DIY bead crafts: ideas for needlework

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

Today, in the era of automation and mass production, handmade products are highly valued.

This may surprise those people for whom the words hande made are associated with socks knitted by a grandmother from a loose old sweater.

Making clothes and jewelry, interior decor and gifts allows craftsmen to express their inner world and feel the magical creative flight. In addition, many beaded jewelry (you can create a real masterpiece with your own hands) become an excellent alternative to mass-produced factory jewelry.

What determines the price of materials

The reverse side of the development of technologies in the field of production can be considered a significant reduction in the cost of most goods. Huge factories, which include many workshops and production lines, can produce a large amount of products per unit of time. Its cost is reduced by reducing the time and cost of processing raw materials, manufacturing blanks and their assembly.

Natural beads today have quitelow cost precisely due to the fact that they have become much easier to produce. Escalators are used for mining, not shovels, pearls are grown in shellfish on special farms, and do not dive into the depths of the sea at the risk of life. Of course, there are also valuable stones that are relatively rare or have some unusual properties (malachite, ruby, diamond).

Bead crafts can be extremely cheap. This is especially true for those who choose plastic, wood or acrylic materials and buy them in a wholesale store.

If you want to create jewelry for an elegant or evening look (headdresses and flowers made of beads), craftswomen use glass materials, as well as elements coated with a layer of some precious metal (gold, silver, rhodium). Their value is also affected by their size, shape, cutting and polishing technology.

Types of beads

Most domestic craft stores offer a fairly standard set of materials that craftswomen use to make their own beaded jewelry. Popular ones include:

1. Plastic and acrylic.
2. Wooden.
3. Glass.
4. Ceramic.
5. From natural stones.
6. Metal.
7. Textile.

Their size and shape are extremely diverse: round, square, rectangular, drop-shaped, flat, in the form of a ring or disk, and many others. Despite all the splendor of the choice, manybead crafts have a classic design. It involves the use of round or oblong elements in discreet colors.

Decorative materials made of polymers

Plastic beads are the most inexpensive, and their assortment is the most diverse. Here you can find small items, larger ones and very huge ones. Their advantage is a small weight and a wide range.

Plastic is often used to make imitations of wood and stone materials. This simple beaded jewelry is great for kids, teens or going to the beach. This material does not get as hot in the sun as metal and does not burn the skin.

In addition, plastic can be recommended for beginner craftswomen, because cheap beads are not a pity to spoil. And when skills and experience are gained, you can make crafts from beads and other materials at a higher price.

Glass beads

Glass is one of the most rewarding materials when it comes to making beads. It allows you to create elements of literally any shape and color.

The strength and durability of such beads is much higher than plastic ones. They do not rub, do not get dirty, do not peel off. True, beaded earrings can fall and break, but a fall can be "fatal" for almost all materials.

The easiest way to find glass elements is factory production, they can be monochrome or multi-colored. But there is such a technique as “lampworking”, the adherents of which make glass beads on their own. This is an amazing craftsmanship, the result of which are unique and inimitable decorative elements. The pinnacle of art is considered to be the master's ability to enclose some miniature object (flowers, other beads, golden drops) inside a glass bead. This technique is not given to every performer.

As a rule, to make a necklace of handmade beads, just a few of these elements are enough. They are placed in the product, combined with simpler materials (glass or natural). If the craftswoman wants to get an interesting jewelry and at the same time save money, the best option would be to buy two identical elements to create earrings.

Natural beads: types and uses

When you set out to buy beads of natural origin, you will find that there are three types of decorative stones:

• Whole.
• Pressed.
• Artificial.

The first ones were really mined from the bowels of the earth, cut and polished. This is the most expensive type of stones.

Compressed material is obtained by mixing fragments and dust left after the processing of mined stones with an adhesive solution. The resulting substance is subjected to high pressure, resulting in a substance similar in appearance and characteristics to the original fossil.

