BEADING How To

BEADING How To

Beady Tips and Tricks

This section is for all kinds of methods and techniques you can employ with beads, crystals, stones, and gemstones in your projects. Beads can be used in jewelry making, clothing decoration, shoe embellishment, on bags, and in just about any imaginable field of endeavour.

Bead Embroidery on Fabric

Bead Embroidery

Beading on Fabric

You can use any fabric that you can get a needle through. Bead embroidery has been around for generations and is highly valued in the haute couture fashion world. Amongst the most renown wedding dress featuring beading on fabric is of course Princess Diana's wedding dress. Beads on fabrics look great not only on dresses, gowns and in fashion but also add that 'something extra' on bags, hats, shoes, belts, and even paper.

In the illustration below on Beading on Fabric, we show a fabric (that has designs on it) that can be further enhanced with bugle and seed beads. Combining beads with sequins really makes a fabric stand out. Small pearl beads adds tremendous value and distinction.

---

Tools Needed:

• short beading needle
• beading thread
• bugle & seed beads

Steps: Bead Embroidery on Fabric

1) Thread the beading needle with about 1 meter of beading thread. Tie a knot at the other end of the thread. Thread the needle through the fabric, back to front, where you want to position the first bead.
2) Thread your first bead. Push the needle back through the fabric, front to back, slightly further along from where the thread came up and towards where you want the second bead. This spacing (between the in and out of the needle on the fabric) should be far enough to allow the bead to sit nicely on the fabric.
3) Continue to embellish the fabric in this way till your are happy with the look.

• you can add several beads at a time if you like
• to create areas of beadwork, you need to finish the thread off in one area and start a new threading at the next beadwork area.
• you can also use the same techniques for Bead Embroidery on Paper.

---

Go back to top of Bead Embroidery on Fabric

---

Bead Embroidery on Paper

Bead Embroidery

Beading on Paper

Bead Embroidery on paper is a very interesting and rewarding craft, made more so by the diverse wealth of beautiful paper being produced. Just like beading on fabric, it is also possible to bead on paper - for card making, in scrapbooking, making books and album covers, wedding invitations, etc.

Paper that has pre-made holes in them are ideal for bead embroidery. These are paper that have 'machine embroidery' design. These papers already have holes in them and so makes it much easier to embellish the paper with beads and threads.

---

Tools Needed:

• beading needle
• beading or cotton sewing thread that tones well with the paper you are going to use
• bugle & seed beads
• machine-embroidered paper (i.e. has holes already)

1) Thread the beading needle with about 1 meter of beading thread. Tie a knot at the other end of the thread. 2) Leave about 2 cm (½ inch) clear paper selvage edging (or enough paper to turn and cover edges of book or album). 2cm or more in from the paper edge, thread the needle through the paper, back to front - using one of the machined holes (if available). 3) Look carefully at the space between where your needle emerges and the next (machine) hole you want to put the needle back through. Estimate how many beads you can comfortably fit in that space between those 2 holes. Thread those number of beads and put the needle, front to back, into the next (machine) hole.

4) Bring the needle back up to the front in the next hole. Do as step above. You will now note that there is a gap between one line of beads and the next. If desired, you can fill this gap on the return journey, as in the next (optional) step. 5) (Optional) Continue as you have above till you get to the end of one row or aspect of the pattern. Remember not to work right to the edge of the paper but to leave a clear 2cm selvage. Turn your paper 180° and add beads in the same way as step above, to fill any gaps that have been left in the first round. 7) Continue with your bead embroidery on paper till you are satisfied with the final beaded look.

---

Go back to top of Bead Embroidery on Paper

---

Beading Stitches

BEADING STITCHES

Photos, How-Tos, tips, techniques on Beading Stitches

This will be a collection of some of the many beading stitches. There are many and varied and they can help you produce even more remarkable new creations by utilizing these skills.

Many of these techniques make use of seed beads and rocailles though once you have gotten the skill under your belt, you can use the same techniques with any bead of your fancy.

