Beading threads

If you've ever stood in a bead shop (or scrolled through an online bead shop) staring at the thread options wondering which one to pick, you're not alone. Thread choice can feel overwhelming at first, but once you understand what each one does well, it starts to make a lot of sense. Let's walk through the main types I have experience with and when I reach for each one.

Nymo

Nymo is probably the most widely known beading thread, and for good reason — it's affordable, widely available, and comes in a huge range of colours. It's a nylon thread that works well for loom work and off-loom stitches like peyote and brick stitch. The one thing to know about Nymo is that it can be prone to twisting, tangling and fraying so I'd recommend running it through beeswax or thread conditioner before you start. This was the thread I learnt to bead with. 

KO Thread

KO is a Japanese nylon thread that I have a  soft spot for. It's finer and smoother than Nymo, which means it passes through small bead holes easily — brilliant for anything requiring multiple thread passes. It has a lovely drape and doesn't tangle or fray as much as Nymo in my experience. If you're doing intricate work with size 15 seed beads, KO is worth trying. It's a little pricier, but for the right project it's absolutely worth it.

One-G

One-G is another Japanese nylon thread, similar to KO but with a slightly different texture and feel. Where KO is very smooth, One-G has a subtle grip to it, which some beaders find helps keep tension more consistent. I find the two fairly interchangeable for most projects, but I tend to prefer One-G for beading which requires a bit of structure — that gentle grip seems to help the beads sit just right.

Fireline

Fireline is a braided fishing line that was adopted by the beading community, and honestly, it's easy to see why. It's incredibly strong, resistant to fraying, and holds its shape well — which makes it a great choice for more structural work or anything using heavier beads. It doesn't need conditioning and it's very resistant to abrasion which makes it perfect for working with crystals and pearls which can have sharp edges. The trade-off is that it has a bit less drape than a nylon thread, so for delicate or flexible pieces it can feel a little stiff. 

Fireline mainly comes in two colours - crystal (white) and smoke (black). It also comes in different thicknesses or weights - depending on what size fish you want to catch!  If you buy Beadsmith branded Fireline, 4lb is fine, and good for multiple thread paths, 6lb is good for everyday beading and 8lb is sturdy and really only suitable if you're not using size 15 seed beads. 
I tend to buy my fireline from a fishing supply shop, and my preferred thread is Fireline Thermally Fused Tough 0.10mm, and honestly this is my favourite go to thread. 

So Which Should You Choose?

Here's a quick rule of thumb I go by:

For everyday seed bead stitching without many crystals or bead embroidery: KO or One-G

For heavy beads, structural pieces or anything with a lot of crystals: Fireline

For loom work or when you're on a budget: Nymo

For tiny beads with tight holes: KO or a fine fireline

There are lots of other threads out there, wildfire, SoNo, durathread, S-lon to name but a few, but I don't have experience working with these, so I can't give an honest review of them. 

Honestly, the best thing you can do is try them all on a small project and see which one feels right in your hands. Every beader ends up with their own preferences, and yours might be completely different from mine — and that's totally fine!

For years, KO and One-G were my favourites, and now I almost exclusively use Fireline. Do you have a favourite thread I haven't mentioned? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

Lime Surprise

This was originally published on mrspicklefish.blogspot.com on 1st January 2014

As a beader, I've always shied away from fringing.  Don't know why - it's just one of those things that I've been fearful of.   In the last few months, I've got over my fear of it.

Another thing I've never done, is make individual bead embroidery elements and link them together... until now! 

Before Christmas, I bought some gorgeous vintage cabochons from a shop called Rosebudlia; she sells a beautiful selection of cabs and other goodies.  I decided to put these cabs to use for another beading first - joining embroidery elements.

I decided that five elements would look best, and surprisingly, I had the right colours in my stash, so this was quite a stash-buster too!

This is what the finished necklace looked like, and here is me wearing it - so you can see how it sits.

It's just my opinion, but when making a piece like this, involving no metal components in the design, the best way to finish it off is to make a beaded clasp.  I love beaded toggle clasps - and the circular motifs in this lend themselves to a toggle clasp. 

 This shows a close-up of the beautiful cabs I used - they reminded me of ammonites, and the little bits of glitter in them give them a bit of sparkle.

One other slightly odd thing about this piece is that I actually used bugles in it.  Usually I don't use them as they are often sharp at the ends and can cause threads to fray and break, but these matte ones are very nice, and they work well in fringing.

