Stringing beads is one of those simple pleasures in life that almost anyone can enjoy. It doesn’t require a lot of skill to begin, but when it comes to making beaded jewelry, it certainly can’t hurt to have some experience under your belt! Start with simple patterns and once you’ve mastered the basics, go to more advanced patterns. From there, it won’t be long before you’re making beautiful jewelry that anyone would love to wear!



To get started making bead jewelry, you need a few supplies and tools. Costs depend upon the materials used in making the beads, and the delightful variety of kinds and colors of beads is incredibly tempting! But don’t jump into buying those beautiful but costly hand-painted beads or exquisite but costly handmade silver or gold beads just yet! Instead, start by making simple wooden or plastic pony bead bracelets or necklaces. They’re large enough to easily handle and will help you learn how to use pliers tweezers and jeweler’s needles. Children love the colorful pony beads, and almost everyone loves a chunky-cool wooden bead bracelet and necklace set, so they make great gifts! You’ll also need at least one pair of round-nosed pliers, a crimping tool, clasps, wire cutters, string or wire and needles.

In choosing stringing materials, some work better with certain beads than others. For instance, it’s better to use jeweler’s wire for stringing crystal, gemstone, quartz and other beads that may have burrs inside the holes, or rough edges around them, that can fray or cut string. If you want to use thread or string, try the beautifully colored silks that work best with wooden, or pearl beads, and other beads with small holes. Never use silk threads with glass beads and it isn’t highly recommended for stones or other abrasive beads. Nylon and other synthetic threads can be used with almost any type of bead. Their biggest drawback is that unless carefully attached to clasps and fasteners (called findings), nylon thread knots work loose and spill the beads. The best way to prevent this is to use a tightly coiled wire called French wire, through which the thread is run, for securely attaching findings to synthetic threads. Needles for stringing beads come in various sizes of straight needles with large eyes and curved jeweler’s needles. You should keep several on hand, because, like any needle, they are easily lost or broken.

There is nothing quite as frustrating as having a nearly completed piece of jewelry and find that you don’t have enough beads to finish! This is why you should buy all the project beads and supplies you need, plus a few extra beads and needles, at once. When you buy everything you need at once, you eliminate the chance of not being able to get more beads at crafts or discount stores because they are sold out, or that you will have to wait a few days for a warehouse shipment to arrive. Buying from crafts and discount department stores is handy in a pinch, but you pay for that “convenience." A far better way to purchase beads and other jewelry supplies is through a crafts supplies wholesaler. An Internet search will turn up dozens of crafts supplies wholesalers, but you should take time to comparison shop, because some who claim to be wholesalers are actually retailers in disguise. Buying from an online wholesaler is the quickest, easiest and, often, least expensive way to purchase bead jewelry supplies. You have the advantage of being able to comparison shop, browse at leisure, order and pay for your supplies all from your home PC!

It’s important to have a dedicated workspace for jewelry making, preferably located where you won’t be distracted by children, pets and anything else that might break your concentration. You need a high, sturdy work table or bench and a comfortable chair or stool. Sufficient lighting is essential to lessen eyestrain from close work with small objects. Some people prefer segmented drawers, but sealable plastic trays or containers are fine for keeping beads organized and within easy reach. You may find that you like using a beading board; it holds your bead strands in place, has side rulers for easy measuring and usually has a small well or two to keep the beads you’re working with at your fingertips.