Only four things are really needed to do beadwork: needle, thread, beads, and time. Oh, and patience, lots of it. All right, so five things, then. But while there's a lot one can do with simple needle and thread, one soon desires to branch out, to learn more. Loom work, wire work, findings, different cordage, different beads, different styles, all quickly become part of the beader's art. On this page you'll find much basic information relating to those topics and more. I hope you find it helpful. Enjoy!

NEEDLES

Needles used for bead work are different from those used for sewing. The eye of a beading needle should be narrow, and little-or-no larger than the diameter of the needle itself. Sewing needles usually have a bigger, rounder eye, thus making it difficult--if not impossible--to get through the bead.

The Big-Eye Needle consists of two lengths of flexible steel joined together only at the ends. The needle can be drawn apart at the center, thus turning the entire needle into one big eye for threading. These needles come in 5 inch and 3 inch lengths and are recommended for those who find threading a tiny eye difficult, or for using multiple strands of thread at once. The 5 inch size is used best in loom weaving, and the 3 inch can be used for off-loom weaving techniques in bead sizes 11 and larger. These are somewhat expensive--around $1 apiece--but the large ones have the great advantage of being harder to misplace, and you'll never have any trouble threading them.

English and Japanese beading needles range in size from thick to very narrow, and from 1 3/16" to 3". These are the most commonly used needles in beadwork, and are inexpensive, especially when bought in bulk. A pack of 25 can be had for between $3 and $6.

Cordage needles are very long, and made from twisted lengths of wire. They have extremely large heads, which collapse as they pass through the bead. Although one can use thin beading thread with these needles, they tend to be too large for most seed beads, and are better used with thicker cordage (see below) for stringing gemstones, pearls, and larger beads.

THREAD AND CORDAGE (back to TOP)

Very Helpful Tip! When using any sort of thread, but most especially Nymo, stretch it! Pull the "twirls" out of Nymo before beading with it. This helps keep it from knotting and twisting, and will make your fringe hang much straighter! Simply take your working length of Nymo and firmly but steadily pull on it along the length. Don't snap or jerk it, just pull. You may have to work it a few times, but it will be well worth the effort!

Regular cotton sewing thread is NOT recommended for beadwork of any kind. Cotton thread rots and frays and breaks and is totally unacceptable. Just put it out of your mind. No, not even in emergencies. No.

Beeswax comes in small blocks and is the Beader's best friend. Use it especially with Nymo™, as it helps cut down on frays and adds strength. Simply run your thread across the beeswax block once or twice to coat it. A block of beeswax runs about $1.

Nymo is basic beading thread; a nylon string. Ranging from 00 (very fine) to D (very thick), Nymo is the most widely used cordage for seed bead work. Very inexpensive, usually a dollar a spool. Spools of 00 contain 110 yards on average, while a spool of D holds about 50 yards. Nymo comes in basic black and white, as well as a small range of colors, like red, pastel blue, or pink. Cut beads such as bugles and hex-sided beads can cut or fray Nymo, so try to limit your use of these sharp-edged beads when using Nymo.

Silkon is a special heat-set nylon thread. Thicker than Nymo, but much stronger, it is recommended for larger, heavier beads, and abrasive stone or metal beads. Somewhat expensive--20 yards for $1.30--it comes in a wide range of colors. Silamide is a similar product, once used primarily by tailors. It, too, must be stretched like Nymo to remove kinks, and cannot be wet in the mouth before threading, as the moisture tends to make it fray.

Silk Thread is very strong. It comes in sizes from 00 (very fine) to FFF (very thick). I must admit I have never used silk thread, and so cannot reliably say just how fine 00 would be, nor whether one could use it for seed beads. However, it is recommended for stringing pearls as it holds knots well. Good for use in the larger thicknesses with the Cordage Needles described above. Prices and amounts per spool vary. Roughly $10 per spool, 00 yields 600 yards, while FFF yields only 100 yards per spool.

Tigertail or Acculon™ is not thread at all, but a thin stainless steel cable coated in nylon. It kinks easily, and cannot be used for weaving. But for stringing beads, there's nothing better or stronger. Tigertail come in gauges, .012 being thinnest, and .026 being thickest. Seed beads will fit on the thinner gauges, and a needle is not used. Tigertail doesn't knot well (an understatement) and strands should be finished using crimping beads (see "Fidings and Supplies" below). Tigertail is best for multi-strand beading, and the heavier and sharper beads. It's also great for anklets and the extra strength they require for wear.

