Diamond Rings

Greatest Collection of Diamonds and other Jewelry

Making your own jewelry is surprisingly easy. Get started here.

Making beaded jewelry is fun, easy and surprisingly quick.

BUY YOUR BEADS

To begin, visit a bead shop!

Of course there’s also an exciting variety of beads available on-line. If you have a

specific design idea already in mind, look around for the beads you can use. If you don’t

have any specific ideas, just let the beads inspire you.

SUPPLIES

For a simple necklace project you will need the following supplies:

1) a spool of tiger tail or jeweler’s wire

2) crimps

3) clasps

4) a pair of needle nose pliers

5) a pair of wire cutters

STANDARD NECKLACE LENGTHS

Be sure to buy sufficient beads to cover the length of necklace you want to make. There

are standard necklace lengths to guide you:

1) chokers are tight fitting necklaces worn close to the base of the neck, measuring

16-18 inches

2) princess length necklaces are 17-19 inches long

3) matinee length necklaces are 20-25 inches long

4) opera length necklaces are especially long, measuring 26-36 inches

If you’re buying your beads in a store, use the measuring boards they have available. If

you’re buying on-line, you can just do the math.

Once you have your supplies gathered you’re ready to start.

CUT YOUR WIRE

Measure a length of wire that is longer than you’ll need. It’s easier to work with more

wire than you need and you can always cut it shorter once you’re finished.

It’s best to cut a length of wire to bead, rather than beading while the wire is still on the

spool. There are a couple of reasons for this.

ATTACH A CLASP

Most necklaces clasp on the right hand side

so it’s helpful to put the clasp on first to ensure that any pendants or one-sided beads are

facing the right way. Having the clasp in place while you bead also prevents the beads

from falling off the end of the wire and spilling all over the floor!

To secure the clasp, thread the wire through a crimp. Now thread the wire through the

clasp and back through the crimp. You’ll have a loop of wire holding the clasp. Holding

the end of the wire, pull the rest of the wire to shorten the loop. When you’re happy with

the length of the loop, use your needle-nose pliers to crush the crimp on the wire,

securing the clasp.

Now you’re ready to bead!

START BEADING

If you’re working with small beads, pour some into a shallow, wide container like the lid

from the beads or a candy dish. You don’t want to be digging around in deep containers

or searching around wide plates while you’re beading. Grab a few beads with your left

hand and string them with your right.

FINISH OFF

When all your beads are strung, you need to thread the other end of the clasp just like you

did the first end. Thread the wire through a crimp, then through the clasp and back

through the crimp. Again you want to get your loop to a reasonable length but this time

you need to hold the necklace and pull the wire end. This end is always more difficult.

When you have the loop you want, or as close as you can get, crush the crimp and voila!

SHOW OFF YOUR CREATIVE GENIUS

You have a necklace for the evening.

Depending on the size of beads you use, you can make a choker or a princess length

necklace in 20-30 minutes. It’s fun to make the necklace, it’s fun to wear the necklace

and it’s fun to get compliments on your creative genius!