About a year and a half ago I fell in love with beaded knitting. I was in the process of planning my wedding and I decided that I had to have a beaded shawl. I knit the Aeolian Shawl in a lovely ivory that matched my dress and even though I was up very late blocking it the night before my wedding I am so glad I did it! 

After that project, I was hooked! I knit a couple of other (smaller of course!) beaded shawls, and then I started looking for new ways to incorporate beads into my knitting. Naturally, Laura Nelkin's interesting and innovative designs grabbed my attention! I had never knit any jewelry before, but I was certainly interested in trying. I started with the Ribband pattern, which is a long bracelet with beads running down the center that is worn wrapped multiple times around the arm. It can also be worn as a necklace! It practically flew off my needles, and I am super happy with the finished product! I couldn't wait to knit more of her designs, which brings us to her two newest kits, the Mudra Necklace and Mudra Cuff.

These two kits are so fabulous and the finished product is a lovely piece of jewelry. I already have plans to make several as Christmas gifts! I decided to try out the Mudra Necklace first. There are five colors to choose from and I went with Olivine which is an olive green yarn with matching beads that also have shiny gold and copper undertone. This combined with the cinnamon stick pendant creates a gorgeous necklace! 

The kit itself includes everything you need including a dental floss threader for stringing the beads (for this particular pattern placing the bead with a crochet hook won't work). The beads are strung on the yarn in a particular order, which in my opinion was the most tedious part of the process. I was completely paranoid about messing up the order because once you start knitting there is no easy way to fix it. Too avoid having to start over I counted and recounted my beads several times to make sure it was exactly right. What can I say, I'm a perfectionist! Also, the small beads are a little difficult to get on the yarn, but with a little tugging I was able to get them all in place. 

Once that was done and I began the actual knitting, it was smooth sailing. I didn't intend to finish the entire piece in one evening, but once I started I practically flew through it! The pattern is easy to memorize since it is based around a simple I-cord, with strategically placed beads. From start to finish (including the bead stringing!) it took me about two and a half hours. Talk about a fast project! The matching cuff would probably take a bit longer due to the extra length but I am definitely considering it so I can have a matched set.

I highly recommend this kit or any of the knitted jewelry by Nelkin Designs for both beginner and seasoned knitters. If you want to give beaded knitting a try, these kits are a great place to start!

Laura Nelkin, the amazing designer (who you can read more about in this earlier post) was kind enough to give us an extra Mudra Cuff kit to share with one lucky blog reader! To enter to win, please leave a comment on this post telling us what your favorite beaded design is be it a shawl or even one of Laura's kits! We'll pick a winner at random and announce it on next Wednesday's blog post! Thanks for reading!

Happy beaded knitting!
Rachel