Samplers

Beading Stitches - Samplers

Pictorial Sampler of Various Beading Stitches

The purpose of this Beading Stitches Sampler Library is so that you can see what some of these stitches look like as well as how they could look different with different kinds of beads. I will be using a variety of beads, including varying qualities. The results should be both instructive and interesting. I may also employ contrasting thread color so that there is a chance of seeing the threading in the samplers.

11 Oct 09: This will be a growing of collection of pictorial samplers of various beading stitches. Please come back again for another visit as this Beading Stitches Library grows.

---

Herringbone/Ndebele Stitch

This sampler is done up with bugle beads. Here you can see the Herringbone pattern quite clearly. The Herringbone stitch is also commonly known as the Ndebele Stitch.

This next Herringbone Stitch sampler is done using random colours and even slightly random sized round seed beads. Here the herringbone pattern is not as obvious.

Tubular Herringbone Stitch

Sample of bead caps done in Tubular Herringbone stitch. Beads are silver plated 2mm round metal beads and bugle beads.

The foundation row is in Ladder Stitch. And I ended the sampler using the Ladder Stitch as well.
Herringbone Stitch is quite a fun stitch to do.

---

Peyote Stitch

Peyote stitch is one of the most popular stitches around. This sampler is done with mixed color seed beads of irregular sizes. You can see the up-down / zigzag pattern that is at the core of this stitch.

Another sampler with the same kinds of seed beads.

Peyote Stitch with Mid-way Increase

This next Peyote stitch sampler shows where there has been a mid-way increase causing the work to span outwards. The black beads are where the increase has taken place.

---

Square Stitch

This is a quick sampler. I have deliberately used a slightly contrasting thread colour so I could see the threads after the sampler was done. Square Stitch over 15 stitches using China metallic gold and frosted black seed beads (available from ClearlyChosen stores)

This next Square Stitch sampler is done with multi-colors and uneven sized seed beads. As you can see, even with uneven sizes, one can produce quite attractive pieces.

At the time of writing, packs of these mixed coloured seed beads can be purchased from ClearlyChosen jewelry supplies store.

The square stitch is very easy and fun to do. Great for incorporating patterns and colours as all the beads are lined up vertically and horizontally. That makes graphing the pattern much easier.

Note however that you would want to have beads with slightly larger holes and/or finer needles ad the thread has to pass through each bead a few times.

---

FINISHING How To

FINISHING Jewelry - How To

tips, techniques on jewelry making

How you finish your jewelry pieces, though usually not the most fun part of the project, is crucial to the overall quality and feel of your jewelry piece. After spending many hours and sleepless nights on your design and when the main (fun) part is completed, you might feel that you just want to get on with the next project. Many projects get left at this stage - i.e. unfinished. Or worse, you hurriedly throw in a clasp or toggle and hope no one will notice the lack of effort there. But they will.

So here are some tips and tricks on how to finish jewelry pieces and achieve a professional looking finish.

Crimp Bead to finish Wire

Crimp Bead

how-to finish wire or thread

Crimp bead, also know as French Crimp (which we will use interchangeably), is a small metal bead with thin walls and comparatively large holes. It is designed to be flattened with a crimp tool or crimping pliers. It is used to finish off wire or cord at the ends in lieu of unsightly knots and when used properly, give the jewelry a finished, professional look.

These crimps are most often used with beading wire but it can also very effectively be used with strong threads.

---

Steps

• If you are cutting the length of wire you need ahead of time, allow at least 3-4 cm extra for the lengths you will need to attach the fastener to your jewelry piece using a french crimp.
• Only use a wire cutter to cut your wires; wires will destroy the edges of your scissors.

1) Thread your wire through a french crimp, and then through the loop on your fastener.  (Illustration here is shown using a barrel screw clasp.) Use 2 french cimps if you are using heavy beads.
2) Then thread the wire back through the crimp, forming a small loop that allows movement but small enough to be neat.  Flatten out your french crimp with a flat-nose plier or crimping pliers to firmly secure the crimp position. When you thread on your beads, slide them up towards your crimped end.  Thread the left-over wire into the beads to hide it.
3) When you have finished stringing on all your beads to your specific design, thread another french crimp at the other end, and do the same as above and thread the spare end of the wire into the beads so as to hide it from sight.

