The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beading Basics: Easy-to-Follow Photos and Illustrations Guide You Through Wirework, Embellishing

Part 1

The Venerable, Adaptable Bead

Those little things with holes will launch you into worlds of fun and imagination. But first you might like to know more about them. Where do they come from? Why have people throughout time and across the world valued these little nuggets? Where can you find them, and how do you choose from so many?

I’ll answer these questions and more in Part 1. You’ll learn about the history of the bead, ways to choose the right ones, what tools and accessories you’ll need to work with them, and some basic principles of design and style.

When you’re done with these chapters, you’ll have all the background you need to start down the beading path!

Chapter 1

Beads, Beads, Everywhere!

In This Chapter

• A brief history of beads and their uses

• Common bead materials, types, and styles

• Some helpful measurements

• Sources for finding beads

• Setting up your beadin’ cap

Beading is one of the fastest-growing hobbies today. What gets so many people started playing with beads? Many times it’s the desire to repair a treasured piece of jewelry, or sometimes it’s not being able to find just the right accessory for a special outfit.

I started beading when I decided I was spending too much for simple earrings. I like having a lot of choices and often couldn’t find exactly what I wanted at a price I wanted to pay. I took a beginning wirework class at a local bead shop, and I was hooked.

What makes a bead a bead? If I asked you for a definition of the word bead, you’d probably reply with something such as A bead is a small object with a hole in it for stringing. That sounds like a pretty good definition to me. Beads are most commonly round, but they can also be a tube, barrel, disc, or some other unusual shape. Even buttons can be used as beads. If it has a hole through it and is not too big or heavy, you most likely can use it as a bead!

But beads are so much more than just pretty pieces of glass you string together and wrap around your wrist or stitch on a sweater. Let’s take a look at some of the various roles beads have held through the years.

Beads Throughout History

Of course you’ll find beads used in jewelry from necklaces to earrings to bracelets to anklets, as decoration, or as part of changing fashion. But they’re also found throughout the world in head decorations, on garments, and even on furniture coverings. And that’s not all …

A-BEAD-C’S

The word beadis derived from the Anglo-Saxon bidden, which means to pray, and bede, which means prayer.

The history of beads is the story of man’s ingenuity. In times past, many cultures used beads to pay for goods and services, express social status, embody religious beliefs, and ward off envy or malice. A bead is a symbol of culture and tradition, and it’s an object of awe and respect—that’s a lot to pack into a little bead!

In primitive cultures, beads set people apart and also showed where or to whom they belonged. Certain bead patterns showed which tribe an individual belonged to, and slight variations within that pattern indicated a person’s position within that tribe.

Beads have been used as currency and even mathematical tools. String together beads of a uniform size, and you’ve got an abacus. In Africa, for example, beads were brought by Venetian merchants mostly to trade for gold in the thirteenth century, hence the name African trade beads or money beads. Wampum, beads made from various seashells by Native American tribes, were used more specifically to seal treaties and agreements.

Beads have been used as ritual offerings, worn for their healing powers, and offered as part of prayer and religious worship. The religions of nearly two thirds of the world’s population use some type of prayer beads, the rosaries of the Catholic Church being a common example.

The smooth, pleasing shape and texture of some beads can be calming to the touch. Worry beads are still used in Greece and Turkey, and even some Westerners have discovered worry beads as a means to relieve stress and aid in meditation.

Many cultures thought beads became charged with the essence of the person who wore them, and particular materials were believed to have special magical powers. Beads were often buried with the person who owned them, which is why so many beads from antiquity have survived today. It was believed that these personal possessions had some supernatural power to help the owner on his or her way to the afterlife and offer comfort when he or she got there. The rarer the material and the more complex the artistry, the more valuable the beads and the more helpful in the hereafter.

FINDINGS

Walk into any bead shop, and hold on because you’re about to take a mini-trip around the world. You’ll travel to China, India, Germany, Bali, the Czech Republic, Italy, Africa, and many other exotic places. Vintage and antique beads will even add time travel to your journey.

Precious and Everyday: What Beads Are Made Of

Some of the first beads were found objects, stumbled upon by our ancestors as they traveled over the landscape in the course of their daily quest for survival. One can almost imagine the first time someone took a stone or shell with a hole worn through it, threaded it on a piece of dried sinew or cordage, and tied a knot.

