As promised, here's the scoop on beaded knitting, crochet style.

I
much prefer this method because it saves me from having to string
hundreds of beads onto my yarn, a pretty onerous task if ya ask me!
Plus it saves wear and tear on the yarn since you don't have to slide all
those beads along the length of the yarn as you do with the knitted on
method. Lastly, I feel this method "seats" the bead on the knitting
better because you place the bead over BOTH legs of the stitch, unlike
the knitted on method where sometimes the beads slip to the
purl/private side and are difficult to see in the knitted fabric. So let's
begin....

Of course, the proper tools are of utmost importance! You need

crochet hooks small enough for the bead to slide *over* the
hook...and man, that's tiny! I put a dime in the frame for perspective.
From top to bottom: #9, #10, #11, #13...the higher the number, the
smaller the hook.

Here you can see just how tiny these hooks really are. You can barely
discern the hook part from the shaft.

I use seed beads for my knitting. Here are some commonly used sizes
with corresponding hooks.

On the bottom we have size 8/0 beads on a #13 hook.This is used for
fingering weight yarn.

The middle is size 6/0 beads on a #11 hook. This is used with sport
weight yarn. I have used this size on DK and Worsted Weight yarns
but it's a pretty tight fit and pretty difficult to get the yarn thru the
bead without shreading it.

On top are size 3/0 beads on a size #10 hook. These are the beads I
used on Kiri and would fit very comfortably on yarn as thick as Aran
weight. Unfortunately, 3/0 beads are pretty hard to find. You can find
5/0 beads much more easily and 5/0's are perfect for up to
DK/Worsted Weight.

Now for the "how to" portion of our broadcast....

Step 1: **For this demonstration I used sportweight yarn, size 6/0

seed beads and a size #11 crochet hook**

With the bead loaded on the crochet hook, knit (or purl, if you choose)
to the stitch on the left knitting needle where you want to place the
bead. Leave the stitch on the needle and lift the stitch with the crochet
hook.
Step 2:

With the crochet hook, pull the yarn thru the hole in the bead while, at
the same time, sliding the stitch off the left knitting needle.I hold the
bead with my left hand while I do this, and the hook in my right. Make
sure to get the whole stitch thru the bead.

Step 3:

Return the beaded stitch to the left knitting needle.

Step 4:

Knit the beaded stitch as you normally would, transferring the

completed stitch to the right knitting needle.
Step 5:

Knit on as you normally would, placing beads wherever you choose.

And there you have it....real tough, hmmm?

I find beads look best with at least one stitch between each bead. I
also prefer a "plain" (non-beaded) row of stitches between each
beaded row.

VOILA!!!!

Here's a close up of my Sockapal2za beaded socks just to illustrate

how the beads look in the fabric.. I used 8/0 seed beads on fingering
weight sock yarn and a #13 crochet hook. I left a plain row in between
each beaded row.