Create Beauty With Beading Kits
Making bookmarks, ornaments, beaded earrings, bracelets, charms, or necklaces offers a relaxing way to spend an afternoon. Creating through jewelry beading also allows you to explore new color combinations, patterns, and techniques for weaving or knotting. With put-together beading kits, you can create a finished piece of art to wear or to decorate your living space.
How difficult is jewelry beading?Jewelry beading actually isn’t that hard to do. If you can thread a needle and tie a knot, you can get started with simple styles of jewelry beading. For a beginner, some good techniques include stringing, which is just sliding a wire or thread through the hole of the bead. Another technique is daisy chain, which features a simple weaving pattern. The even-count peyote stitch allows you to experiment with checkerboard and fair isle types of patterns using two or more colors. Once you have mastered those beginner stitches, the odd-count peyote stitch and brick stitch feature some simple increases and decreases that allow you to form shapes, such as diamonds and hearts.
Components in a beading kitGetting started with beading requires a few simple supplies, including needle-nose pliers, a magnifier, a task light, wire snips or cutters, and beading scissors. Beading kits typically include:
- Beading thread: This is made of nylon or polyethylene for strength.
- Wire: This facilitates creating shapes and wrapped bead designs.
- Beading needles: These are thinner and have a narrower eye compared with a sewing needle.
- Thread conditioner: This lubricates the thread and reduces fraying.
- Bead mat or tray: This tool prevents beads from rolling off the work surface.
- Bead container: This has a screw-on cap for storing beads.
- Beads: Beginner kits typically include seed beads.
Many styles of findings and beads are used for making beaded earrings, including:
- Czech glass: These beads work well for earrings because they catch the light. The most common type of Czech glass bead is a seed bead.
- Lampwork: These are larger glass beads with colorful designs. Because of the large hole, they need to be paired with smaller seed beads.
- Stone: Semiprecious and precious stone beads are often used for earrings.
- Dangles: These are triangular-shaped findings with multiple holes for creating chandelier or dangle earrings.
- Fish hook: These are used for dangle earrings.
- Hoops: This style of finding is a metal hoop with an attached closure.