The stitch I do is called "peyote stitch". I start off with a ring of beads that just fits around the flute. This sits against a band of leather which has been glued to the flute. The beads are added to every second bead of this ring, one at a time. When I have gone all around the ring in this way I start putting beads in the spaces between the second row of beads. As I continue I start to form a band of beads over the leather on the flute. I never stitch into the leather, the beads are sewn to each other and the leather keeps the band of beads from slipping down the flute body. I sometimes have a design in mind when I start but, quite often, I just start with some colors and see where the design takes me.

As you can imagine, beading in this way is a slow process. On a large flute it takes about an hour to bead a band 1/2 inch wide.

I can do custom beading when you are ordering a flute. Contact me and we will negotiate a price depending on what you would like on your flute.

The beaded flute in the pictures is available for sale ...... US$800.00.