Crimp Cover - how to

Crimp Cover

how-to finish with crimp covers

Crimp Covers - a fairly new innovation - is easy and fun to use yet gives you a much smoother and seamless finish.

---

Steps

1) After you have crimped your crimp bead/tube in place, you are ready for your crimp cover.
2) Place your crimp cover between the jaws of your pliers. Note: orientation of open jaw and open part of crimp are in the same direction.
3) Place the crimp cover over your crimped bead/tube and gently squeeze the crimp cover closed. Note: do not squeeze too hard or the cover will collapse.
4) Wolla! Your crimp is now inside the crimp cover and doesn't it just look like a lovely bead!

French Wire Finish

French Wire

Professional finish for hand-strung beads

French wire, also know as gimp, gimp wire, or bullion wire will give your hand strung beads and precious gemstones a professional finish as well prolongs it safety by decreasing wear and tear on the stringing threads. Our full article on French wire also gives a simple way of using this finely coiled gimp wire.

The technique below gives another and a more detailed step-by-step guide. Be sure to take note of the Tips below.

---

Tools Needed

• strung beads, pearls, or gemstones
• gimp or french/bullion wire
• silk or other stringing threads
• crimp beads (french crimps)
• crimping pliers

Steps

1) After you have strung your beads, pass the one end of your thread through a crimp bead and a suitable length of French wire/gimp.  Then through the ring of your clasp. Do not try to pass the thread twice through the gimp. If you do the gimp wire will not form properly and you could end up with a mess.
2) Pass the thread back through the crimp bead and pull tightly.  The gimp should now look like a metal loop going through your clasp-ring. 3) (opt) Pass the thread through more beads for security. 4) Squeeze the crimp beads with crimping pliers to secure and fix the threads.  Cut off excess threading.
5) Do the same with the other side of your strung beads.

• Do a few practice runs in using this technique before applying it to a real piece of jewelry creation.
• After a few tries, you will get the hang of how much French wire to use and how tightly to pull to form the 'metal loop' with the gimp wire.
• It might be a good idea to wax or treat your thread to make things easier.

How To Antique Brass

How to Antique Brass

Vintage (looking) metals have become increasingly popular in jewelry making. The process of giving metal a vintage or antique look is variously called darkening, oxidizing, patinizing or antiquing.

Brass is the most common metal to undergo antiquing in jewelry making.

There are various ways to create antique brass which can be done at home. (You can also find out how to antique copper).

First: Clean the Brass

For you to be able to oxidize the brass so that you can quickly achieve a rich aged patina on the metal, raw brass must be used. However most brass components come with some protective varnish. And grease (like from fingers during handling) is also deposited on the surface. These must be removed thoroughly before the antiquing process begins.

To remove protective varnish

• Acetone, nail polish remover, or lacquer thinner will remove any protective varnish from the surface.
• If brass component is small, you can boil it in water for a few minutes.

To remove general grease and dirt

Clean brass component completely with any of the following:

• mild solution of water & vinegar or
• mild soap diluted in water or
• mixture of ammonia, mild soap, & water
• rub surface with alcohol

How to Darken/Oxidize/Antique Brass

Here is a collection of various methods that you can try out. Experiment with the various antiquing metals to discover your own favourite.

Ammonia Fumes

Suspend your brass items over ammonia that is in a covered jar, making sure that the brass components do not come into contact with the ammonia. You can use fishing line or nylon stocking to suspend the metal. Secure it to the bottle with rubber band or sticky tape on the outside. Then lid the jar.

This can take a few hours. Check on progress and determine when you are satisfied with the color changes.

Clorox

Soaking brass in Clorox (toilet bowl cleaner) will help dull the brightness and tone down the brassy, shinny tone without leaving a brown patina on brass.

Saltwater

Brush the brass items with saltwater. This is slower than brushing with vinegar but it produces a different patina - possibly a more "antiqued" look.

Vinegar; Brush or Spray with

Brush or vinegar over the entire surface of the brass items. Allow to dry and check results. Reapply and dry repeatedly till you get the patina colour you want. This method should give you a quick darkening of the brass.

