Sterling Silver Open Squiggle Tube Bead

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Have you ever wondered if you could make your own jewelry? The answer is, yes you can. It requires a few basic tools and furnishes and a couple of proficiencies that are comparatively easy to learn. If you have the desire to make your own jewelry, you are already half way there.

The basic tools you will need in order to string a necklace, bracelet or anklet are: chain nose pliers (they look like needle nose pliers, but do not have cross hatching on the inner surface of the jaws) and semi-flush cutters (wire cutters). You might also find a crimp bead tool to be valuable, but it is not perfectly necessary. It makes a neater crimp, but is a little trickier to use than chain nose pliers.

The basic furnishes you will need are: flexible stringing wire (some persons refer to it as cable); crimp beads and clasps (lobster claw, hook and eye, toggle, box, etc.). By far, the easiest way to manufacture a piece of jewelry is with cable and crimp beads. You do not need needles, threads, glues and bead tips. You do not have to make expert knots.

The fun share in all of this is selecting the beads from which you wish to make your jewelry. Just with regards to any bead may be made into pretty jewelry. Beads come in a assortment of shapes (round, oval, square, triangular, star shaped, etc.), materials (natural stone types, wood, plastic, glass, bone, ceramic, metal, etc.) and all the colors of the rainbow.

Sometimes it is best to lay your beads out initial before you begin stringing them on the cable. You may buy a bead board made for this with one or more grooves in it, or you may merely use any material that does not let the beads roll around too freely. Some people prefer to design as they go. They will get started with the center front of the necklace (the focal point, ordinarily but not always a special bead) and work to the left and right, stringing beads onto the cable as it pleases them.

Flexible stringing wire or cable comes in numerous dissimilar calibers and prices. Cable is just what it says. It is a lot of little steel wires twisted together and then coated with nylon. The more wires twisted together, the more flexible and less likely to kink will be the cable, and the more expensive. The most inexpensive cables are only three strands twisted together. I do not commend that you buy these. They are too stiff to let your necklace have a good drape. Also, they kink the most easily. You may buy cable with seven strands, 19, 21 and 49 strands. For most purposes, seven and 19 strand cables will be sufficient. Cable likewise comes in dissimilar diameters, normally indicated as thousandths of an inch. They vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, but are always somewhat close to one another. A good average, all-purpose diameter is .014″ or .015″.

Now you want to know how much cable you will need for your project. A good rule of thumb is to cut a piece of cable (use your wire cutters, cable will destruct regular scissors) six inches longer that the length of your finished jewelry. If you already recognise what your design will be, you may attach one half of the clasp to one end of the cable and use that as a stop for your beads. Or you may plainly put a piece of tape on one end of the cable. If you design as you go from the center out, you may want to buy a heap of little bead keepers (small springs that may be squeezed open and grab the cable ends securely). They are quick and easy to put on and take off and keep nasty accidents from happening.

Attaching the clasp will require crimp beads and chain nose pliers. Crimp beads, or crimps, come in sterling silver, 14K gold filled, and brass that has been plated with silver, or copper, or been left plain. They also come in a potpourri of shapes (round and tubular are common) and sizes. The 2mm x 2mm tube is my bestloved and works well with the diameter of cable that I mentioned. They are meant to be crushed and basically all you do is take the chain nose pliers and mash them onto the cable.

First, put a crimp on the end of the cable. Then put one half of the clasp on the cable. Go back through the crimp. Push the crimp close to the clasp. Leave sufficient of a loop so that the clasp moves freely. Do this so that the short end left over is in regards to one inch long. Now, mash the crimp bead. Hold the long share of the cable in one hand and the clasp in the other. Pull on the clasp and make sure that the cable does not slip in the crimp bead. Do not cut off the short one inch tail. This is your insurance. Simply string the initial few beads over the short end along with the full length of cable. String all of your beads onto the cable.

A note with regards to cables, they all kink; no matter what any person might tell you. So handle your cable with a little care and undertake not to kink it as you work with it. The beads will not hide this; the finished piece will merely have a kink in it. If you store your jewelry by laying it down, be sure to lay it conservatively so that it does not kink in storage. Also, if you want to string fresh water pearls, you will need a littler diameter cable. A diameter of .012″ or .013″ must suffice.

Attaching the last half of the clasp is a little trickier. You will use the same routine specified above, but you need to add a couple of steps to be sure you do not have slack and that no cable will show among the beads of the finished piece. Put the crimp on the wire and put on the second half of the clasp. Go back through the crimp bead and when it comes to an inch worth of beads. Hold the piece up in the air by the second half of the clasp and let gravity settle all the beads to the bottom. Pull on the cable where it comes out of the inch worth of beads until all the slack has been got rid of from the piece. Do not pull so hard that it gets tweaked out of shape. Now, mash the crimp bead. Cut off the tail of cable as closely as you can. Ta-daa. You have a finished piece of jewelry.

One more tip, do not use a bead with a big hole next to your crimp bead. The crimp bead might work it is way into the hole and then you will formulate slack in the piece and cable will show.

With a little determination and not too much cash, you may learn to make your own jewelry. I have found it to be very fulfilling and handy at Christmas and birthdays and the like. Have fun. Be creative.

Sterling Silver Large Hole Bead. Fancy Openwork Squiggle Spacer. 6.5mm Tube. Large 4.3mm Hole. Fits European Style Chain Charm Bracelets. 1 Bead . Use this authenti Sterling Silver bead as a spacer on your European Style chain charm bracelet, necklace, or earrings. Ornate open work squiggle design all around bead. Wonderful antiquing brings out design. Bead is approximately 6.5mm long, 7.9mm diameter. Large hole is 4.5mm in diameter. Please check the measurement of the end your chain conservatively to make sure the bead will fit! 1 Bead

Most helpful customer reviews

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Squiggle Silver
By Rio Rita
This is an absolutely beautiful silver tube bead that will make a wonderful addition to your Pandora, or other, bracelet.