I'd love to hear what you think about this latest piece of beading... I'm very excited about it, and I'm looking forward to using this technique more.

Peacocks & Presents

Initially published on mrspicklefish.blogspot.com 20th November 2013

A friend of mine has been very good to me over the last 8 months - she's been there for support and a shoulder to cry on when I've needed one.

She has often commented how much she likes the jewellery I make - but not the colours I usually work with.  I must admit that I do have a comfort zone with the colours I work with - earthy tones, lots of pinks and golds.  My friend likes brights, jewel colours and the like.

I wanted to make her something special, to say thanks for the support she has given me, and as a gift for Christmas, so I decided to take the plunge into some peacock tones - just for her.

The cab I used was a 'swap', but I really can't remember who made it, so I can't credit them, unfortunately, but it is beautiful.  My friend also has a nickel allergy, so this needed to have a non-metallic clasp - I finished it with a beaded toggle clasp.

So here it is - my Peacock necklace.

Beaded Bag - the final instalment!

It is around 10 months since I started making my beaded bag - for the express purpose of using on my wedding day.  I finished it two weeks ago.

I didn't spend the whole 10 months working on it... I've guesstimated that it has taken me around 300 hours. So, 300 hours, about £200 of beads and I'm left with something I'm immensely proud of.  I can't wait to walk down the aisle to marry my wonderful man, and I can't wait to show off my sparkly bag, either!
This has been the largest project I've attempted, it's been challenging, and I now know I wouldn't attempt a project like this in the same way again... I won't go through the ins and outs of what I'd do differently, but there are a few things that would have made it easier.  

I think the most surprising part of this project was how much thread it consumed... 5 whole reels of KO!

The really special piece on this bag is a cab made by my good friend, and wonderful artist/designer Donna Sanders with our names, and the date of our wedding on.
The bag is predominantly stitched in boucle stitch, which gives the depth to the bag.  It also adds to the weight!  This little beauty weighs well over half a pound.

The strap for the bag is made with bead crochet - which gives it real flexibility and strength, it can also be tucked into the bag to use it just as a clutch bag.

I'm looking forward to sharing pictures of the big day with you all, so you can see all the little beaded accessories I have made.

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Beaded Bag 3 and Pay if Forward

So, another update on the beaded bag... I've not posted for ages, but I've not done anything to my bag for ages either; I'm catching up on what I've done over the past month or so!

So, I've moved on from beading around the sparkles, to filling in the spaces in between, and I have branched out and tried a new stitch... boucle stitch.  It is essentially a lot of little picots, so it adds amazing texture.  Yes, it uses more beads, and is going to make the handbag exceptionally heavy, but I think you'll agree it's worth it!

This is the first shot which actually gives you an idea of what the finished bag will look like.  Full of sparkles, fresh-water pearls, and other shiny bits and pieces.  I've now decided that I won't be having flowers on my wedding day, and this is going to be in their place.

On to the Pay it Forward...
On the blog of a very good friend, she offered the chance for three lucky people to receive a handmade gift from her in the next 365 days, on the condition that they offered people the same chance, either on their blog or facebook.  I was lucky enough to be one of the three... so I am giving you the chance to receive something handmade from me.  The first three people to comment on this post saying they would like to take part in this will be the recipients.   

The handmade thing doesn't have to be jewellery, it could be a handmade card, a painting or sketch, a cake... anything really, as long as it's made by you!

Beaded Bag Part 2

So, it's been a couple of weeks since I posted the progress on my beaded bag... I have made a bit of progress!

First off, I've removed one of the chatons that I had initially attached... I just didn't like the way it looked.  I knew that I wanted to make the rest of the chatons stick up less from the surface of the bag... so I have developed a new way of beading them!  Instead of making a quick bezel for the chaton, and sewing it onto the backing, I've started doing more beading around them, then sewing the whole component on.

This component is an 8mm chaton, surrounded by several rows of circular peyote, then a ring of 4mm bicones, in 4 different shades of white and crystal... then a few rows of embroidery in gilt-lined opal.

This is possibly my favourite component on the whole bag... a 12mm rivoli , with a ring of 3mm bicones in rose-water opal around the edge of it

This element is super-sparkly, surrounded by antique rose swarovski bicones, with little gold size 15s highlighting the end of the crystals.

A light-colarado topaz chaton is at the centre of this element, with plenty of rose-water opal bicones surrounding the circular peyote piece holding the chaton in place.

