St. Petersburg chain

2. Pick up six A seed beads. Sew through the third and fourth As again, so the fifth and sixth beads form an adjacent column (Figure 1a).

3. Pick up a B seed bead, and sew back through the next three As in the column (Figure 1b).

4. Pick up a B, and sew through the two As in the newest column (Figure 2a).

5. Pick up four As, and sew through the first two As just picked up, sliding the four beads tight to the existing chain (Figure 2b).

6. Pick up a B, and sew back through the next three As in the column (Figure 3a).

7. Pick up a B, and sew through the two As in the new column (Figure 3b).

8. Repeat steps 5–7 to the desired length.

For double St. Petersburg chain, work one side of the chain as in single St. Petersburg chain, then work the second side using the tail, or a second length of thread.

1. Attach a stop bead in the center of the thread. Wind up the long tail on a card or bobbin, so it stays out of the way as you work the first half of the chain.

2. Work in St. Petersburg chain as in steps 2–8 of “Single St. Petersburg chain.” Attach a stop bead to temporarily secure the thread.

3. Remove the stop bead from the starting end of the chain. Pick up six As, and sew through the third and fourth As again, as in step 2 (Figure 4).

4. Pick up a B, and sew back through the next three As in the column (Figure 5).

5. Sew through the adjacent B from the first side of the chain and the two As in the newest column of the second side (Figure 6). Pull tight.