Bead and Jewellery Stringing Wire and Threads.

June 8, 2012 at 1:07 pm | jewellery making, Stringing materials for jewellery making

Tigertail, Beadalon and Flex-rite jewellery threading wires are strong, flexible, nylon-covered wires which are used for stringing necklaces and bracelets. There are stiff enough to use without a  needle and  hold their shape. The thicker wires are ideal when threading on heavier beads and can be finished with crimps, about which more below. The more strands a wire has the more flexible it is.  So 19 strand is the more flexible than the 7 strand and slightly more expensive but gives a luxurious drape to your necklaces. I prefer to use at least 0.018″ diameter and at least 7 strands across all the jewellery wire stringing brands. Plenty of colours are available in most of the wires so they can be used to thread matching beads for floater style necklaces, where you leave the wire bare between bead stations anchored in place by crimps. A crimp is a tiny metal tube about 1.5 mm in diameter which is threaded on to the wire and then squashed closed with a pair of flat nosed jewellery making pliers or a set of crimping pliers.  Other threads such as silk and nylon sometimes incorporate a needle which is snipped off after the jewellery piece is completed, but with the stringing wires a needle is not required as the wire is stiff enough to go straight through the hole, this is particularly useful when making jewellery from pearls which have really tiny holes and often cannot be threaded with a needle and the resulting doubled up thread. We stock the most beautiful sterling silver beading wire by beadalon which is  just perfect for designs which are made entirely of silver so that they pass the assay test (important if you are selling your handmade jewellery designs). If you are making a special piece of  jewellery as a gift, and don’t want to use the basic steel wires then opt for the silver one for a lovely touch of luxury, particularly if you are using extra special beads or just one big central bead or pendant.

Beadalon sterling silver wire

We also stock a crinkle beadalon wire, which gives a wavy effect will lend body and drama to you design to your designs. It is available in gold, silver and copper colours. It’s  perfect for a nice gently wavy floater necklace made with lightweight beads such as tiny crystals or seedbeads. Crinkle wire comes on a 15 feet per reel and .018″ diameter 7 strand with 4.5kg breaking strain.

Pictured above is a 10 foot reel of sterling silver beadalon  ogf 7 strand flexibility.

Time to get threading those beads fellow beady jewellery makers.