The chaton in this piece is surrounded by tiny 2mm pearls and dusky pink size 11s.  Somehow, it looks to be spiraling out from the centre of the chaton, which I really like.

These are the remaining sparkles that I have left to attach to the backing, two of them have already been beaded around, but the others have yet to be started.

I did go on a little sparkle-buying splurge, and bough some more crystals to go on the bag - two pale gold swarovski pearl cabs, some 24k gold plated fire-polish crystals, and some 3mm crystals in rose-water opal and crystal AB.  This bag is going to be so bling by the time I finish with it!

This is my current progress... I really need to get going with it - every time  look at it, I realise just how much beading there is to do between the sparkles!

Beaded bag part 1

At the moment, I am planning my wedding. I'm lead to believe it's quite a stressful thing to do... 

We would like our wedding to be as quirky as us, and part of that is basing it on a handmade theme. We would like as much as possible to be handmade and individual, preferably made by us, or people we care about.

One thing I decided I would like to make for the wedding is a small beaded clutch bag to keep my essentials in... such as my asthma inhaler.  I've never made anything like this before, and I've certainly never attempted a project this big.  I thought it would feel daunting, but I'm so excited about it, I'm enjoying it without feeling worried about the scale of it.

I've seen some bead embroidered bags before on the internet, and from what I can work out, they've been based on an existing bag. The way I'm making mine is to use a plastic mesh bag frame as the base. I've drawn the shape out on some blackout curtain lining, and I am embroidering onto that.

The first step was to decide on a rough design for the bag... I knew I wanted it to be mainly white, but with hints of gold and pale pink. I also knew I wanted a lot of sparkle in it, so I put together a selection of swarovski rivolis and chatons in crystal, crystal AB, rose-water opal and light colarado topaz. I scattered these over the bag template and shifted them around until I had a distribution I was happy with... and then I marked which stone went where.

I've started beading bezels around the swarovski stones, then sewing them onto the backing and embroidering around them.
I am so excited with the progress so far... but I know there is a very long way to go.  I will keep updating photos on this so you can see the progress.

Beaded birdie!

My last post was about a little robin I had embroidered... this is only a short one, but after the really positive feedback I got on the Robin, I thought I'd try something a little different, and bead a blue tit instead.  For those of you who aren't native to the UK, blue tits are tiny little birds, which are rather partial to peanuts, and can be found in British gardens.


In a fit of craziness, I decided to bead it in size 15 beads, they're about 1.2mm  across, so they're REALLY small.  


I was very pleased with the shape of my blue tit... I am totally rubbish at drawing, so the fact that the shape I drew actually looks like a bird, and was actually recognisable as a blue tit was a real triumph!  

So, without further ado, here is my little beaded blue tit!  I hope you like him as much as I do.  I will be wearing him to work tomorrow - I turned him into a broach.

Little Robin Red-Breast

I admit it... I'm a doodler!  
Especially during meetings.  Usually, I draw all kinds of geometric things, but during a teleconference a couple of weeks ago, I drew a little bird on a green post-it.  Then I was struck with inspiration... this would make a really nice design for a bead embroidered robin!

I'm still relatively new to bead embroidery, I've only made a few pieces in the past, so this felt like it was quite ambitious to me.  I spend a couple of weeks thinking about it, and on Sunday evening, I decided to give it a go!

The ladies of my favourite facebook group gave my little Robin such a friendly welcome into the world, that I thought I'd write up how I made him (ok, so I had kind of planned to do this any way, hence all the step-by-step photos!)  At points, I got carried away, and forgot to stop to take photos... so if things jump about a bit... I apologise.

First off, I drew the outline of the bird onto my stiff-stuff, and glued the 17 x 10 mm black cherry mother of pearl oval in place, and in back-stitch, I sewed a row of metallic bronze size 11 beads around the oval.  

Next, I started on the wing.  I used a mix of matt and metallic finish beads in shades of brown, red and gold iris, working along the outline of the wing, then building up inside the wing to fill it in.  I've heard this described as 'painting with beads' and I think that's a beautiful description!

  

 The next step was to start filling in the body of the bird.  I really wanted to do this in a way that would give an idea of the the different parts of the bird... like I wanted the wing to look different to the body, and I wanted the tail to look like a tail, so this is how I built it up, initially by back-stitching another row around the shell oval.

 And then a third row, so the body met the wing.

