What is RAW?

Another stitch that I have used a lot is Right Angle Weave (aka. RAW).  You don't know how long it took me to figure out that when people were saying raw they meant Right Angle Weave.

I didn't realize how much I liked this stitch until I was flipping through my books of patterns/ classes that I have taken.  Wow, I really like this one.  When I signed up for the classes I sometimes didn't know what the stitch was until I got to class.

Okay, so here is what the basic stitch looks like.  

Step 1.  Leave a tail of a good length, this is used to add on one end of your clasp later.
             String on 4 beads.
Step 2.  Now take your needle and go through all four beads that you just put on,
             starting from the first bead on.  You should have a nifty little circle.
Step 3.  Now, to continue to make your project longer, you need to go through the next two beads.
              This brings your thread back up to the starting position to make another circle.
Step 4.  Now, thread on 3 beads (not 4) onto your thread. The fourth bead in the process is going to be
             used from the previous circle you added on (tan #3).
Step 5.  Pass your needle thru the fourth bead.
Step 6.  Now you go thru the next two beads to bring you back to starting position.
              Repeat steps 4-8 until you reach your desired length.

Well, I hope my description didn't confuse you.  Like I have said before, please let me know if I am showing something incorrectly.  I am suppose to be helping you, not confusing you.  :)  Thanks.

Once you know and understand how a stitch works, you can use it to make any creation you desire, by adding beads, fringe etc.  I am trying to "design" some of my own projects at the moment.  It is harder than you think.  So I would like to say great job to all the teachers at Beadin' Mon! I appreciate all the work you put in to come up with a new design. I think if I had a good chunk of time where I could sit down and play with my beads more, I might be able to come up with something.  So, at the moment, I am doing more stringing than anything.

If you would like to try this technique out (with a small group of people) check out the class for the "Puffy Heart" on May 1st of our classes section of our website, www.beadinmon.com.  The teacher will be able to answer all your questions and help you if you get stuck.  Believe me it really helps to have a visual and hands on help.  In fact, that is one of the classes that I took for Right Angle Weave.
Hope you enjoy "RAW" and until next time, Happy Beadin'