Are you interested in learning how to make beautiful beadedjewelry but are unsure of where to start? Jewelry making is a wonderfullycreative, expressive, and artistic handicraft hobby that is growing inpopularity day by day. After all, it’s one of the best feelings in the worldwhen someone complements your jewelry and you can say “Thanks, I made it.” Youcan make jewelry with just about anything including metal, glass, fabric, andeven paper! This guide will offer a comprehensive overview of one of the oldesttypes of jewelry components: beads! There are so many different types of beadsfor jewelry making and below we will break down all the types and what they areused for.
Beaded jewelry is extremely trendy right now and that’sbecause beads are extremely versatile and come in all manner of colors,finishes, sizes, shapes and materials. The most basic defining characteristicof what makes a bead a bead is any item, usually on the smaller side, that hasa hole going through it allowing the bead to be hung or strung. Sometimes itemsthat are a bit larger and have an off center hole near one edge are classifiedmore as ‘pendants’ than beads. But there is so much more to beads than this dryclassification would have you think!
Below you will learn aboutSeed Beads,Czech Glass Beads, Crystal Beads and Semi-Precious Gemstone Beads and the bestjewelry-making applications for each type of bead as well as common pitfallsfor beginners to avoid when working with each type of bead.
Seed Beads for Jewelry Making
Seed beads are so called because they are typicallyextremely small glass beads and are most often the best beads to use for beadweaving, bead crochet, bead embroidery and any other applications where youneed many very small beads to create the desired effect.Seed beads are alsoexcellent to use in simple bead stringing and are currently the trendiest forsimple beaded necklaces and bracelets as well as waist beads. Seed beads are the preferred beads for fringed earrings as they are small and lightenough to make big statement earrings that are not too heavy to wear.
There areseveral top brands for seed beads that offer the best quality and the widestselection of colors, they include two major Japanese manufacturers,Miyuki andToho as well as the famous Czech brands Preciosa and Matubo. Each company offers its seedbeads in various sizes, shapes and colors which can differ slightly from eachother. For example, you may find that a round 11/0 from Miyuki is slightlydifferent than a round 11/0 from Preciosa.
For most projects, you can easilyuse any brand of bead as long as it is the right shape or size but if yourpattern calls for a specific brand by name, you may find that using a differentbrand can make your work a little wonky.
You can also certainly buy otherbrands of seed beads or unbranded seed beads out there on the internet but youshould be mindful of three things: 1) you may find that the no brand beads arenot actually glass but lucite or plastic which is fine to practice with butwill make your finished jewelry feel light and cheap, 2) lower quality beadsmight not wear well so that the color can start to rub off or they may looktarnished or scratch easily and 3) unbranded seed beads tend to vary much morein size and shape as well as hole size than these known and trusted brandswhich means that you will spend a lot of time culling your beads and althoughthey are cheaper, you may find up to half of the actually unusable.
If you arespending hours making jewelry, save yourself the frustration and pick yourbeads from a trusted source. At Eureka, we only carry high quality name brandglass seed beads from Toho, Miyuki and Preciosa. If you want to learn moreabout the different types of seed beads and what each type is best used for,check out our blog post entitledFrequently Asked Questions about Seed Beads.
Czech Glass Beads for Jewelry Making
The term ‘Czech Glass Beads’ refers to a special category ofglass beads that traditionally come from a region in the Czech Republic calledBohemia. They are sometimes also referred to as Bohemian Crystal or BohemianGlass. These beads are still handmade in a traditional style in small batcheswhich can vary slightly in color from production run to production run.Although Preciosa Ornela is a brand of seed beads also from the Czech Republic,those beads are not necessarily what is referred to as Czech Beads.
Czech beadstend to be larger than seed beads with the most popular sizes being 4mm and 6mmand they also come in a huge variety of shapes and styles. Czech beads are alsonotable in that there is a very large variety ofmulti hole beads now availablewhich increases the creative possibilities immensely. These make them the mostunique beads for jewelry making on the market today.
