inevitably I was referred to one of two books:  Mastering Beadwork and The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Stitching Beaded Jewelry by Lesley Weiss.

As an "absolute beginner" and even now, I keep this book handy and readily available.  As a matter of fact, I think I have two of them.

The Basics:

Organized into five (5) sections: 1) the Introduction; 2) Basics; 3) Projects; 4) Stitching Terms and lastly 5) About the Author.  Table of Contents

Introduction: 

I love how she warns you in the beginning that "Beading is Addictive" and as we all know...she ain't lying.  I'm a self-described beadaholic and not trying to find a cure anytime soon.  She also tells you how the book is organized.  "Each subsequent project builds on the one before..."

Basics:

Many of the beading references you'll find will have this section, so it can be quite repetitive.  Ms. Weiss also tells about the seed bead types, shapes and even a pictorial of what 1gram of each type looks like...Findings, Beading wires and thread, tools and work space, stitching techniques (in this section, I appreciate the Measuring project length (how to measure your wrist), and the question of how much thread, knotting and crimping and finally wire basics

The Projects:

The book features 27 projects "designed to teach 11 of the most common beading stitches":  Peyote, Brick Stitch (cirular); Right Angle Weave (commonly referred to as RAW); Herringbone (aka Ndebele); St. Petersburg; Daisy Chain.  What I truly appreciate about each of the projects is she provides you with "Another Idea" section as well as Techniques you should review that may have impact on the piece you are working on.

One of my  favorite "go-to" stitches is the RAW.  My first project I took on from this book was Project 1...the Crossweave necklace with Pendant.  While not a hard project (...now) at that point what the heck did I know about Cross weave and working with two needles.  Once I got over that shock...:) this project was a breeze.  I've also done...well, I think I've just about done all of them in one way, shape or fashion.

The Graphics:

Most of the graphics in this guide are pictoral although there are some graphical depictions.  For a visual learner such as myself, I found that I could complete most all of the projects from the pictures alone.

Rating: 

Definitely a 4+ bead from this user.