 I then moved on to the tail, working in back stitch, two beads at a time

 Next, I decided to move to the head, and used a 3mm petrol Swarovski pearl for the eye, and  copper-lined crystal size 15 delicas for the beak

 I then continued to bead the outline of the head, and fill in the rest of the empty space.  There were a few little spaces where the size 11 beads didn't quite fit together as nicely as I would have liked, mainly because the rows were all worked in different directions, so I filled these in with some size 15 seed beads in light brown AB.

 Once the beading was finished, I trimmed around the beadwork leaving a very tiny edge of stiff-stuff all the way around.

 The next bit actually gave me a headache... but that was due to the smell of the glue!  E6000 is a favourite of bead embroiderers, but it really smells... I used it to glue the embroidery onto some ultra-suede backing.  I then cut around the beadwork, leaving about 1mm of ultra-suede all the way around the edge.

 Then, to finish it all off nicely, I used the size 15 light brown AB beads to sew a brick-stitch edge all the way round.

I am going to turn this into a hair clip... or a brooch... I'm not sure which.  I think I'd wear it more as a hair clip.

A member of the facebook group I mentioned earlier suggested that I tried making some other British birds... which led to a great deal of hilarity.... and a conversation which I shan't repeat on here.

I'd like to say a big thank you to all the lovely ladies from OTTBS who have really made my evening, and who make beading, and tacking my stash great fun!

OTTBS Beaded Earring Challenge (week 1)

I belong to a beading group on facebook, and several of us have accepted the challenge to make a pair of earrings a week - for the whole of 2012... I must be mad... but if I stick to it, I'll have 52 new pairs of earrings by the end of the year! 


No idea what on earth I am going to do with 52 pairs of earrings... hopefully sell some of them!


Following on from my last blog post about learning bead embroidery, I though I'd give myself an embroidery challenge for the first week.  So, I sat down with some stiff stiff, some blue mountain jade, some size 11 and 15 seed beads and a bit of ultra-suede and went for it!


So, here they are... my embroidered earrings.

One down... 51 to go!

Learning Bead Embroidery

This year, I have made two new years resolutions... the first is to learn bead embroidery, the second is to write more tutorials (and particularly, to finish the two I have had on the go for bloomin' ages!).

But bead embroidery is the theme today... it's something I've admired for a long time, but never had the courage to give it a try.  Thanks to some gentle persuasion from a very good beady friend, I've taken the plunge!  I didn't need to add much to my stash to get going with this... just some Stiff Stuff, some glue, and some ultra-suede.  Thanks to a de-stash sale on Etsy, I managed to buy enough ultra-suede to last a life-time for $5, and I bought some Stiff Stuff from RB Beads.  I already have a glue gun, although I'm not sure how suitable it is for this purpose, but it'll do for the while... I've also invested in some tacky-glue, which seems to work pretty nicely too!.

So, on to my first attempt.  I decided to keep it pretty free-form, and bead around a small chrysocolla cab, and add some 4mm semi-precious beads in too.
Nancy, my bead embroidery mentor, suggested that I add another row of 11s around the outside to make it easier to finish off, which I did, and finishing off something so wiggly would have been difficult!

Finishing off was something that I couldn't get my head around until after Christmas.  My boyfriend and sister bought me books on bead embroidery.  I got The Art of Bead Embroidery: Technique, Design & Inspiration by Heidi Kummli and Sherry Serafini, and Bead Embroidery by Yukiko Ogura. (My other sister bought me the Bead & Button Right-Angle-Weave Stitch Workshop book... but I'll leave that for another day!)  The books are very different, as they focus on quite different techniques.  The first, is written from two different points of view - each showing how they work certain techniques, and what materials etc they use.  It's full of project ideas from each author, and has a totally inspirational gallery at the back.  The second focuses on individual stitch techniques, showing how to make flowers, leaves, different lines, raised, textured bead work etc.  Both books are beautiful, and I am very grateful to have received them... I just need to find the time to play with all the techniques, and the inspiration to make beautiful things with the techniques.

Do any of you readers do bead embroidery?  I'm curious to find out any hints and tips etc, Is it better to embroider on stiff stuff or ultra-suede?  Ultra-suede feels very floppy - should I use an embroidery frame to keep it tight when I'm sewing?

I'm full of so many questions about this beautiful art - I suppose the only real way to answer them is to dive right in, and have a good old play!  Wish me luck!