Bead Loom and Cross Stitch

Q: I just bought a bead loom and am enjoying getting started in this new area of beadwork. Has anyone every tried adapting cross stitch patterns to beading on a loom?

A: Yes, you can use a cross stitch pattern as a loom pattern, but you have to be careful of the aspect ratio of the beads used. Seed beads in general are not perfectly 'square'. So your pattern will come out squashed. Delica beads (Japanese made seed bead that are tiny cylinders) are closest to being square. These were also meant for looming as most of the Japanese beading books using these beads are for loomwork. Yes, you can loom in sections and sew them together afterwards. The junctions will be slightly noticeable as there will be two warp threads between beads OR you can build your own loom large enough for the work you have in mind. I've translated some of my cross stitch patterns over for both loomed and peyote beading and while the above is very true; you also want to be careful about the design you select to translate. Straight stitches and backstiching do not translate very well for beadwork. I've been experimenting with creating bead patterns for peyote stich in one of my paint programs. It is mostly a matter of editing the fill patterns in the paint program and then a little editing to clean up the places where beads change color. I haven't perfected it yet, but if anyone's interested I can explain in more detail what I do and show some small examples.

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