Bugtail, Mousetail, and Rattail are satin cords of various thicknesses: Bugtail--1mm thick, Mousetail--1.5mm, and Rattail--2mm. These cords are used only for larger beads, although loops and fringes of seed beads can be sewn to the cords themselves. Satin cords come in a hysterical array of colors (including raibow tie-dyed hues), and are ideal for pendants and for displaying Fimo™ or Friendly Plastic beads. Prices and lengths vary widely. Figure roughly $10 for 200 ft of Bugtail, $15 for 400 ft of Mousetail, and $20 for 400 ft of Rattail.

Plastic Sinew is a neat cordage. Inexpensive (250 feet per $7 spool), imitation sinew can be split into varying thicknesses. Thus a spool could yield two or three times its original length in thinner strands. Imitation sinew knots well, is strong (up to 60lbs breaking strength), and comes in a variety of natural colors. Good for larger beads, especially in ethnic jewelry.

Macrame' Beading Twine is used for just that: tying square knots and half-hitches, stringing on the occasional glass or Fimo™ bead, and tying yet more square knots and half-hitches . Comes in a wide variety of colors, and can be used with Big Eye needles and Cordage needles, or even no needle at all. Price runs about $6 for a 480 ft spool.

Fishing Line is not recommended. Over time it becomes brittle and breaks easily. And watching 4000 carefully woven seed beads dancing across the floor is not something I find entertaining. It doesn't knot well, it can be cut by crimp beads, and it tends to be too thick for most seed beads anyway. Use it only if you must.

TOOLS (back to TOP)

Tools are used primarily for wire work: head pins, eye pins, and sculpting wire, among others. Many kinds of beaded jewelry need metal findings attached. For this it would be helpful to have a pair of round-nose and flat-nose pliers, but little else is needed to work with findings. If you plan to do only loomwork and/or off-loom seed bead weaving, you likely will need few of these tools and can skip this section until you are struck with the desire to do wire work.....and you will be......you WILL be.....

Jewelry-making and wire-working tools come in a wide array, and one is tempted to collect them all. But, practically speaking, there are only a handful of tools really necessary to the beading art. All are pliers or cutters, and most are priced under $10 each.

Crimping Pliers are for use with crimp beads: small, ridged, soft metal beads that are easily bent or crushed. These are used to end beaded strands of Tigertail. This is done by stringing a crimp bead at the end of your Tigertail strand, looping the end of the Tigertail back through the crimp bead, bending the bead in half with the back end of the pliers head, then rolling the bent bead into a ball with the front end of the pliers head. Crimp beads are NOT recommended for thread of any type, as they are sharp-edged and will cut your thread. If you never plan to work with Tigertail, you do not need these pliers for beading.

Round Nose Pliers or Needle-Nose Pliers have round jaws. They are used to make loops in wire, especially head and eye pins. A peculiar and very handy type I saw once had one convex jaw, and one concave, so that they fitted into one another. These made the most perfect loops I've ever seen, and are definitely on my shopping list.

Chain Nose Pliers have rounded jaws, but the gripping surface is flat. Used to make loops and arcs, to close jumprings, or anywhere you need a tight but rounded grip.

Flat Nose Pliers are used for gripping and bending. Not good for making loops, but excellent for opening jumprings.

Side Cutting Pliers for cutting wire. Best for cutting ends of wrapped or sculpted wire flush to avoid snagging clothing or skin.

End Nippers are just that. They nip of the end of wire flush to the surface from the front. Handy for places where side cutters won't fit.

FINDINGS AND SUPPLIES (back to TOP)

There are literally thousands of different types of jewelry findings out there, and I do not hope to cover them all. We'll discuss basic things that you'll find yourself using frequently. Most prices given are for inexpensive plated metals. Consider any precious metal to be substantially more expensive. At the end of this section, we'll discuss beading looms.

Head pins, Paddle Pins,and Eye Pins are very versatile, their uses limited pretty much by only your imagination. They come in various lengths and thicknesses, from 1/2 inch to 4 inches, in gold- and nickel-plate. Usually, the longer the pin, the thicker it is. Head pins end with a flat head, paddle pins end with a long, paddle-shaped head, and eye pins end with a preformed loop. You can stack beads onto them, close them with a loop using round nose pliers, and then can hang them from earring loops or french wires; string them on cordage for necklaces, anklets, and bracelets; use them for fringe on beaded amulet bags; or hook them together eye-to-eye for a chain look, among other things. They can also substitute for short sculpting wire in a pinch. You can snip the end off a head or paddle pin and loop it to make an eye pin. And the loop can be snipped from an eye pin and the blunt end squeezed with flat nose pliers to flatten it, making a short but effective head pin/paddle pin. I did say versatile, didn't I? Bought in bulk, an average pack of 3" plated pins runs about $3 a gross (144 pins).

