About Wire & Bead Art
Wire and Bead Art can be a fun hobby or profitable career. Both techniques are fairly easy to do and involve minimal tools to get started. As you get more comfortable with the techniques, you make your jewelry more elaborate and can even explore patterns to make more intricate pieces of jewelry. The outcome is up to you and depends on your level of patience, amount of creativity and your budget.
Basic Beading
Beading jewelry is a relaxing craft that many people make as a hobby while others make it a living. Beading can include making necklaces, bracelets, earrings and even rings. You can make your jewelry basically by adding just a few coordinating beads or you can make it elaborate by including gemstones, matching crystal beads, separators and unique toggles.
Basic Beading Essentials
Basic beading requires just a few things including two crimp tubes, two wire guards, two crimp covers, beads, a toggle or clasp, a cutting and a crimp tool and wire. Beading wire comes in 7-, 19- or 49-strand, which tells you how many wires are twined together to create the thickness of your wire. The higher the number, the stronger the wire is, and your jewelry is less likely to break when you wear it. It comes in various colors including silver, brass and cooper. It would also be helpful to have a measuring tape and a bead board to hold the beads in place as you create your design.
Basic Wire Wrapping
Wire wrapping is a unique technique used to enhance your handmade jewelry. It can be worked into a necklace as a way to affix a gorgeous focal bead or you can wire wrap to attach smaller pieces that will dangle from your necklace. Wire wrapping can also be used to create a bracelet by forming links with the wire and adhering them together.
Basic Wire Wrapping Essentials
To start basic wire wrapping, you'll need beading wire. This beading wire is different then the beading wire mentioned in Step 3. The wire that you'll need for wire wrapping is measured in gauges, also known as thickness, rather than strands as used in basic beading. The higher the number, the thinner the wire. Wire comes in copper, sterling silver, brass and stainless steel and can be found in your local craft store or online. You also need beads to add to your wire wrap and various tools. This includes bench chain nose pliers, round nose pliers, flat nose pliers and cutters.
Other Jewelry Making Techniques
The topics we've discussed are the most popular ways to make jewelry. They allow for total creativity on the part of the designer. Other ways to make jewelry include the use of different beading stitches to create patterns--peyote stitch, right weave stitch, tubular peyote stitch, daisy chain stitch and brick stitch, to name a few. With these stitches, the jewelry maker's designs can be highly detailed. Visit the links in Resources for detailed instructions on make these stitch patterns.
