Struggling Beginner - Beaded Bracelets.

Q: New to newsgroups - new to beading! Please can anyone help. I am following a pattern and once I have done two rows, they seem to form themselves into a circle. I cannot get the rows to sit parallel to each other. Can anyone please tell me where I am going wrong?

A: L.., are you doing peyote stitch? If so, you have to remember that the beads you string on equal the first two rows, not one row. Just a shot in the dark... I know, because one of my first attempts on my own resulted in similar results... same mistake. If you give us more details, we may be able to pinpoint the problem. As I am a beginner, I'm afraid I do not know what "peyote stitch" is - my pattern does not say. I have tried the solution that was kindly given to me below, but to no avail. The pattern states that I should thread 6 beads onto the needle for the first row, then thread another 6 for the second row, going back up the first row of 6, and then back down the second row of 6 - to get the third row I have to do basically the same, but instead of the beads sitting parallel in rows, they either form a circle or 'group' together. Ah! From what Ann says, this sounds like ladder stitch. There are two tutorials on about.com for this - lemme find the URLs. I've made some lovely bracelets using this stitch, but the first two rows tend to want to form a circle until the project is well under way. I also pinch them together immediately and continue to hold them while forming the third and fourth rows to allay my fears ;} Well, I haven't found the tutorials, so my advice for you right now is to just let it form the circle, and as you get started on the third row, squash the first and second ones together. That should help. =] I tend to add an extra two or three inches to the thread tail so I can either go back through the first two rows to tighten the tension before adding my clasp, OR make a new row, thus making the original first one the second row. However, unless you're using 'Delicas', the rows on the ends are quite likely to curve outward slightly.