This basic jewellery making article is a wonderful place to
begin to learn all about the art of working with beads. It is
written by Jenny Lawson, a very
talented bead artist. It explains types of beading, tools
needed, and even includes an easy project tutorial, perfect for a
beginner.
Click
on
any of the sections below to jump around on this page, or
scroll down to read the entire article.
Types
of Basic Jewellery Making
Stringing: beads
of all sorts of types and colours are
strung onto a beading thread using pleasing designs and colours.
Beadweaving:
this
is sometimes known as seed beading.
This includes a wide variety of weaves,
including herringbone weave, brick stitch, peyote, netting, pondo
stitch, right
angle weave and square stitch. With
the
exception of two-needle right angle weave, these all require a needle
and
thread, and you weave in a similar way to sewing.
Two needle right angle weave is usually
not
done with needles at all, a stiff thread is used, and the beads can be
strung
onto it without the use of a needle.
There are also a huge range of spirals
that can be made in all of the
above weaves, as well as a few particular to spirals only. These include: Spiral
rope, double spiral
rope, triple spiral rope, flat spiral, Russian spiral, Dutch spiral,
herringbone spiral, embellished right angle weave, Cellini spiral,
Aussie
spiral, netted spiral and African Helix.
Loom
Beading: seed beads are woven into
fabric using a
loom. Some very
intricate designs can be
made.
Wire
work and wire wrapping:
This
is where wire is used
to created pleasing shapes and designs using wire.
Victorian
Beading and French Beading: these methods ore often
used to make beaded flowers. Wire
is
used, as well as seed beads. Victorian
beading, also known as Continental Beading, is worked horizontally with
both
ends of the wire going through the row of beads.
French
beading is worked vertically with rows of beads worked around a central
row of
beads.
Chainmail: also
known as chain maille. This
is created by joining jump rings into
intricate patterns.
What
is a Bead?
Basic
jewellery making usually includes beads. Basically
a bead is a small decorative
object that has at least one hole in it for threading.
Beads have been used for jewellery for
hundreds of thousands of years.
Beads can
be made from all sorts of things,
including: natural materials- such as bone, coral, seashells and nuts. They can also be made of
synthetic materials
such as: ceramics, glass, crystal and plastic.
Bead
Types
Seed
Beads: seed beads are the very tiny
beads used in
basic jewellery making and beadweaving.
These
are usually measured in either mm or aught sizes, eg. 11/0, which means
number
of beads per inch.
There
are three main types of seed beads available:
Bugle
beads: these are long cylindrical
beads, made in a
range of lengths.
Shaped
beads: these are made in any
sorts of shapes.
Faceted
beads: these have been cut and
polished to give lots of reflection and shine.
Tools
and Materials Required for Basic Jewellery Making
The tools
needed for basic jewellery making vary
with what is being made and the technique used.
Some
basic tools and materials are:
Thread: some available
types are: tigertail, aculon, monofilament thread and Nymo.
Crimp
beads: these are small soft metal beads with a large
hole that are used to
squash the thread together to hold the finding in place.
Findings: these
are all the components used in basic jewellery making to make
things into jewellery, includes clasps, earring hooks and key rings.
Pliers:
these are need for many things in basic jewellery making, including
closing crimp beads. Two
are usually needed to
close jump rings.
Specific
tools and materials:
Stringing: generally
you don’t need much at all.
Just your beads and thread,
you’ll also need
a couple of crimp beads and a couple of jump rings.
You’ll need pliers to close
the crimp beads
and jump rings. You’ll also need clasps or other findings for
your basic jewellery making,
depending on what
you’re making,
Beadweaving: For
this you’ll need fine thread, beading needle, seed beads. You’ll also need
the crimp beads and other findings
the same as with stringing, depending on what you’re making.
Loom
Beading: loom, thread and seed
beads, and findings as
required.
Wire
work and wire wrapping: The
wire can be craft wire, artistic wire,
copper wire, or sterling silver wire.
They are available in different gauges
that measure the thicknesses. You
will need pointy nosed pliers, and round
nosed pliers to create spirals and loops.
Wire cutters are required to cut the
wire.
Victorian
Beading and French Beading: Seed beads and wire are
required for these. Pointy
nosed pliers
will be needed. If
it’s going to be a
flower, you’ll need a stiffer wire for the stem and some
floral tape to wrap
it.
Chainmail: This
just requires lots of jump ring available
in different sizes and gauges, as well as 2 pairs of pliers to close
the rings. You’ll
also need the findings as required.
A
Very Simple Beadweaving Project for a Beginner
Netted
Star Tutorial
Materials Needed for
this basic jewellery making project:
- 4 mm crystals, or other beads
- size 10/0 seed beads
- stopper bead, any colour, will be removed
later
- fine fishing line, approximately 80 cm
- beading needle, or other fine needle
1.
Thread the fishing line onto
the needle
2. Tie on a stopper bead.
A stopper bead is a bead the same size
or
smaller than the smallest bead you are using.
String through it twice to hold it in
place.
3. Add 6 seed
beads, 1 crystal and
1 seed bead.
4. Go back
through the crystal,
and pull tight.
5. String on
another 6 seed beads,
a crystal, and this time 4 seed beads.
6. Go back through
the first seed
bead you strung on, through the same way you came from originally. Then back through the
crystal.
7.
Continue in this manner, adding 6 seed beads between
each section, crystals next to each end,
and ends alternating between a single seed bead, and a 4 seed bead
circle.
8. This should form a zigzag
pattern with the 4 bead circles on one end, and the single beads on the
other,
as in the diagram.
9.
Stop when you have 6 of each type
of ends. 12 points all together.
10.
The thread should now be coming
out of the crystal, in readiness for the 6 seed bead centre. Now instead of starting a
new 6 bead section,
just string back through the first section, all the way through the
first 6
seed beads, the crystal, and the end seed bead.
11. You should now have a rough
circle. String through the next single seed bead, at the next
point, then the next. Continue through them all.
Then go through them all again.
12.
Tie off, and thread through a
few beads. Remove
stopper bead, tie, and
thread through a few beads.
About
the Author
My
name
is Jenny Lawson, and I live in Australia.
I have been doing all sorts of crafts
for as long as I can
remember. I
especially love crochet and
quilling. But my
absolute favourite has to be jewellery making and beaded flowers,
including
chainmail, wirework, French Beading, Victorian beading, and many other
styles.
There are
many different kinds of beadweaving, and as far as I know
I’ve done almost
every type there is.
I have two
websites and a blog I invite you to visit:
Craft Cove - mainly for jewellery
and gifts
Flower
Cove - for flowers and hair accessories
MY BLOG:
Jewellery
from Craft Cove - Everything about handcrafted jewellery.
I talk about jewellery I've made, jewelerry I will make, and
stuff I'm making now. I also talk about problems I've had
wtih them, the highlights, and anything else I can think of.
I also list some free tutorials.
I would like to thank Jenny for her wonderful article on beading.
If you would like to contribute a tips and techniques
article, please contact me. It is a
wonderful way to share your knowledge and let others know about your
craft website or blog.
