Sunday, November 20, 2011

Crimp Beads

Now that you have been practicing with different stringing techniques, you should be ready for creating the perfect finish.  While elastic, nylon, and silk can be knotted at the end, as I stated in the last post, nylon coated wire requires a special finish.

Crimp beads are some of the coolest and most useful little gizmos for stringing jewelry.  Basically, a crimp bead is a tiny tube made from metal.  To use one properly, you must have crimping pliers for closing them (see my earlier post "Getting Started - Tools" for more information).

Uses

Use #1:  Crimp beads have two main uses.  The most obvious use is to complete a newly strung necklace or bracelet.  The following video will demonstrate how to do so properly:



Use #2:  You may also use a crimp bead to create an illusion necklace, which is a design that allows you to suspend your beads individually on the wire.  The next video is a great how to:



Crimp beads can be purchased in gold, silver or copper metals, or in less expensive types of metal depending on what material you have chosen to work with.  They also come in different sizes, and you will need to experiment to decide which you prefer. You may purchase at one of the following links, or in your local jewelry supply store.


Here are some more examples of illusion necklaces by my fellow Etsy artisans.  Enjoy!


  
 


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