St.

Petersburg Stitch Workshop, Part 1

By Valorie Clifton

St. Petersburg stitch is an incredibly beautiful and

useful stitch! It can be used to create straps for
necklaces and bracelets, as well as foundations for
larger pieces. Its flexible and can be used for
projects such as dimensional bead weaving or even
as a bezel for a cabochon.
This workshop will provide an overview of St.
Petersburg stitch and several variations, including
Single St. Petersburg stitch and Double St.
Petersburg stitch. Ill also show how to create aV
in St. Petersburg stitch and how to embellish the
stitch with fringes. Part 1 will show Single and
Double St. Petersburg Stitch, and Part 2 will show
examples of St. Petersburg Stitch variations.
St. Petersburg can be stitched with many combinations of beads, or with only 1 size of seed bead.
You determine the final look of your piece by the beads you choose. This tutorial is intended for
those with prior knowledge of basic beading and thread tension. This is a beginner to intermediate
level tutorial. You should be comfortable with following diagrams and written instructions.

For the 6.5 inch bracelet shown (minus button and loop clasp), you will need:
Size 11 seed beads
Size 15 seed beads
37 - 3mm crystal bicone beads, roundel beads or pearls
1 - button or hook, toggle clasp or clasp of your choice

Tool List:
Size 10 or 12 beading needle.
6 lb to 8 lb test beading thread. Fireline in Smoke or Crystal or Spider Wire EZ Braid are highly
recommended.
A bead mat, bead tray, scissors, a bead reamer and a thread burner are helpful tools.

Tutorial Tips:
It's best to maintain proper thread tension with this or any bead project. Aim for a medium
tension with no loose gaps. This project requires a semi-firm tension but not so firm as to
buckle the piece.
= the beginning bead of each step, round or row.

St. Petersburg Stitch, Part 1 Page 1 of 6 2014 Valorie Clifton

In this tutorial, Ill demonstrate how to make a Double St.
Petersburg bracelet, the materials for which are listed on Page
1. To begin with, Ill demonstrate how to create Single St.
Petersburg Stitch, which can be used for flexible straps,
borders and the popular leaf shapes.

Step 1:
If youre creating single St. Petersburg stitch, string a stop bead
or attach a bead stopper spring device on a comfortable length
of thread, leaving a 10-inch tail.

If youre creating Double St. Petersburg Stitch, place the stop

bead or bead spring in the center of a comfortable length of
thread. (The other half of the thread will be used for side 2).

Add 6 As. 6 As will only be added for the very first stitch in a project.

Step 2:
Circle back and sew through the 3rd and 4th As added, as
shown. You will have two pairs of beads sitting side by side,
as shown in the diagram.

The thread should exit the 4th bead added, as shown.

Step 3:
Exiting the A from the prior step, as indicated by the
star symbol, Add 1 B. Stitch down through the 3
adjacent As, as shown. Add 1C. Sew through the 2
adjacent As, as shown. This completes one stitch.

St. Petersburg Stitch, Part 1 Page 2 of 6 2014 Valorie Clifton

Step 4:

Exiting the A from the prior step, add 4As. Circle around and pass back through the first 2As added,
as shown in Diag. 1. We are essentially creating a 4-bead circle.

Step 5:

Exiting the A from the prior step, add 1B. Sew through the adjacent 3As. Add 1C and sew through
the adjacent 2As, as shown in Diag. 2.

These two steps are repeated until your bracelet is the desired length, as shown by Diagrams 3 and
4.

This diagram shows a string of several repeats. The

stitch can be repeated until the desired length. If
desired, a clasp can be attached to both ends
without adding a second row. This is known as
Single St. Petersburg Stitch.

St. Petersburg Stitch, Part 1 Page 3 of 6 2014 Valorie Clifton

Double St. Petersburg Stitch
Once the bracelet reaches the desired length,
flip the bead work, as shown, so that the accent
beads are on top and the stitches face toward
the right, as shown. For now, disregard the
end thread (leave it hanging).

The next step depends upon which style of clasp youd prefer. If youd prefer to add a clasp using a
jump ring or split ring, a loop can be created at the end of the bracelet. If a button clasp is preferred,
it can be directly attached at this time, as shown in Fig. 1.

For the purposes of this tutorial, a simple loop will be created in order to attach a jump ring or split
ring. Remove the stop bead or spring device. We will be working with the starting thread for side 2.

Step 6:
Exiting the A on the end, adjacent to the removed stop
bead, add 7Bs (Fig.2). Sew back through the beginning B,
forming a loop. Sew through the adjacent 6Bs to
reinforce the loop. Add 6As and circle back through the
3rd and 4th As added, as shown.

St. Petersburg Stitch, Part 1 Page 4 of 6 2014 Valorie Clifton

 Step 7:
From here, the same steps are repeated along
this side, with 1 exception: In this step, instead
of adding 1C, the Cs from the prior side are
shared.

Exiting the A from the prior step, Add 1B. Sew

down through the adjacent 3As. Sew through
the corresponding C from the first side, as
shown. Sew through the adjacent 2As, as
shown.

Step 8:

Exiting the A from the prior step, add 4As.

Loop back and sew through the first 2 As
added, as shown.
Repeat these two steps along the length of the
bracelet.
If youve added a button to the opposite end of
the bracelet, add enough Bs to form a loop
that will fit over the button, as shown.
If a small loop for a jump ring is on the
opposite end of the bracelet, add 3Bs to this
end, exiting the A from the last step, creating a
small loop on this end. As shown in the
diagram below, the 4As on the end of the
bracelet are used to create this end loop for
both versions.

St. Petersburg Stitch, Part 1 Page 5 of 6 2014 Valorie Clifton

St. Petersburg Stitch, Part 1 Page 6 of 6 2014 Valorie Clifton