How to Center a Beaded Loop on a Brick-Stitch Charm with Sideways Bead Holes

In brick stitch, new beads attach to the exposed thread bridges connecting the previous row. Artbeads demonstrates passing beneath a bridge and then back through the newly added bead. Those bridges and the holes through the beads are different attachment points. Artbeads: How to Make a Basic Brick Stitch

Hold your finished charm in its intended display orientation. Here, “sideways” means that the selected base bead’s hole runs left to right across the charm. For the method below, the needle travels through that hole horizontally; the added bead strand curves above it.

The useful distinction is between the direction of the hole and the position of the loop. A horizontal hole can form the bottom of a loop whose opening sits above the charm. You do not need an upward-facing hole to create that opening.

Lay the charm flat and identify the vertical line where you want the loop to sit. For a symmetrical shape, use the midpoint of its outline. For an irregular shape, decide which feature should appear directly beneath the loop. This establishes a visual center; it does not establish how an uneven shape will balance when suspended.

Inspect the upper edge along that line. Look for a horizontal bead whose midpoint lies on it and whose upper side is exposed. A bead buried below another bead is unsuitable for this simple loop because the arch would have to pass around the beadwork above it.

What you find	How to proceed
One exposed horizontal bead centered on the line	Use the single-bead method below.
Two upper attachment points equally spaced from the line	Consider the two-point adaptation described later.
Only an off-center exposed bead	Reposition the attachment or revise the top edge before adding the loop.
A centered bead with a crowded hole	Check whether it can accept the necessary thread passes before starting.

Do this placement check before selecting the loop’s bead count. A larger arch changes its size, but it does not move the midpoint of its attachment points. Moving an off-center loop requires changing those attachment points.

Have the finished charm, matching beading thread, a beading needle, seed beads for the loop, scissors, and a bead mat ready. Lisa Yang’s original tutorial, hosted by the Embroiderers’ Guild of America, uses beading thread, a size 12 needle, and size 11 seed beads for its brick-stitch project and hanging loop. Your existing charm’s bead holes determine which combination will fit here. Outside the Hoop: Colorful Beaded Medallions by Lisa Yang

Use loop beads of reasonably consistent size so that the two sides are easy to compare. Keep enough working thread to form the loop, repeat its path, and finish inside the charm. If you need new thread, secure it within the existing beadwork using your established finishing method before bringing it to the anchor.

Check the complete route through the anchor bead while the loop is still unstitched. The method requires a return through that bead and benefits from another circuit. If the needle already meets substantial resistance, resolve the thread-and-hole fit before adding the arch.

Call the existing centered base bead A. Keep the charm facing you, with its intended top pointing upward. These instructions begin with the thread exiting A’s right-hand opening; you can mirror every direction if your thread exits on the left.

The essential path is A → added arch beads → A, closing through the existing bead. Published loop instructions use related closed paths: ThreadABead returns through an added loop bead before entering the charm, while Lisa Yang’s tutorial returns through the first added bead and the bead from which the thread emerged. The route below adapts that closure principle to an existing horizontal base bead. ThreadABead: Brick Stitch, steps 36–38, Lisa Yang: Beaded Hanging Loop

1. Position the thread. Weave through the existing beadwork until you pass through A from left to right. The working thread should now emerge from A’s right end.
2. String the arch. As an illustrative starting point, pick up seven matching seed beads. Label them mentally B1 through B7 in pickup order. Seven is a trial count, not a required measurement.
3. Close through A. Curve the strand above the charm. Enter A’s left opening and pass through A from left to right again. You finish at the same opening from which you started.
4. Settle the beads. Ease the slack out gradually, keeping B1 beside A’s right end and B7 beside its left end. Arrange the remaining beads into an arch above A.
5. Check before reinforcing. Confirm that the arch is above the charm, that its two sides look balanced, and that the base bead remains in position.

The second pass through A travels in the same direction as the positioning pass. This closes a circuit consisting of A and the added arch. Do not reverse back into A’s right opening immediately after stringing the beads; that would attach both ends of the strand at the same side instead of spanning the bead.

