Tutorial: Two-Drop Peyote Stitch

  
TWO-DROP PEYOTE:

There are some who say that two-drop Peyote stitch is easier for beginners and I agree—BUT, I think a beginner should understand the concepts of the simple, flat Peyote stitch first.  If you aren't familiar with the simple Peyote stitch, click here to see my "Tutorial:  Beadweaving the Peyote Stitch."

I believe that this is called "two-drop" because within the stitching pattern you skip 2 beads instead of 1.  If you're a knitter, don't be confused by the word "drop."  It has a totally different meaning here.

I recommend that anytime you're learning a new bead stitch you make several practice swatches.
  
One of the benefits of the two-drop Peyote stitch is that it works up faster than the simple Peyote stitch.
         
In these photos below, I've used three colors, alternating the colors by row.  I don't need to use different colors for this stitch—I'm doing so to make it easier for you to see the rows.  When you practice, you'll find it easier to learn if you do the same.

Color A = white
Color B = black
Color C = pink

1. black (B) for row 1
2. white (A) for row 2
3. pink  (C) for row 3
4. black (B) for row 4
5. white (A) for row 5
6. pink (C) for row 6, etc.  

Two-drop Peyote is a form of even-count Peyote.  However, it isn't only sufficient to pick up an even number of beads to start—in this variation of the Peyote stitch, you must pick up an even number of beads that is divisible by 4.  That's why I picked up 12 beads to start my swatch rather than 10 beads. Another difference is that everything you do involves 2 beads.  When I pick up the beads for the first two rows, I pick up 2 beads of one color, then 2 beads of the other color in an alternating pattern.


ROWS 1 and 2:



Pick up the"stop bead" first, then pick up the beads for rows 1 and 2.  Notice that there are 2 beads of each color.

• First, pick up a "stop bead" and run the thread through it a second time.  Leave a 6-inch tail and snug up the thread around the stop bead.
• Now pick up the beads for the first two rows, alternating colors so that you can see the rows more easily.  With two-drop Peyote, you need to pick up 2 beads of each color.   Pick up:
• 2 color A beads
• 2 color B beads
• 2 color A beads
• 2 color B beads
• 2 color A beads
• 2 color B beads for a total of 12 beads across in this swatch.
• Snug them up against the "stop bead."
• Now turn your work in preparation for the next row.

*If you're right-handed, you'll pick up beads from right to left.  Note that the photos are from the perspective of a right-handed person.

*If you're left-handed, you'll pick up beads from left to right. 


ROW 3:

I'm now adding row 3.  Look at the needle and you can see that I picked up 2 pink beads, skipped 2 black beads, and ran the needle through 2 white beads.



• Pick up 2 color C beads, skip 2 color B beads, run the needle through 2 color A beads.
• Repeat until row 3 is complete (pick up 2, skip 2, go through 2).
• Turn your work in preparation for the next row.




Row 3 is complete.    See how the new pink beads stand out?  They are the "up beads."  Don't forget to turn your work so that you're ready to start row 4.

 
NOTE:  Do you see how the black beads in row 1 also look like zipper teeth?  When you turn your work, be careful to keep row 1 on the bottom and row 3 on the top. You don't want to accidentally start stitching into row 1 when you begin your 4th row. This is another good reason to use a different color bead for each row, at least for the first 3 rows.



ROW 4:

This is row 4.  Pick up 2 black beads and run the needle through the 2 pink "up beads" until the row is complete.  See how easy it is now--pick up 2 beads and you really don't even need to put any more thought into the fact that you're  skipping 2 and running the needle through the next 2. 

• Pick up 2 color B beads, skip 2 color A beads, and run the needle through 2 color C beads.
• Repeat until row 4 is complete.
• Turn your work in preparation for the next row.
  
  
    

ROW 5:

This is row 5.  For this row you're picking up white beads and running the needle through the black "up beads."  Remember, the "up beads" are the beads from the most-recently completed row.

• Pick up 2 color A beads, skip 2 color C beads, and run the needle through 2 color B beads.
• Repeat until row 5 is complete.
• Turn your work in preparation for the next row.

Continue to follow the pattern, alternating the colors for each row until done.
  

COMPLETED SWATCH:

This swatch has 10 rows. 

FINISHING THE THREADS:

• When you're finished with your swatch, run the thread through the beads in a zig-zag pattern several times to secure it.  Snip the thread close to your work, but be careful not to cut into the working thread.
• Slide the "stop bead" off of the thread on the other end and put the needle onto that thread.
• Run the thread through the beads in a zig-zag pattern several times to secure the it. Snip the thread close to your work, but be careful not to cut into the working thread.

I kind of like this airy, uneven look--the black and white beads are very uniform in size because they're round Japanese seed beads, while the pink beads are a little larger and a little unevenly shaped.  The pink beads also seem to be more cylindrical.  I'm not sure where the pink beads are from, but I'm sure that they are not Japanese because of the inconsistencies.  Despite the size and shape discrepancies, all the beads are size 8/0. 
 
If my pink beads had also been round Japanese seed beads, they would have fit together more tightly.  If I had used smaller beads, the swatch will appear to be more tightly stitched.  Japanese Delica beads, because they are cylindrical in shape, will fit very closely together.

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