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Choosing bead stringing materials for your project…
Some people have strong preferences for the bead stringing materials they prefer to use when making their jewelry. I recommend playing around with different materials to find what you like using, but I thought I would share my thoughts on my preferred bead stringing threads. Please note that this blog post contains affiliate links.
I was inspired to write this post after finding this broken bracelet…
This bracelet was made from elastic thread tied to a jump ring at each end. When I found it, the elastic had broken or come undone at one end and there were beads spread all over the ground. I picked a few up to see if I could reuse them.
1: Beading elastic
Here’s where I introduce the first stringing material that I’ll be discussing here, clear beading elastic. There are a few pros and cons to using elastic, one pro is that it is easy to secure the ends closed and that elastic beaded bracelets are easy to put on, they stretch over your hand so you don’t have to fiddle with any clasps. A downside (a big one in my opinion) is that elastic isn’t very hardwearing or sturdy. Elastic stretches out and loses its elasticity over time, it can also snap or untie easily, so you end up with the situation pictured above.
If you want to try out beading on elastic, you can follow our tutorial for making a beaded elastic bracelet here. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, I’ve got some more bead stringing information for you below…
2: Tiger Tail wire
Another material that I often use for stringing beads is tiger tail wire. Tiger tail is a metal wire coated with nylon. It is flexible and can be bent into shapes. I find tiger tail wire a much stronger and sturdy material for beading compared to elastic. There are also a couple of cons to using tiger tail, you need a few more materials and tools to use it, and if you crease it, it is hard to get it back to its previous shape.
I have LOTS of tiger tail tutorials, so here’s one of my favorites that you can try out.
3: Nylon thread
A third bead stringing option is using nylon beading thread. This method is probably the most traditional and is useful when you are using delicate bead materials like pearls. Thread allows you to create knots between beads so that they don’t rub together on each other, knotting also means that if your piece does break, the beads won’t fall off and fly everywhere!
The downside of bead stringing onto nylon thread is that it can be a bit fiddly to work with and you need to use a needle to add beads to the string. Here’s a tutorial that shows you how to create a simple beaded necklace using nylon string.
Which bead stringing material do you like best?
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How to Make an Elastic Bracelet… Seriously, It’s so Easy!
Beading elastic is great for putting together quick, cheerful stacking bracelets. No extra findings are required for this design, all you need are some beads and your elastic and you are good to go! These elastic bracelets are so easy to make you’ll be churning them out. This design is pretty kid friendly too, they’ll have fun threading all sorts of beads together.
You will need the following tools and materials to make this elastic bracelet:
1: Scissors. You will need scissors to cut your elastic to length and again to trim the ends.
2: Beading elastic.
3: Beads of your choice. I used a selection of blue glass beads.
The Steps:
1: Cut a piece of elastic. Wrap it around your wrist to check the length and make sure to cut it a little longer than you need so that you can tie the ends together.
2: Begin adding beads. I started by threading my feature bead and then adding the rest either side.
3: Continue beading until your bracelet is at your desired length.
4: Tie the ends of a bracelet into a knot. You can do a double knot here if you like.
5: Trim the excess elastic using the scissors.
6: Now your bracelet is complete! How easy was that? Make a stack and pile them on both arms.
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Jewelry Wire
Tiger Tail Wire
Tiger tail wire is a special coated wire that maintains its shape very well. It is often used in DIY jewelry to create flexible beaded strands for necklaces and bracelets. I like using tiger tail wire when I make necklaces, bracelets and anklets.
Here is an example of one of our tutorials that uses tiger tail wire: A beaded necklace with a pendant.
Jewelry Wire
Here’s how to use jewelry wire to make earrings
Here is how you can use some thin wire in your designs: Beaded flower studs
Jewelry wire comes in different many different thicknesses. It is usually quite malleable and will easily hold any shape you form it into. Jewelry wire can be used in DIY jewelry in place of tiger tail wire or to make your own head pins and other findings such as jump rings.
Memory Wire
Memory wire is wire that holds a circular shape. It comes in different sizes that you can use to make DIY necklaces, bracelets and rings.
Here’s how you can make a memory wire ring
And here is how you can make a memory wire bracelet
Elastic
Elastic can be used in DIY jewelry place of wire to make bead strands for necklaces and bracelets. Beading elastic can be easily tied and stretches so that no clasps are required in your designs, however, it tends to wear out faster than jewelry made with beading wire. Believe me, it isn’t fun trying to save your beads when your elastic decides to break!