In the seven-bead illustration, B4 is the middle bead of the added strand. Place it over A’s midpoint as a visual check. Different bead shapes and proportions can require a different count to produce a pleasing opening, so judge the actual fit before proceeding.

Start with the smallest arch that gives the decorative opening you want. If the strand stretches tightly across the top of A, undo the closure and try additional beads. If it makes an oversized, loose curve, try fewer. Change the count before adding reinforcement passes.

An odd number of added arch beads provides one identifiable middle bead; an even number places the midpoint between two beads. Either arrangement can be centered. This is a counting aid, not a rule that makes one count suitable for every bead size.

Once the arch sits correctly, follow its existing path again: from A’s right end, pass through B1 to B7, then through A from left to right. Reinforcement by repeating a loop’s thread path is also specified in Interweave’s brick-stitch project collection. Add a pass only while the holes still accept the needle comfortably. Interweave: Beading Patterns from Beading Daily—5 Free Brick Stitch Beading Projects

Remove slack a little at a time around the circuit. If tightening draws the charm’s edge upward or crowds the arch beads, ease back and inspect the fit. Kimberly Chapman’s original brick-stitch instructions explain that overly tight tension can curl beadwork, while loose tension allows beads to move out of position. Kimberly Chapman: Beading—The Brick Stitch

First check whether two exposed hole openings can act as equally spaced endpoints. For this adaptation, the added arch must leave the left attachment toward the opening and enter the right attachment from the opening. Both endpoints should be at comparable heights so that the arch begins symmetrically.

Bring the thread out at the left endpoint, string the arch, and enter the right endpoint. Then weave back through the charm along its existing thread routes to reach the starting endpoint before reinforcing the arch. The return route belongs inside the beadwork; avoid spanning the charm’s face with a new exposed thread.

This is a layout-dependent adaptation. Without the charm’s bead chart, there is no universal bead-by-bead return route: staggered rows and shaped edges provide different connections. Trace that route before starting. If the existing weave provides no practical return or the endpoints are uneven, revise the top edge to provide a centered anchor instead.

Do not try to correct unequal endpoint placement by pulling one side tighter. Set the attachment geometry first, then adjust the arch’s size. ThreadABead likewise treats positioning the working thread at the intended loop location as a separate step before adding its loop. ThreadABead: Brick Stitch, step 36

Check a leaning loop in this order: attachment position, bead arrangement, then tension. This sequence helps you identify whether the problem is built into the placement or appeared while stitching.

Symptom	What to inspect	Adjustment
The whole loop sits to one side	Anchor midpoint relative to the chosen centerline	Move the attachment before restitching.
One side looks longer	Bead sizes and slack along the arch	Redistribute the strand; replace a noticeably mismatched bead if needed.
The arch crosses behind the charm	Which side of A the strand follows	Reposition it above the edge before tightening.
The upper edge puckers	Tension and available arch length	Ease tension and reassess the bead count.
The loop twists after reinforcement	Whether the new pass followed every original bead in order	Undo the latest pass and retrace the circuit.

When the loop is settled, weave the working thread into nearby beads rather than finishing on the exposed arch. Lisa Yang’s tutorial describes making a small knot around an internal thread connection, then passing through nearby beads before trimming. Keep that finishing work inside the charm. Lisa Yang: Finishing Thread Ends

Before trimming, lay the charm flat once more. Check that the loop’s midpoint aligns with your chosen centerline, both attachment points remain settled, and the arch has the opening you intended. The key is a balanced closed thread path: establish the base position, fit the arch, and reinforce only after its shape is right.

• How to Make a Basic Brick Stitch — Artbeads
• Brick Stitch — ThreadABead
• Outside the Hoop: Colorful Beaded Medallions by Lisa Yang — Embroiderers’ Guild of America
• Beading Patterns from Beading Daily: 5 Free Brick Stitch Beading Projects — Interweave
• Beading—The Brick Stitch — Kimberly Chapman