Artificial stones are entirely man-made. Chemicals are mixed at the factorysubstances from which natural stones are formed in nature, and at times speed up the process. In this way, not only turquoise, amethysts and other semi-precious materials are made, but even diamonds.

When natural stones are cut, waste (chipped and cut fragments) inevitably occurs. If they are large enough to be dusted, but not large enough to be cut, they are ground and sold as a chip. This is the cheapest type of natural materials for needlewomen. Skol is used to make beads, necklaces, earrings and rings. It is also actively used for the manufacture of interior crafts (paintings, trees of happiness and others).

Ceramic beads are a good alternative to natural beads. However, their disadvantage can be considered heaviness and fragility.

Stone jewelry

Crafts made from beads of natural origin have a specific design and characteristic appearance. As a rule, manufacturers of such materials emphasize the layered structure of the stone and its uneven color.

True, there are stones whose color is extremely even and uniform (quartz, amber, some types of agate and other materials). When cut, they are very similar in appearance and weight to glass.

A bead necklace often contains such an element as a cabochon. This is a large decor with a flat base and a processed front side. Cabochons are attached to some kind of base, and around the edge they are braided with beads or enclosed in a metal frame. This is a classic medallion.

Wooden Bead Jewelry

Wood is one of the most malleable materials. Anything is made from it, including beads. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors.

In the wake of the craze for ethnicity and folk style, wooden beads are in high demand. They are used for earrings, beads, necklaces, bracelets, as well as for accessories (belts, bag handles, various fasteners).

These materials for creativity have a low cost, because wood is easy to process and paint. In addition, it is quite light.

Such beads can be used for creative activities with children, as well as for making slingo bus. Wood goes well with bone, some types of stones and plastic elements in matching colors.

Jewellery accessories

When working with beads, that is, with decorative elements that have a hole, it is impossible to do without several tools and auxiliary materials. In the simplest case, you will need a string and a needle of the appropriate size for stringing.

However, for creating more complex items (necklace, earrings, bracelet with clasp, beaded hair ornaments) will come in handy:

1. Pliers, round nose pliers and wire cutters.
2. Scissors and needles.
3. Basic for beads and bracelets: cord, thread, fishing line, string, plain or "memory" wire, rubber band.
4. Earring blanks(earrings).
5. Basic metal fittings (studs and hinges, rings of different sizes, stoppers).
6. Clasps.
7. Additional decorative items that match the color and style (beads, beads, buttons, etc.).

How to make a simple bracelet

In order to make such a bracelet, as in the picture below, you should prepare the following materials:

1. One large bead.
2. Medium-sized elements as the main material (turquoise in this case).
3. Medium size beads with contrasting color (red).



4. Small metallic elements to dilute the haze of the product and add a little shine to it.
5. Very small beads (can be beads). Its color can be the same as that of one of the base materials (turquoise or red), interspersed with beads of metallic shades (gold, silver, copper or bronze) also look good.

Fittings to be used in the work: jewelry string, metal rings and clips for tips, clasp.

Start making a bracelet

Three fragments should be cut from the coil of string, the length of each of them should correspond to the girth of the wrist, minus two centimeters for the clasp.

Connect the ends of the segments and secure with a retainer. Then string beads on each piece of the string in the order shown in the photo. Cancome up with your own scheme. It is best to start with small beads, then move on to medium-sized elements.

When all three segments are ready, they should be threaded into one of the middle beads, and then into a large one. Next, you need to repeat the order of the set of beads in a mirror order.

Shutting down

When the previous stage is completed, you should proceed to the final stage: collecting the product and fastening the fastener. It is important to observe a few points here:

• Avoid loose string fragments (no beads).
• Don't overtighten the bracelet or it will be too tight.
• Do not drop the entire structure, as it will instantly shatter into components that will have to be taken out from under the sofa and chairs.

Having connected the ends of the string, they are cut with wire cutters, then put on and fasten the retainer. The last step is the clasp.

Here is such a simple way to make a bracelet from beads of different sizes.