Beading with Herringbone Stitch (Beadwork How-To) [Paperback]

Vicki Star (Author)

Book Description

Series: Beadwork How-To | Publication Date: November 1, 2001

The herringbone stitch is a versatile and unique off-loom bead technique. Popularized as the “Ndbele Weave” for its use by a South African tribe of the same name, the stitch is characterized by its snakeskin feel and visible chevron pattern. This guide offers a thorough historical and cultural background of the stitch, along with complete instructions for creating beautiful beaded projects. Also provided are techniques for creating flat and tubular herringbone stitch samples and a gallery of inspirational pieces from established artists.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Vicki Star is the author of Beading with Peyote Stitch and Beady Eyed Woman. She teaches workshops nationwide and publishes a beading Web site and newsletter. She lives in San Diego, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Interweave Press (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883010993
• ISBN-13: 978-1883010997
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,146,959 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Have, January 28, 2002

By 

QuinnCreative "-Q" (Glendale, AZ, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beading with Herringbone Stitch (Beadwork How-To) (Paperback)

Vicki Star is a pro at writing "how-to" books--the books are clear, easy to understand, and filled with the joy of beading. The first six were self-published (and co-authored with Jeanette Cook, her partner in "Beady Eyed Women") and contained excellent information, but once Star teamed up with Interweave Press, the books became the benchmark for visual information display.
"Beading With Herringbone Stitch" is excllent in its description of instructions and techniques. Star does something that other authors would do well to follow--she explains the "why" of her instructions. It helps adult learners (or slow learners, and I'm one of them) come to an understanding of technique much faster. Star is also honest. When you are supposed to wind up with "a twisty string of Vs" she says just that. What a relief!
There are two different starts and descriptions for flat, round, and tubular. You'll learn how to increase and decrease, both in the middle and at the edge. And you'll learn the difference results of each.
Illustrations are big and easy to understand. Added beads are shown in a totally different color than beads in place (this was a problem in the peyote book).
"Beading With Herringbone Stitch" follows the format of "Beading With Peyote Stitch" in organization. A Table of Contents and Index helps readers find what they need. There is a 26-page, full color Gallery, a section of five Projects, both easy and challenging, and lots of color photos.
The book starts with a history of the stitch, a vital and often ignored book section that helps the reader understand the cultural links to the stitch.
The Supplies section is carefully presented. The stitch is shown worked up with the same color beads in different sizes and shapes, to lend understanding to bead selection.
No book has enough room to put all the text on the same page with each illustration, but this one makes an effort. Flipping back does happen, but not often enough to be distracting.
If you are interested in Herringbone Stitch, are having difficulty with it, or want a reason to learn it, buy the book. It's a must-have for your beading library.

28 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Too little...of everything!, December 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Beading with Herringbone Stitch (Beadwork How-To) (Paperback)

This is typical "white middle class woman" beading!
The history and research is glossed over with a few pages and a map. Shame on the folks at Beadwork for putting their name on this book! Ndebele, not the anglicized "herringbone" stitch!
The how too drawings are not clear. Take a page out of Carol Wilcox Wells, madam! If you are going to do instructional work, be clear to the audience. The sketches are decent, but you can not be sure where the thread goes when you start doing more advanced work in ndebele.
The most disappointing aspect of this book?
The projects are horrible and the gallery is full of lovely examples that would be much better practice and more rewarding!
The gallery is too large and segmented. Why not, again, take a page out of Carol Wilcox Wells' book and pepper gallery with projects, projects that are desirable!
The ndebele "kalaidascope" is merely a tube, and the "vessels" are just tulip shaped vases.
I would save your money on this one, find a nice example of of "how to" in Virginia Blakelock's "Those Bad Bad Beads" then pick up a copy of Jean Morris and Eleanor Preston-Whyte's "Speaking with Beads: Zulu Arts from Southern Africa."
The stitch itself is not complex at all, but this book makes tinkerbell items that are rather ugly by comparison to the potential that is there.
I was soundly disappointed when I got this book. I think Beadwork/Taunten press rushes to print these books because they have an instant market, but this book founders badly on the shores of craft book.
Buy the two books mentioned above, you will be much better served!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars experience helpful, August 6, 2005

By 

Ellena Anderson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beading with Herringbone Stitch (Beadwork How-To) (Paperback)

I like this book a lot and refer to it often; for the first time I was able with its instruction to achieve the 3-row start. However some of the illustrations didn't match the instructions and the more complex drawings took some concentrated study to figure out. I've been off-loom weaving for a couple of years now using different methods, and would hate to be a beginner trying to use this book. The projects are pretty limited too, so a lot of your own creativity is required to apply the method to your own projects. Still, it's the most information I've ever seen on this stitch, which is quickly becoming my favorite.