The most popular single-hole Czech beads areFire polish beads andDruk beads. Firepolish beads areround beads that are made of pressed glass which are then roughly cut withfacets. Then the beads are hung in large ovens to be heated once more whichsoftens the rough facet edges and makes them extra shiny. Druk beads are madethe same way but they do not have facets, they are just perfectly round pressedglass beads.
The most popular multi hole Czech beads are Super Duos which arekind of shaped like little peanuts and have two holes. Czech beads are usedmost commonly when you need a unique bead shape to create an intricate designor when you want to add some larger beads into your strung jewelry. Thesespecialty shapes give you many creative options when designing jewelry and arean excellent addition to your bead stash. To learn more about the differenttypes of Czech Glass Beads we carry, check out our blog post entitledAn Easy Guide to Czech Beads.
Crystal Beads for Jewelry Making
Crystal beads are beads made from crystallized glass. Thatmeans that they are not made from natural quartz crystals but actually from avery special type of glass which includes additives to it that make the glassharder than normal glass as well as more refractive of light. This is the samemeaning of the term ‘crystal’ as when it’s used to describe fine crystalstemware. The harder glass allows for more precise and sharper edged facets andthe refractive qualities means that these crystals are extra sparkly.
AtEureka we carry Crystal Beads from several European brands as well asChinese Crystal.By far the most famous,Swarovski Crystal, has taken their loose bead and stoneofferings out of the DIY market (read more about what this means for you here)but we still have some old stock left which we will continue to offer until itsells out.
Alternatively, we offer Elite Eureka Crystal Beads which areindistinguishable in quality from Swarovski as well asPreciosa Crystal beads both of which will continue to be available for the foreseeable future.
Crystalbeads also come in a variety of shapes, the most popular of which is called thebicone because it has the shape of two faceted cones stuck together. The biconeis both practical as it has a minimum number of cuts (every facet on a beadincreases the cost of manufacturing), for maximum sparkle effect. Crystal beadscan be used in a small amount to add a subtle sparkle to your jewelry projector in large quantities to create jewelry that is eye-catching, elegant and forspecial occasions.
One thing to always keep in mind when designing withcrystals is to be mindful of the thread you are using because the sharp edgesof these beautiful sparkly beads can cut through threads that are not strongenough. We recommend any fishing line type of beading thread for use withcrystal beads such as Fireline or Wildfire (beading wire is good too). Learnmore about Elite Eureka Crystal Beadshere.
Semi Precious Gemstone Beads for Jewelry Making
Semi Precious Gemstone Beads are any and all beads made fromnatural stone or natural pearl that most often have been cut, shaped, polishedand sometimes dyed to create beautiful beads which retain the properties oftheir original mineral.
Some of the most popular minerals to make beads fromare crystal quartz, rose quartz, amethyst, lapis, agate, turquoise, tourmaline,spinel and moonstone. These beads are not as uniform in color, shape or size asglass or crystal beads that are manufactured. These natural beads containvariations due to them being a lightly processed natural material.
We chooseonly the highest quality natural stone beads and minimally process them tohighlight each bead’s unique natural beauty.
Semi Precious Gemstone beads arenot ideal for any type of beading that requires multiple passes of thread andneedle as natural stone is not as strong as manufactured glass or crystal. Theyare however ideal for bead stringing and for creating beautiful statementbracelets and necklaces. Read more about the different metaphysical propertiesof mineral-derived beads here.
Where to Buy Beads for Jewelry Making
So now you’ve learned some basics about all the types ofbeads available for creating beautiful jewelry, your next stop is to shop forthe right types of beads to fit your needs.
AtEureka, we carry all theabove-listed bead types plus so much more like tools,needles, and findings. Ifyou are a beginner with a limited stash of beads, the best recommendation is tofind a project you want to try and buy all the beads and supplies you will needfor that project. You can browse our video tutorial library for inspiration andideas, each video page will list all the materials needed so you can getexactly what you need to create the design.
If you’re a seasoned beader or small business owner and youneed beads in wholesale quantities or bulk beading supplies, you cancontact us directly for more information at service@eurekacrystalbeads.com.
