3D beading generally uses the techniques of bead weaving, which can be further divided into right angle weave and peyote stitch. Most 3D beading patterns are done in right angle weave, but sometimes both techniques are combined in the same piece. Both stitches are done using either fishing line (most popular brand: fireline) or nylon thread (most popular brand: nymo). Fishing line lends itself better to right angle weave because it is stiffer than nylon thread, so holds the beads in a tighter arrangement and does not easily break when tugged upon. On the other hand, nylon thread is more suited to peyote stitch because it is softer and more pliable than fishing line, which permits the beads of the stitch to sit straight without undue tension bending the arrangement out of place.

Right angle weave is done using both ends of the fishing line, in which beads are strung in repeated circular arrangements, and the fishing line is pulled tight after each bead circle is made. Peyote stitch is stitched using only one end of the nylon thread. The other end of the string is left dangling at the beginning of the piece, while the first end of the thread progresses through the stitch. In peyote stitch, beads are woven into the piece in a very similar fashion to knitting or cross stitching. In fact, it is not uncommon for cross stitch patterns to be beaded in peyote stitch technique. Peyote stitch patterns are very easy to depict diagrammatically because they are typically stitched flat and then later incorporated into the piece or left as a flat tapestry. Right angle weave lends itself better as a technique to 3D beading, but peyote stitch offers the advantage of more tightly knit beads, which is sometimes necessary to properly portray an object in 3 dimensions.

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Long ago the Native Americans decorated their garments with painted designs. They made colors with pigments of earth, grasses, clays, and berries. In time they began to make fine porcupine-quill embroidery, which they colored by boiling the quills in the paint pigments. Native Americans also made beads from bone, shell, or dried berries. They fashioned the beads into necklaces or decorations for the fringes of their garments and bags.

About 1675 the European traders brought colorful glass beads to the tribes. The earliest beads brought by the white people were called pony beads by the Indians because they were brought in by the traders pony pack trains. Most of these beads were dark blue. Some were white and a few were a dull red color. The Indians worked them into several rows of blue, then a few rows of white and again the blues. This type of pony beadwork continued until about 1840, when a smaller seed bead was brought in. The Indians still use seed beads.

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