Right Angle Weave stitch is one of the off-loom beading techniques. Beaders also use an abbreviation and call this stitch RAW.
RAW is very versatile stitch and can be used for many different purposes in the beadwork design. To start experimenting you need to understand the basics of it.
ABC of RAW In Three Easy Steps
This tutorial was created with the help of three bead characters: A, B and C beads. I gave them simple names to make your learning process easier and fun!
Before You Start
How to choose your beads and materials.
Thread – Ideally, 6 lb or even 8 lb Fireline is good to start with. Flexible and soft thread, such as Nymo might get in the way of creating a neat looking beaded row of RAW. Usually, it is not a problem for an experienced beader. If you have no other thread options available, use any thread you have on hand.
Beads – start with larger beads, size 8 of seed beads, for example. 3 mm or 4 mm glass crystals are good, too. This way you will get a better idea of the structure and units of RAW. You might want to choose two colors of beads: one color for A beads and any other color for the rest of the bead characters.
Needle – long beading needles are best for beading. However, I find that shorter needles are also suitable for this stitch. Make sure that the needle eye can pass the whole of the beads you have chosen. Also, please, remember, you will be stitching through some of the beads more than once, and therefore, the size of the eye of the needle and the thread thickness are both essential for a successfully stitched project.
Step 1
String four beads.
Start with A (in case you picked a different color for A beads). Then string B, A, again, and C bead.
Stitch through your first three beads: A, B and another A.
You’ve created a loop. This first loop forms your first RAW unit.
Step 2
There was a reason to let A bead twice into one unit. That’s because A beads love all the attention, and they always want to be in the center of it. In this step you will create your second unit of RAW.
Make sure your needle and thread are coming out of the second A bead.
String three beads: B, another A bead, and C.
Stitch through the A bead of the previous unit, entering it from the opposite end.
Then stitch through the B and A beads that you picked up in this step. You will be passing those beads for the second time, to prepare the needle and the thread for the next unit.
Here is your second unit of RAW.
Step 3
In this step you will create your third RAW unit.
String three beads: B, A and then C.
Stitch through the A bead of the previous unit, entering it from the opposite end.
Basically, in this step you repeat the previous step instructions with a minor difference: this time the B and C beads will switch their places comparing to the previous unit. If you are using only one color o beads, you can repeat Step 2 over and over until you create a desirable length of a beaded piece.
Did you notice how A beads stay in the center of the row and B and C beads form the sides of each unit? They know, they can be the core of this structure. You can rely on them while learning RAW, especially, if you plan to explore RAW technique further.
B and C beads, on the other hand, can’t make up their minds and decided whether they want to stay up or down. They form the sides of the RAW beaded structure and are not less important than As. You will learn why in the next RAW tutorial.
Check out Basic RAW Stitch Instructions Part 2!
Or download PDF file with colorful diagrams for your future use:
ABC of RAW Stitch Basics PDF file
Happy beading!
