How To…

How To: Threading the Needle

You could always close your eyes and poke, hoping it actually makes it thru the hole, but the easiest way for many people to thread those small eyes is to pinch the thread between your thumb and forefinger, then slide the needle with the eye facing up between those two fingers. The thread has nowhere to go but into the eye.

It can take a little practice, but it does work well. Another trick is to put chapstick on your lips, then pass the thread through your lips, coating a small amount of wax on the thread eliminating the thread from splitting. Thread has a grain, just like fabric, and so you should thread your needle in the direction the thread comes off the spool. It really decreases tangles and knots.

How Do I Keep From Getting Knots in My Thread?

Beeswax or Thread Heaven(tm) work well for coating your thread and making it slicker. It also helps to work with a shorter length of thread. Always stretch thread before you use it.

Cutting Wire

Always hold both sides of the wire when cutting it, the small pieces are very sharp and will easily get stuck in shoes, bear feet, or dogs pads.

Cutting Out a Bead in the Middle of a Pattern

Slide a needle in the hole of the bead hugging the top of the hole, then cut the bead gently using the needle as a top guide. The needle will eliminate the broken bead from cutting the thread.

Tools

Round Nose Pliers: used to form wire into loops
Flat Nose Pliers or Chainnose Pliers: used to hold, flatten, bend and open jumprings
Crimpers: Used to crimp crimpbeads on soft-flex wire.
Tweezers: Used to tie knots in thread
Wire cutters: used to cut wire or soft-flex wire
Beads Design Board: used to measure projects, view projects before stringing and keep beads in place
Velvet Pads: used to keep beads in place, and provide a soft background

Crimping

Crimp beads are most often used when stringing a beaded piece, which has been strung with beading wire. The crimp beads finish the end of the beaded piece of and help create a loop for the clasp to be attached to We recommend Soft-Flex Wire for use with tubular crimp tubes.

There are two kinds of crimp beads: tube shaped and round shaped. The tube shaped crimp beads are most often available in sterling or gold-filled, while the round are normally made of base metal. While it’s all a matter a taste and preference, I have to say that I have found the tube shaped crimp beads to be much easier to work with. So, if you are new crimping, I would recommend starting with tubes.

To Attach a Crimp, Follow These Steps

  1. First hold the handles together, and take a look at the nose of the pliers. You’ll notice two holes in the nose. The first is oval shaped, and the second is oval with a dip on one side.
  2. Now take your crimp bead, and slip it onto the end of the beading wire.
  3. Next, take the end of the wire and loop it back through the crimp bead leaving a small amount of extra wire as a tale.
  4. Position the crimp bead and thread in the second oval of the pliers (the one with the dip), and close the pliers around the bead. You’ll see it curl.
  5. Next, position that same crimp bead in the first oval, and close the pliers around the crimp bead again so that you’re flattening the curled bead.
  6. Once your crimp bead is secure, trim off excess thread. Now you have a good loop that can be used to hold your clasp.

Tips