The first book I purchased was Bead Knitted Pendant Bags, by Theresa Williams. I used the "pouch style pattern" with "optional flap - triangle shape" from that book. After I had made the first bag, which I call "Tuxedo", I knew I wanted to make more, and perhaps different types. I did some digging around, and found out that Julie of Blessed Beads sells her books at 15% off the retail price, but there was a small wait. I figured I was patient enough, but actually I counted the minutes until they finally arrived. Thankfully it wasn't a long wait :). You can also order these books through BagLady Press directly...you may want to check out that site to see scans of the front of each book to help you make your decision. FYI: These books are nowhere to be found on Amazon.com.
Once you have your books, or while you are waiting, you will want to check out your local knitting, fabric, or craft stores for the appropriate thread and knitting needles too! You may have to special order the needles because they are itty bitty ones, size 0000. Fortunately, my local favorite beadstore, Stormcloud Trading, had them in stock, as did a yarn shop. The books mention these threads: #8 Pearl Cotton by Anchor®, DMC®, or Finca®. In reading Sandy White's website (no longer found) she mentioned the Caron Wildflowers® thread. I first tried out DMC® thread, and since then have found a several stores that supply the Caron® thread, which I like because the thread/yarn is a bit thinner than regular pearl cotton (makes stringing the beads easier) and because it comes in beautiful hand-dyed variegated colors and more recently in nice solids as well. Still, the DMC thread is wonderful, cheaper and makes for a more sturdy bag with a lot of sheen.
Speaking of threading beads...you might want to order a beadspinner here or here. It comes in handy if you have taken your Czech seed beads off their hanks, or if you want to use any other type of loose seed bead. If you look in Beadwork or Bead & Button, you will probably see an ad for the Bead Spinner. It is quite the handy gadget, but something you can put off if your Czech beads are still on the hanks, or until you decide whether beaded knitting is going to be a casual fling or all-out obsession :).
If you are obsessed with making beaded knitted bags (or crocheted beaded, or bead knitted too) then you might want to join us on the Yahoo! Clubs site of The Beaded Knitted club. Please also check out my Huge List of Beading Bookmarks/Links as I have a separate section for beaded knitted, bead knitted, and beaded crocheted bags and accessorites...links to galleries of inspiration, supplies and patterns.
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