How to Increase by Several Beads at the Beginning of a Brick-Stitch Row

In ordinary brick stitch, new beads attach to the exposed thread bridges between beads in the previous row. At the beginning of an increasing row, two new beads share the first bridge. That provides the starting anchor; beads extending farther outward need connections to their neighbors because there are no previous-row bridges beneath them. Artbeads teaches this additional extension with ladder stitch. Artbeads: The Brick Stitch

Separate two counts before you begin: the number of beads in the entire new row and the number extending beyond its ordinary starting pair. An instruction to “increase by three” needs its pattern’s counting convention. Check the chart’s bead positions rather than assuming it means “pick up three beads.”

For the example below, the normal starting beads are A and B. Three additional beads are C, D, and E. From the outside edge toward the main row, their finished order is E–D–C–A–B. These labels describe positions, not required colors.

Have your existing beadwork, threaded beading needle, matching beads, and pattern ready. For a practice sample, choose contrasting extension beads so you can distinguish C, D, and E from the starting pair. Keep your chart beside the work and mark the direction of the new row.

Orient the work with the completed row beneath the row you are about to add, and the working thread exiting upward from its starting-edge bead. Find the first exposed thread bridge joining that bead to its neighbor. Jill Wiseman’s instructions use this first bridge for an increasing start; using the second bridge creates a decreasing start. Jill Wiseman Designs: How to do Brick Stitch

Use “up” and “down” below to mean movement through a bead toward the top or bottom of the work as currently positioned. Keep that orientation while following the example. If you mirror the work, retain the relationships: A is the outer starting bead, B is the inner starting bead, and the extension grows outward from A.

Pick up A, followed by B. Pass the needle beneath the first exposed bridge of the previous row, then upward through B. Ease the thread snug so A and B sit beside each other above the completed row. Reinforce the pair by going down through A and up through B. This is the reinforced increasing start shown in the Artbeads instructions. Artbeads: The Brick Stitch

Pause here. Identify A by its position at the outer edge, rather than by which bead is closest to your needle. Your thread currently exits the top of B. Pass down through A again to position the thread for building the extension.

This pause gives you a useful checkpoint: the starting pair is attached to the old row, and the thread exits the bottom of its outer bead. If you cannot identify both features, retrace the starting stitch before adding more beads.

Ladder stitch adds a bead beside the previous one by passing through the previous bead again and then through the new bead. The exit direction alternates as the ladder grows. The Guild’s foundation instructions describe this bead-by-bead connection, and its shaping instructions apply ladder stitch to multi-bead edge extensions. The Beadworkers Guild: Brick Stitch

With the thread exiting the bottom of A, work this labeled sequence:

1. Add C: Pick up C. Pass down through A again, entering its top. Then pass up through C. Position C immediately outside A.
2. Add D: Pick up D. Pass up through C again, entering its bottom. Then pass down through D. Position D immediately outside C.
3. Add E: Pick up E. Pass down through D again, entering its top. Then pass up through E. Position E immediately outside D.

Settle each bead beside its neighbor before adding the next. Keep the beads in one row with their holes parallel. You are making individual connections along a short ladder; check each connection while it remains easy to see.

For a different extension length, stop after the required number of extra beads or continue the same alternating ladder sequence. Count only C onward when checking how many beads you have added beyond the starting pair. Artbeads explicitly extends its additional-increase method with ladder stitch until the required beads are present. Artbeads: The Brick Stitch

After adding E, the working thread exits its top. You need to return to B, the inner bead of the anchored starting pair, before continuing across the old row. Artbeads instructs beaders to move through existing beads to reach the next working position with the thread correctly oriented. Artbeads: The Brick Stitch

For this specific five-bead arrangement, the adjacent-bead return path is: down D, up C, down A, up B. This is a worked application of that repositioning principle. It takes you inward through neighboring beads and finishes with the thread exiting the top of B. Do not add beads during this return.

Now pick up the next bead required by the pattern, pass beneath the next unused bridge in the previous row, and pass upward through the new bead. Continue one bead at a time across the row. This is the normal continuation sequence described by Jill Wiseman. Jill Wiseman Designs: How to do Brick Stitch

Check the first continuation stitch before proceeding: it belongs inward of B, above the next bridge along the previous row. C, D, and E remain outside A. This position check helps distinguish the extension from the supported portion of the row.

An unsupported ladder extension can remain flexible until another row is added. Kimberly Chapman’s original brick-stitch tutorial describes this behavior when demonstrating extra ladder beads beyond the supported edge. Some movement alone does not establish that your starting anchor is wrong. Kimberly Chapman: Beading—The Brick Stitch

Use the following diagnostic sequence before completing more beadwork:

• Wrong extension length: Count C, D, and E separately from A and B, then compare their positions with the chart.
• A gap between neighboring extension beads: Trace that pair’s ladder connection. Confirm that you passed through both the previous bead and the new bead.
• A long exposed thread across the extension: Review the return path. In this example, each return pass goes through the next neighboring bead inward.
• Difficulty resuming the row: Find B and confirm that the thread exits its top before taking the next unused bridge.

For tension, aim for beads that sit together without curling the work. Chapman cautions that excessive tightness curls the beadwork, while loose stitching lets beads shift between loops. If the path is incorrect, remove the needle and undo the affected stitches back to the last correct connection. Kimberly Chapman: Beading—The Brick Stitch

Before moving on, confirm three things: the extension matches the chart, its outer beads have individual ladder connections, and the working thread has returned to the supported row. Those checks complete the starting increase and leave you ready to finish the decorative motif in ordinary brick stitch.

• Brick Stitch — The Beadworkers Guild
• The Brick Stitch — Artbeads
• How to do Brick Stitch — Jill Wiseman Designs
• Beading—The Brick Stitch — Kimberly Chapman