Do the Hubble! Hubble Stitch, That Is
The hubble stitch, brought to us by Melanie de Miguel just a short time ago, is one of the newest stitches to hit the beading community. From her latest book, Hubble Stitch, Melanie shares this about her stitch: “This stitch can best be described as a blend of herringbone and ladder stitch and a close cousin of right-angle weave (RAW), all rolled into one.”
The circular thread paths made in hubble stitches are similar to those in RAW, but the big difference is that each stitch within a row is individual, that is, it’s not linked to its neighbor by a bead, allowing lots of movement and slinkiness to the textile formed. This separation and individuality of each stitch also confers a beautiful, lacy quality to the beadwork.”
How to do the hubble stitch:
If you haven’t jumped into this new and beautiful bead-weaving technique, let’s get you hubbling! Complete instructions, bead for bead, and for each stitch variation, can be found in Melanie’s new book. Basic hubble stitch instructions can be found in Melandie de Miguel’s “Stitch Pro” column in Beadwork Oct/Nov 2015 issue.
In her latest book, with just a little bit of preamble to share the genesis of the stitch, her insight, some tips, and tricks, Melanie gets right to bead weaving, starting with the “basic” stitch. This first design, Spectrum, is one that packs a lot of color. Not only is it a design that brings a smile, the colors also work to show the beauty of the stitch and highlight its spatial direction and order—core values of this stitch.
Next up after the basic stitch are 2-drop and 3-drop hubble. Here is a close look at swatches of each so you can see how the simple addition of beads changes the whole look.
Mercury, my personal favorite Hubble design, is made using 2-drop Hubble:
Crystal Ladder is a design made using spaced-out horizontal stitch. This variation has my mind reeling with possibilities. Wait until you start weaving it yourself and see where it leads you!
Stitch variations keep coming and include hubble in the round: circular and tubular.
“Inverted hubble, stitches worked off of a circular hubble base has us bezeling stones. “It’s a very special part of Hubbling because it will get you bezelling crystals and cabochons in utterly delightful ways.” Melanie also promises in book 2 (yes, there’s a 2nd book on the way!) she will cover other ways to use inverted hubble.
I cannot wait to see what’s next and I can’t wait to see what you do with this new stitch. Happy hubbling!
Hubble Stitch 2 is now available. If you enjoyed working with Hubble stitch, then you’ll love Wave Hubble! You’ll soon see why I say that the whole reason for me writing Let’s Hubble, my first book, was to be able to write Hubble Stitch 2!!!
Hubble Stitch 2 is now available. If you enjoyed working with Hubble stitch, then you’ll love Wave Hubble! You’ll soon see why I say that the whole reason for me writing Let’s Hubble, my first book, was to be able to write Hubble Stitch 2!!!