Waif-like leaves dance in the breeze, flirt and flutter, a skirt of silk.

---Silver Birch by Ruth Mawdsley

The slender form and graceful trailing branches made the weeping birch one of my favorite trees. Weeping Birch is a beaded scarf, knit from both ends and grafted in the middle. Both beaded knitting and beads over slipped stitches are used to add sparkle. This is possibly the easiest way to incorporate beads into your work.

Notions:
o 1 1/3 ∙ 12 strand hanks of 80 beads, about 3,700 beads or 87 g,
o 6 markers,
o measuring tape,
o darning needle,
o scissors,
o stitch holder,
o needle to prestring beads,
o optional bead spinner to make loading faster,
o small fabric bag to contain the fringe beads after they are worked.

Difficulty: Intermediate: Basic lace, beads over slipped stitches, beaded knitting and Kitchener stitch grafting.

Weeping Birch places prestrung beads into your knitting. This is one of the simplest ways to add beads to your knitting, however certain considerations are necessary in your choice of yarn and beads.

Yarn must be able to handle a large number of beads being strung on the working thread and passed over the yarn without undue wear and fraying. To test for this, string a small number of beads on your yarn and slide them back and forth several times. Check to see if the yarn still looks good.
Because a large number of beads hang in the cast on, the yarn must not stretch. Mercerized cotton is good for this. Silk or linen might also be good choices. Perle cotton has too much stretch.

Beads can be used as a decoration for the beginning of the scarf, and do not need to be worked all the way to the center.