Peyote stitch, also known as Gourd stitch, is an off-loom

Loom

A loom is a device used to weave cloth. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads...

 bead weaving

Bead weaving

Bead weaving using seed beads can be done either on a loom or using one of a number of off-loom stitches.-On-loom beadweaving:thumb|355px|An old bead loom. 1. Roller. 2. Roller end. 3. Spacers. 4. Spacers....

 technique. Peyote stitch may be worked with either an even or an odd number of beads per row. Both even and odd count peyote pieces can be woven as flat strips, in a flat round shape, or as a tube. Tubular peyote is used to make pouches or to decorate objects such as bottles or fan handles.

Many cultures around the world have used peyote stitch in their beadwork. Examples of peyote stitch have been found in artifacts from Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

, and the stitch has also been used in historic and contemporary Native American

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 beadwork. The name "peyote stitch" derives from the use of this stitch to decorate objects used in peyote

Peyote

Lophophora williamsii , better known by its common name Peyote , is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline.It is native to southwestern Texas and Mexico...

 ceremonies by members of the Native American Church

Native American Church

Native American Church, a religious denomination which practices Peyotism or the Peyote religion, originated in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and is the most widespread indigenous religion among Native Americans in the United States...

. The name "gourd stitch" similarly derives from the use of the stitch in decorating gourd containers.

Fast Peyote Stitch

A variation of the peyote stitch is often referred to as the fast peyote stitch as its use resembles peyote, but it can be done in less time.

Much like the first two rows of a peyote stitch project, the speed stitch requires two rows be strung then worked in. It can only be done with an even number of beads but is easily done in either flat or tubular peyote.

This stitch may have originated on the Bead & Button Magazine site.

External links

• http://www.beadjewelrymaking.com/Arts_and_Craft_Idea/peyote_stitch_instruction.html Peyote Stitch Instruction: instructions on beading with even count flat peyote stitch, odd count flat peyote stitch and Tubular peyote stitch ]
• Bead and Button Magazine: Peyote Stitch Basics (pdf)
• Berry Burst Bracelet by Laura McCabe, Just Let Me Bead (pdf)
• Reading Tubular Peyote Patterns by Susan Mandel (pdf)
• Reading Flat Peyote Patterns by Susan Mandel (pdf)
• Bead Wrangler - Preserving Beadwork History for the new Millennium
• video tutorial
• Peyote Stitch