Among the first natural materials used as beads were stones with worn holes, seeds, berries, corn kernels, nuts, fossilized shells and sea animals with natural holes, cloves, porcupine quills, grasses, tortoise shells, hard beetle shells, claws, bones, snake vertebrae and rattles, tusks, beans, husks, horn, bamboo, bark, stems, cork, eggshells, and whole eggs.

KNOTS!

Some natural materials can be toxic if ingested. Certain berries and beans are of particular concern. Most adults would be unlikely to put such things in their mouths, but children are known to put everything in theirs! Be careful if you use such objects in your beadwork.

Throughout history, when new technologies came into being, beads were often one of the first items produced. Bronze and iron were first used to make weapons, tools, and—that’s right—beads! When glass was invented, it was used right away to make beads.

Let’s take a closer look at materials used for beads past and present—and the endless possibilities you have to enhance your beadwork!

Mother Nature’s Handiwork

Coral Coral is formed from the skeletons of small marine polyps that can grow on each other to make what look like branches and twigs. Bright-red coral is the most prized, followed by pink coral. Black coral is a very rare and protected form. Many coral reefs have been overfished, so divers have to go deeper to find good coral, which has driven up the cost. Pollution is also a problem, damaging or even killing coral in some areas. Inferior coral can sometimes be enhanced artificially, so be aware of that when you buy.

Coral can be used whole or cut into branched sections and drilled or made into beads. Coral lookalikes include carnelian, jasper, bauxite, glass, porcelain, dyed bone, shell or ivory, carved plastic, and polymer clay. To spot real coral, look through a magnifying glass for a woodlike grain. If you think a piece has been dyed, rub it with acetone and a clean cloth to see if any color will come off.

KNOTS!

Because some natural materials can be expensive, simulated forms are usually available. Recognizing real from fake can be a real challenge.

Amber Although technically not a stone, amber does sometimes look like one. Amber dates back to 50 million years B.C.E. and is fossilized resin from a type of pine tree found in the Baltic region, Sicily, and some parts of South America. Linked to the sun in ancient symbolism because of its color, amber can vary from yellow to deep brown and can be transparent or opaque. Amber is also very lightweight.

Animals that became trapped in the pine resin as it hardened made these pieces highly prized in ancient times. Amber also becomes electrically charged when rubbed, giving it a magical quality.

Be careful not to confuse amber with other lightweight materials such as copal resin, ambroid (melted pieces of amber), horn, or plastic.

Jet This black, shiny fossilized coal was once used extensively in Victorian mourning jewelry and to embellish nineteenth-century mourning attire. The best jet comes from Whitby, on the Yorkshire coast of England.

Ebony and bog oak are sometimes mistaken for jet. If you see a grain, you’ve got bog oak, not jet. Small black faceted beads are usually glass.

All That Glitters …

Pearls Linked to the moon in ancient symbolism, pearls form naturally inside the pearl oyster. They can also be cultured on a pearl farm in a controlled environment to assure uniformity. Pearls can be dyed, but natural pearls come in colors ranging from creamy-white to pinkish, gold, blue-gray, and even black. Irregularly shaped natural pearls are called baroque.

Simulated pearls vary in quality; the best are made of glass with a pearl-like coating. To tell the difference between natural and simulated pearls, rub the pearl on a tooth. A real pearl will make a grating sound; an imitation pearl is completely smooth.

FINDINGS

For an amazing source of more than you ever wanted to know (or maybe not) about minerals, check out the alphabetical listings at webmineral.com.

Semi-precious stones Also known as gemstones, semi-precious stones are widely used in beadwork. There are too many to list here, but do become aware of them as you get into beadwork. Studying precious and semi-precious stones and minerals is fascinating! They are full of lore and symbolism, not to mention beauty.

Gemstones come in round beads, ovals, drops, briolettes, cabochons, and chips, plus some specialty and novelty shapes. Gemstones are often quite expensive, so you might want to string them using the individually knotted method (see Chapter 5). If the thread should break, you won’t lose many beads. Flexible wire or closed-circuit wirework are other options, because they’re stronger and less likely to break than a continuous strand of thread.