Vinegar Vapors/Fumes

Suspend the brass items over vinegar and allow the fumes to oxidize the brass. You can suspend the items using nylon stocking, cheesecloth, or fishing lines over the vinegar (not in it). Cover the entire setup with a bucket or other container to prevent the fumes from escaping.

Commercial Products

This is a list of products that I have heard are good for antiquing brass.

• Patina Green Antiquing Solution (from company Moden Options) - can be used on copper, brass, bronze. For both indoors and outdoors. No special tools required. Water based.
  Unfortunately it seems that this product can only be gotten from misterart.com which is in USA and does not ship internationally.
• Jax Colorant Green Patina Quart - "produces a permanent, authentic, antique green finish on copper, brass, and bronze." (part of product description)
  
• Brass Darkening Solution - Brass darkening solution.Turns shiny brass finish into antique finish quickly. (Is likely to work on copper and bronze as well.)
  
  One (Australian) site that sells this is at Watson Brass.

Protecting the Antique Finish

After the antiquing process, you can allow the brass to age/oxidize naturally. Or you can (temporarily) seal the antique finish using beeswax. Prepared beeswax like Johnson's Wax can be applied directly using a clean. lint-free soft cloth.

You can also try floor wax or a clearcoat.

How to Antique Copper

How to Antique Copper

Vintage (looking) metals has become increasingly popular in jewelry making. The process of giving metal a vintage or antique look is variously called darkening, oxidizing, patinating or antiquing. Brass is probably the most common metal to undergo antiquing in jewelry making but antique copper look is also becoming more and more popular.

There are various ways to create antique copper which can be done at home. (You can also find out how to antique brass).

How to Darken/Oxidize/Antique Copper

Here is a collection of various methods that you can try out. Experiment with the various antiquing metals to discover your own favourite.

Bleach

Ensure copper pieces are clean and dry. With a sponge, apply neat bleach (Domestos works best) onto the copper surface. Let the bleach dry (approx. 12 hours). Reapply till you get the patina colour you want.

Hard Boiled Eggs

To make the copper "green", place them in a plastic bag with crushed hard boiled eggs. Tie up bag and leave overnight.

Harpic

To achieve a spotted, acid-washed look, use Harpic (toilet cleaner).

1. Wipe copper with a cloth that has been wet with Harpic
2. Leave for a day.
3. Gently was off. Do not scrub or rub as that might remove the patina formation powder.
4. Let dry. Then protect with clear lacquer.

Liver of Sulphur

Liver of Sulphur is available as a dilute, ready to use liquid, or a crystal-like solid that can be diluted in water. It is now readily available from a number of sites so you can just Google for it. You can also try chemist stores or garden centers.

Liver of Sulphur (or Potassium Polysulphide), when using in crystal-like solid form, can be easily dissolved in water. Use about the size of your smallest thumbnail in 600ml of water. It is used to produce light brown to black patina, depending on how diluted it is. Less water = darker color.

Protecting the Antique Finish

After the antiquing process, you can seal the antique finish using beeswax. Prepared beeswax like Johnson's Wax can be applied directly using a clean. lint-free soft cloth.

You can also try floor wax or a clearcoat.

WIRE How To

WIRE How To

Tips and Tricks to Wire Up

Wire work (or wirework) is an interesting, diverse, and expanding field. If you are a beginner, it often feels over-whelming. All those terms and jargon. All the things you need to know to be able to tame your wire to do what it is told. Here we hope to bring more and more wire tips, tricks, and how to so that you and your jewelry wire become better friends.

Straighten Wire

Straighten Wire

Tips and Tricks: work hardening wire

The jewelry wire you buy often comes coiled (as in spools). There are times when it is just handy to have a straight piece of wire to work with - like if you were contemplating making some ear wires.

There is a very simple way to straighten wire as well as make them stronger.

1) Uncoil a short length of wire. Grip one end tightly with a flat nose plier. Tip: use pliers with non-serrated jaws so that you don't mark the wire.
2) With a second set of pliers, grip a point along the wire - away from the first one. The distance apart should be approximately the length you would like to straighten. Pull both pliers away from each other with some strength. You should feel the wire straightening. This work hardens [definition] the wire.
3) You should now end up with a usable, strong, straight piece of wire.

---

Go back to top of Straighten Wire

---