How to String Beads

Stringing beads to make jewellery is a very popular passtime whether making a necklace, bracelet or earrings for yourself, family and friends or to earn an income. It is a wonderful way of expressing your creativity and having fun at the same time.

Before starting a project, you will of course need to decide what you are going to make and for whom. If you make and sell jewellery as a business then you may have a specific commission to fulfil in which case you will know exactly what is required. Or perhaps you need to consider the demand in your area and create specifically to satisfy that demand.

Are you making a piece for your own collection, therefore you may favour something that complements what you already have or just a fun piece of jewellery to make with your kids.

Whatever the reason, there is a bewildering amount of choice of materials available, and you need to choose what type of beads are you using, which in turn has an impact on the type of string you use, what your colour scheme is going to be and whether to use spacers or not.

According to what you are making, you will need to assemble the usual jewellery making tools, a beading board or felt mat if you use one, wire cutters, pliers, jewellery glue, beading needle, clasp and crimp beads.

Lets quickly look at the types of stringing material available and what they are more suitable for:

• Natural thread like silk or cotton is easy to knot, comes in a huge variety of colours and is soft to touch, but frays easily. Used with pearls and light beads and gemstones.


• Hemp and waxed linen cord holds its shape, knots easily and is difficult to fray. Used with larger beads.


• Nylon cord comes in a multitude of colours, knots easily and is far more resilient than silk. Also good with pearls and seed beads.


• Leather is strong and can be knotted and braided. Gives a more rustic look to jewellery.


• Elastic thread is very flexible, but needs glue to secure the knots and can be used for projects without clasps.


• Metal wire is used for rigid designs only.


• Bead stringing wire is multistrands of steel coated in nylon, and comes in a variety of diameters and range of qualities. Very popular but a little inflexible.


• Sterling silver is a more expensive option and lends itself to silver or gemstone jewellery. Silver, gold or copper plated wire is a less expensive alternative.

Having chosen your stringing medium and assembled the required number of beads to suite, mixing colours, shapes, materials and even textures, then you are ready to start.

A few tips to have in mind before you proceed:

• Some beads such as glass, semi-precious stones and pearls require spacers between them. This can be achieved by knotting the cord between each bead or by using silver or gold spacers which look better with expensive beads.
  
  
• Arrange your beads on the board or mat to see what the finished article looks like and so you can amend the design at this stage rather than during the stringing process.
  
  
• Make sure you cut sufficient stringing material for your needs. Always allow more than you think you need and if you are knotting between each bead, double the length.
  
  
• Consider whether to use coloured string to match your beads.
  
  
• Some string material stretches, so allow it to do so before wearing it and readjust the beads as required.
  
  
• Make sure the ends are knotted firmly and glued, knot covers can be used to cover them if required. Alternatively crimp beads can be used with stringing wire to secure the ends.
  

To your bead stringing success!