Jumprings are simple metal rings, split in one place. These are used mostly for attaching clasps and hanging eye and head pins. NEVER open a jumpring end-from-end, stretching it. If you do manage to close it again, the circle will be warped anyway. Always open and close them from side-to-side, and only as little as possible. Laughably inexpensive, they come plated for around $.70 a gross. Precious metals more expensive; as much as $4.00 for a single solid gold jumpring, or sterling silver at 50/$2.00. Splitrings are tiny versions of the standard keyring type of ring, like a double-loop. These are far superior to jumprings, but tend to be far more expensive. I recently purchased a dozen silver- plated ones for $.39. But one would have to tweak a splitring very hard to make it bend out of shape, and so they are more secure than jumprings. A special tool is needed to force the loops apart, but I found through necessity that crimpling pliers can do this job almost as well as a splitring tool.

Earring Wires. Many different types, from large, oval kidney wires to delicate french or fishhook wires and simple round hoops. These can be made of colored plastic (which are TOTALLY hypoallergenic), plated metals (somewhat allergenic), stainless or "surgical" steel (highly allergenic), and precious metals (usually hypoallergenic). Beads can be stacked directly onto large kidney wires and most hoops. Fishhook wires end in a small loop from which you can hang loops of seed beads or eye pins. Inexpensive, a gross of plated wires runs around $3. Earrings made with precious metal wires of any type or shape tend to sell better, due to their hypoallergenic qualities. Few people are allergic to gold and silver, but many (like myself) have a strong reaction to the zinc content of stainless and/or surgical steel.

Springrings and Other Clasps covers a wide subject. Springrings are those little hook-and-lever rings seen on most jewelry. Really cheap, a plated gross for $3. Fancier-looking, and not a lot more expensive, are lobster claw clasps. They do the same thing as a springring, but are shaped like a delicate little.....lobster claw! A plated gross runs about $4. These clasps can be used for any jewelry, but are especially good for bracelets, as they can be managed one-handed. Not so good for bracelets, but fine for necklaces and anklets are barrel clasps. These are shaped like little whiskey barrels and screw into each other. About $5 for a plated gross. Also useful are hook-and-eye clasps and multi-strand locking clasps.

Crimp Beads come plated or precious, in 2mm and 3mm sizes. Plated, a gross can run $3 to $5.

Knot Covers are handy little things. There are 2 types: cup-shaped and clamshell. Both have an open hook at the top for attaching jumprings and clasps, and a hole at the bottom through which you thread your string and knot. The cup-shaped style does not hide the knot quite as well as the clamshell, which has two halves that completely close over the knot. Clamshell is especially good for hiding crimp beads. Either one will make your work look much neater and more professional. About $3 per gross, plated.

Cones are good for multi-strand necklaces and bracelets, and range in size from 1/2" to 1". You draw the strands of your necklace up through the cone, secure the strands to a jumpring, and re-thread the tails back through the cone. Neat and tidy. About $8 a gross, plated.

LOOMS

Beading looms come in many sizes, and are made of either metal or wood. Most looms say "Ages 6 and Up" on the box, so you can see that loom beading isn't difficult at all! A small, basic metal loom runs $10 or less, but these types are also limiting due to their size. You simply can't make a wide project on one of these looms. But for belts, bracelets, and other small jewelry, metal looms are adequate.
I purchased a resizeable wooden loom, much like the one found at Bearcat & CO. Mine came from Tandy™ Leather and cost $19. It has two 4"x 8" end pieces through which two 36" dowel rods are inserted. Loosening two peg screws on the end pieces allows me to resize the loom by moving the ends closer to or farther from one another. If you work with seed beads at all, I recommend getting even a small loom. They're great for amulet bags as well as bracelets, belts, chokers, and any flat, woven project.

BEADS! (back to TOP)

Like any other Official Beading Fool, I could talk about beads all day. For several days, actually. Possibly forever, if allowed.

Large Beads

Purple Finch Glass Beads
Bishop's Gambit
Beyond Beadery