Media Reviews: Beading With Brick Stitch

Beading With Brick Stitch
By Diane Fitzgerald
Interweave, 201 E. 4th St., Loveland, CO, 2001.
Softcover, color, 8-1/2"x 9", 128 pages, $21.95.
ISBN 1-883010-72-1.

Reviewed by Theresa Guthrie

At long last, a comprehensive overview of the brick stitch has been written and published. Diane Fitzgerald has proven, once again, that she is not only a knowledgeable and proficient teacher, but a well-researched and informative author as well.

This book takes the reader through a thorough and surprisingly historical background of this simple beading stitch. It is a treat to be guided around the world finding out that the brick stitch is the same technique used by both the Plains Indians in North America and by the tribes of the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

Many bead workers took their first bead baby steps on the brick stitch will be pleased to read of its versatility. Going beyond the triangle earrings, one can use this stitch for purses, mats, ornaments, and embellishment.

Good color illustrations and photos make this a worthy how-to book for those yearning to replicate Diane’s well-designed and beautiful jewelry. She instructs the reader bead-by-bead on basic technique as well as increasing, flat and tubular, diagonal, and edging stitches. There is even graph paper for the inspired beader’s original designs.

All instructions have been tested and refined by the suggestions of real beaders. The reader feels confident that she or he is adding the next bead at the right time in the correct place. This beadwork how-to book is a must for every beadworker’s library.

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