FINDINGS

As you learn about beads and gemstones, it’s helpful to find either a good bead store or a comprehensive and easy-to-understand guidebook until you feel comfortable identifying specific stones or distinguishing between good quality and just so-so. Get to know your local bead store owner or manager, and ask a lot of questions. If you don’t have a knowledgeable person to ask, one of the best guidebooks I know of is Gemstones of the World by Walter Schumann. If you don’t know your stones, you risk making some costly mistakes.

Keep these things in mind when you’re choosing semi-precious stones:

• Check the color. Gemstones can be dyed to enhance color, but these enhanced stones should be less expensive than those in their natural state. If the color is too uniform, suspect a dye job. To test if a bead has been dyed, dip a cotton swab in alcohol and run it over the bead surface. If color comes off, the bead has been dyed.

• Consider the temperature. In normal settings, stone is usually cold, glass is warmer, and plastic is warm.

• Check the weight. If a bead is very light, it’s probably plastic (although real amber is quite light). Stone is usually heavier than glass, and both are heavier than plastic.

• Test its sound. If you tap it lightly against a hard object, does it sound like the high, crisp pitch of glass, or does it have a deeper, heavier sound like stone? Plastic has a flat sound.

• Look at it more closely. If you look at a stone under magnification (I keep a small magnifying glass called a loupe with me most of the time), you should be able to see various striations and imperfections. Compare what you see to pictures in your gemstone guidebook.

The more you look and the more you learn, the better able you’ll be to distinguish one stone from another and the real thing from an imitation.

More of Mother Nature’s Handiwork

Wood Beads made of woods are among the simplest beads you can find, and turned wood beads are classic. They can be carved, painted, dyed, or stained and varnished. Wood beads are also used as the base for some beaded beads (see Chapter 16) and for making tassels.

Wood beads are versatile, and you can find novelty wood beads of all kinds, including bright, whimsical painted animals and flowers. Japan and China export some exquisitely carved wooden beads. The most common woods used for making beads are ebony, beech, rosewood, laburnum, pine, yew, holly, oak, walnut, boxwood, mahogany, and tulipwood. Sandalwood beads are also available; these have a lovely fragrance and are often used for prayer beads.

Metal Many kinds of metal are used for beads. You’ll find stamped, hammered, embossed, granulated, enameled, cloisonné, gilt, silver-plated, gold-plated, dipped, cast, and filigree choices, to name a few. Tubular silver-and gold-colored beads called liquid silver and gold make nice filler beads or can stand on their own.

Many base metal and plastic beads on the market look like metal. These might be fine for something quick that isn’t going to take a lot of time and effort to put together, but the finish of these beads rubs off in time, and you’ll be disappointed if you use them in something you’ve worked hard on. I very rarely use them. I prefer to use sterling silver, gold- or silver-plated, or brass beads in my work.

Very popular today are sterling-silver beads from Bali. These come in many different shapes, styles, and patterns and are loaded with fine detail. Bali beads work well as spacers or focal beads, depending on their size and shape.

Ceramic Clay and dried mud were among the earliest materials used to make beads, and today, ceramic beads come in many different styles and colors. Look for colorful ceramic beads from Peru, China, and Greece.

Faience Also called Egyptian paste, faience is a type of ceramic developed by the Egyptians and is made with quartz sand and a colored glaze. Faience is thought to be the forerunner of true glass. You can still buy faience beads today in Cairo and on the Internet (if you can’t make it to Cairo).

All About Glass

Glass One of the most versatile materials used in making beads is glass. Glass beads commonly come from India, Italy, and central Europe. Bohemian beads are especially desirable.

FINDINGS

The first glass factory in America was in Virginia and primarily was used to make beads to trade with the Native Americans. It was destroyed in 1622 during the Jamestown Colony massacre.

The Venetian glassworks at Murano, Italy, was a major center for glass-making during the Renaissance, and Venetian glass beads are still a favorite. Sometimes you’ll see them referred to as wedding cake beads because, like a fancy cake, they’re ornately decorated in raised fashion.

A few kinds of glass beads are worth special mention so that when you encounter them on your bead-hunting trips, you’ll know what they are:

• Swarovski crystal In 1895, Austrian Daniel Swarovski invented a way to cut large amounts of quality glass beads. His method is still a secret. Swarovski Austrian crystal beads have a high lead content and lots of sparkle. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and finishes.

• Recycled materials African tribes, particularly in Ghana and Nigeria, have specialized in making ground glass beads from recycled medicine, soda, and beer bottles. These are opaque, often have two or three colors, and are quite pretty.

