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Lazy Stitch Beadwork (Lane
Stitch)
Lane Stitch Beadwork is probably the
most common form of beadwork seen on pow wow regalia, because of its ease of
application and its nice coverage. Good lane stitch has a nice "hump"
appearance and is easily recognizable. .
Lane stitch first appeared in the early 1800's as white traders traded the
smaller "seed" beads with the Native Americans. The tribes began to
apply these very small beads to many of their important articles, and the birth
of lane stitch began. Lane stitch, unlike many of the other techniques, can be
used on just about everything. It was used on horse saddles, mocs, dresses,
well, everything. It can be beaded on canvas or directly on leather itself
Materials needed:
| Beading needles (very small
eyes)
| Beading thread (I use "A")
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| Beeswax
| Beads (10 to 13/0)
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| Canvas or leather material
| Scissors
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1. The first step is to do a little research.
Lane stitch is very easy to research, because it is in practically every
museum in North America, so even if you can't go to a powwow, you have no
excuse! Take many pictures, and notice all of the details. Older articles
have more mellow colors, like "greasy grass yellow" and
"Cheyenne pink," contrasted with the brighter colors seen today.
Also note the size of the beads. Larger articles use larger beads, like 10/0
and 11/0. Smaller articles will use 12/0 or 13/0 sizes. (These can be
obtained from traders all over the country.) Newer articles, like many of
those you will see at powwows, are brighter and more colorful. Also notice
the layout of the rows, or "humps." Many articles only have
straight rows, while others, like mocs, have rows that match the contour of
the article. Always remember, it is good to do research in museums and
through going to powwows, but never copy any of the designs. Many of
them are family designs, or even more, received in visions. You may not copy
another person's designs without their express permission. There are some
safe designs though, like geometric patterns, but always check before
beading is begun.
2. Obtain your surface for the beading. It
can be any shape, as long it's pliable but not too thin (regular weight
cloth). For at least the first few pieces of beadwork, it is a good idea to
draw lanes for the beads to help in keeping your lanes straight. Lanes are
usually about 7/16 or 1/2 wide and contain 7 to 9 beads per lane. After the
lanes are drawn, go ahead and draw the design on the material to serve you
as a guide when beading. Remember, when creating designs, don't make it too
complicated and keep it balanced and even
.A neat trick suggested by Jerry Andrews of Georgia to keep rows absolutely uniform
is to lay down cheap scotch tape on your material to set up your lanes. It's
important to use cheat tape so you can pull it out, from the end of a row,
when you are done beading. It works great when you are working on dark cloth
or on very good brain tan that you don't want any lines on. He said that he
has also used washable fabric markers to draw a rough pattern on white
buckskin. When you are done beading, a light spray of water, from an
atomizer, and all the lines go away! Thanks, Jerry.
 3.
Prepare your needle and thread. I generally thread the needle (on needles
this small you can't usually use a threader), and then double the thread
over, about three feet long. Cut the thread and knot it at the end, and then
run it through the beeswax. The beeswax helps the thread stay strong and
makes the beadwork tighter.
 4.
Pull string through the bottom of the leather or cloth at the end corner of
one of the lanes that you have drawn. Put enough of your beads on it so that
when you lay the string out flat on the material it goes two beads beyond
the next line. The number of beads on the string will produce a good hump,
and should be used throughout the article to maintain shape.
5. If you're using canvas, run the needle completely through the cloth, move
over about 3/16 on an inch, and come back up. Put the same number of beads
on the needle, and go back through the cloth on the other side. If you are
using leather, it is usually too difficult to pass the needle all of the way
through the leather, so the needle will only catch the surface of the
leather before coming back to the surface. Make sure it passes low enough to
have a good hold. ( If beading mocs, do an especially good job, because it
will have to take a lot of stress and bead rows frequently pop off,
resulting in a "blow-out") This is basically the essence of lazy
stitch.
6. The key to good looking lane stitch is
keeping everything nice, tight and even. Pull the thread tight, and when it
runs out, knot it and start a new one. Most of it is just common sense from
here. It takes practice to become consistent with spacing and design, but it
will come.
A beaded Traditional set
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