Making a Bead Necklace: Think Out Your Design

This may seem like an obvious thing but a lot of beginners do not follow beading instructions and do not plan a design for their necklaces, they will get into the construction straight away without any thought and have to redo it all over again when something has been missed. So planning a design strategy from the beginning will save a lot of time later.

If you are making a symmetrical bead necklace and using different beads then layout the design beforehand, make sure you have the right amount of beads and all of the right design, careful planning will save another trip to the craft shop later.

Make Sure You Have All The Bead Parts

Beads are not the only items required for making a necklace, you will need the wire to thread the beads on to, wire cutters to trim the thread to the right length. Having the right amount of beads is important but also having crimp beads to finish them off along with the crimp pliers. Also finally having the clasp to hook the necklace once it has been finished is needed.

It is common to forget something when deciding to build a bead necklace so have a check list ready before you start. After a time you will have collected a lot of the parts needed and it will be second nature but if you are beginning you will need to build up your stock of parts. One way to avoid this issue is to purchase a bead kit which has everything you require along with beading instructions for constructing your necklace. But if you would rather go out on your own make sure you have everything first, remember plan now and don’t worry later down the line.

Choosing The Right Wire

Firstly you need to choose the right type of wire for your necklace, this is important. Two of the most popular types are Soft Flex wire and Tigertail. Tigertail is ideal for heavy beads as it is very rigid and you do not need to keep the shape whilst constructing, however it is more prone to kink up the wire. An alternative to Tigertail and a solution to the kink issue is Soft Flex wire, as the name suggests it is more flexible and unlikely to kink as much as the other type however Soft Flex wire is more expensive.

Crimping

To finish off your design you will need some crimp beads and crimping pliers. Crimp beads are make from metal but are soft enough to be shaped onto your chosen wire. This is so you can keep you beads in place and so they don’t fall off. Simply string one of these beads to the end of your bead line and flatten it with some crimp pliers, this will give it a nice crinkled look and won’t spoil the overall design of the jewelry.

There is a technique to using crimping pliers, nothing too complicated though. You can buy crimping pliers designed especially for making bead jewelry and this would be recommended if you think it is something you will do often. When finishing off a piece of jewelry simply place your crimp bead on the wire and crimp once so it squashes into a U shape, then crimp the U shape again so it looks more circular in shape, this way the bead will look more tidy and in keeping with the design.

This is really all you need for making beaded jewelry however you can also other accessories such as bead boards which are used to assist in constructing designs and also cutters for the wire you use especially the tougher Tigertail wire.