• Millefiori These are glass beads with a very ornate pattern resembling bouquets of flowers (millefiori literally means 1,000 flowers in Italian). These beads originated at the Venetian glassworks in Murano, Italy. They are made from slices of multicolored glass rods called canes that are laid over a glass core and smoothed to the surface while still hot.

Here’s an example of millefiori beads and the cane used to form them.

Glass beads come in more finishes and styles than I could ever list here; however, here are a few basic types you should be familiar with:

• Aurora Borealis Written AB when labeling beads, this finish gives glass beads an iridescent look. Sometimes the finish is only on one side of the bead. Beads can be finished more than once, so sometimes you’ll see 2XAB or 3XAB referring to the number of times they’ve gone through the finish, especially on Austrian crystal beads. Compare these finishes in good light to see the difference.

• Bugle These are tube-shape and are generally available in four sizes ranging from 2mm to 35mm in length. They also come in a variety of finishes, and many are the same ones available for seed beads, so they can be combined nicely or used as spacer beads. Bugles can be straight, hex-cut, or twisted. Most bugles are made to be compatible with a size 11° diameter seed bead.

Bugle beads.

• Ceylon A ceylon finish is a pearl-like finish on an opaque bead.

• Charlotte These are basically seed beads but are cut, or faceted, on one side only. The size available is usually 13°, and the holes tend to be smaller than in other seed beads, which can make them a little harder to work with. (I use a magnifier.)

• Color-lined These beads have a solid-color core with a transparent overlay either in the same color family or two different colors.

• Dichroic This prismatic glass made of layered oxides is usually used for cabochons.

• Dyed A surface dye can be used on almost all types of beads. The color might rub off or fade over time, so you’ll want to ask about this.

• Faceted Faceted glass beads can be hand cut, polished, or molded. They can have one or more flat surfaces, giving them sparkle and shine.

• Fire polished This is glass that has been heated at an extremely high temperature and treated to give it a very clean, glossy surface. The fire polish sometimes smoothes out the bead’s faceted edges.

• Fringe Fringe beads look like tiny holiday ornaments. The bead looks like a tiny droplet with the hole going sideways through the smaller top of the bead.

• Galvanized metallic This is a shiny metallic-coated bead.

KNOTS!

Do not use galvanized metallic glass beads or metallic coated beads in a project that will see a lot of wear such as a bracelet. The coating on the bead will wear away, and you’ll be disappointed with the results. To help prevent this from happening, you can coat your finished project with clear fingernail polish or spray with Krylon, but there’s no guarantee there won’t still be some wear over time.

• Greasy The surface of this semiopaque glass (which allows light in but you can’t see through the bead) appears greasy.

• Hex cut (or hexagonal cut) This is the common cut in Japanese cylinder beads.

Hex-cut beads.

• Iridescent These beads have been given a special finish to make them look as if they were dipped in oil. They almost have a rainbow glow to them, depending on the light.

• Iris This bead has a rainbow iridescent coating, usually on dark, opaque beads.

• Japanese cylinder beads This seed or rocaille bead is typically made in Japan. The two most widely known manufacturers are Miyuki Shoji (delica) and Toho (Aida, Antiques). These beads have larger holes than typical seed beads and come in two sizes—1.5mm, or the same as a size 12° seed bead, and 3.3mm, or equal to a size 8°. The color range for these beads is enormous, and they are very uniform in shape, which makes them useful for off- and on-loom weaving techniques. Japanese cylinder beads give your finished product a uniform, blocked look.

• Lampwork These are individually crafted beads made by winding molten glass around a metal rod. The glass is heated using a small torch. Art beads are often lampwork beads, and one bead can be very expensive. These one-of-a-kind beads are usually used as a focal bead and surrounded by less-expensive beads. Lampwork beads from Venice have been highly prized throughout history. Some lampwork beads from the Czech Republic and India are made by craftsmen who have apprenticed and learned to make beads nearly exactly alike and in larger quantities.

• Luster A luster bead has a semitransparent, high-gloss coating with a pearl-like appearance.

• Matte A matte bead has a nonshiny matte finish that is accomplished by tumbling or etching a bead until it appears dull or frosted. Matte beads don’t show wear as easily as shiny beads and offer a nice contrast in many beadwork projects.

• Opaque Opaque beads are