Beading Tips for Beginners - Start Your First Beading Project

Beading is a fantastic way to show your creativity. And some beading projects are very easy. You can easily create your own beaded ascessories. Here are several beading techniques for beginner beaders that give you ideas of organizing your project, before you start and allow you to enjoy your completed beaded project.

1 Give your beads some space

Some types of beads especially semi-precious, Swarovski, glass and pearl beads require a spacer between them. You have two options - make a simple knot between your beads, or insert a decorative spacer. I prefer spacers, because they make the design more interesting. It is best to use silver or gold spacers with expensive beads - they won’t loose the shine as they age.

2 Use a beading board

Before putting your beads on a wire lay the beads you are planning to use out on a jewelry layout board. You can buy these boards in any shop that sells, craft supplies, beads and beading tools. The board lets you see, how your design will work before you connect everything. If you don’t have a board, use a plain light bath towel, so your beads don’t scatter.

3 Don’t let your beads roll

Even if you use a beading board, it is a good idea to cover the table you work on with a towel. Beads rolling all over the table can drive you crazy, but a towel will prevent it. Also, if you have a cat, cover your work with another towel, if you leave even for a few minutes. My cat can destroy hours of work in less then 30 seconds.

4 Cut enough string

If you are going to use knots, then cut the string 4 times longer than finished project plus a few extra inches, otherwise 2 times longer. Also you can fold your string twice or even four times, to make it stronger. This is particularly true if you use heavy glass beads and large beads.

5 Match string color to the colors of your beading project

Your don’t always have to use white string, buy a string that matches the color of your beads for this project. If you can’t find a string in that particular shade, take a white one and dye it, any permanent marker would do the job.

6 Be careful - strings stretch

In my first beaded necklaces I always had this problem - you finish a necklace, than after a day of wearing it the string stretches and beads are no longer tight together, looks awful. To avoid this, after all the beads are on, hang your necklace for a day or so, than do the final knotting or attach clasps.

7 Pay attention to small details, like securing the ends of your string

Final knots are important, it is best to use square knots and tighten them firmly. Then apply some jewelers glue to your knots and only after that cut the loose ends

8 Be kind to your eyes

Beading for several hours can give you a bad eye strain, especially if you are working with seed beads. Use a strong light source, a desk lamp is best. Another useful tool would be a magnifying glass. It will also help keep your project neat and prevents small mistakes and redoing parts of your project.

Tatiana Turner is a publisher of Beading Patterns.org where you can find beginners beading projects and everything you need to know about beading

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