Beadweaving Week :: Ladder & Pearls

I think ladder has officially become my 'go to' stitch. Who knew? I have tried to do ladder stitch in the past, so many times with zero luck in getting it to look right. But this time it stuck. I get it! 

I really wanted to try a stacked ladder with larger seed beads to get some width to the band. I also wanted fringe on the sides, so I started with a little picot edging. This gave me the base I was looking for, and so I moved on to the fringe! I added wire wrapped large grey freshwater pearls looped through the small seed beads at the tip of the fringe, and alternated with small hematite rounds. I've never wire wrapped through beads like this before but it seemed to really work. It isn't stiff, and the beads have plenty of room to move around.

This bracelet has a luxurious feel to it, and the sound pearls make when strands glide over one another. This pattern will be a 'keeper' in my repertoire. 

This is part of a beadweaving series that I'm running this week for the upcoming A Time to Stitch Challenge by Christine of One Kiss Creations & Therese of Therese's Treasures. The Blog Hop reveal is next Wednesday, May 15.