How to Make Beaded Jewelry
When you create jewelry pieces with beads you are really allowing yourself a lot of versatility, because there are so many styles, shapes, and colors of beads to choose from. You can even have beads handcrafted to the specific shape and size that you want.
Beaded jewelry is some of the easiest to make, so if you are interested in getting started in jewelry making and not sure where to start, this is a great place. Beaded jewelry is extremely authentic and beautiful, and can even be very elegant if done properly. If you want to start making beaded jewelry the best beginning piece is a necklace.
Materials
There are a few materials that you are going to need to make your first piece of beaded jewelry, a necklace. This includes jewelry wire, bead design boards, beading needle, beading threads, flat work surfaces, beads, craft glue, scissors, and a pair of high quality flat nose pliers.
Getting Started
The first step in making a beaded necklace is to choose a length for the necklace. You can use your own neck as a guide even if you are making the necklace for someone else. Once you have decided on the length of necklace that you want, you will need to purchase the appropriate amount of beading thread, adding on a few extra inches to ensure that there will be enough.
Then you want to come up with a design idea for the beads, and this is where the design bead board will come in handy. Make sure that you have enough beads to fill the thread and also have spacer beads handy, which are the beads that go in between the larger sized beads. Now you want to knot one end of the thread, using scissors to trim off the excess thread.
Begin by pushing a bead tip over the open end of the thread and then string your beads and thread on the other bead tip so that the open end of the tip faces away from the strung beads. Now you want to tie a loose knot in this end of the thread and use a long pin to push the knot down into the open end of the bead tip.
The final step is to hook up the clasp, and after that you are finished and have completed your first piece of beaded jewelry. You can now feel more comfortable moving on to more difficult pieces, such as earrings, brocades, hair barrettes, and anklets.
