uncommon jewelry designs, fine art photography &  adult and youth jewelry classes

San Diego, CA  Visual Artist  & Educator Denise J. Bonaimo

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Stringing with Beading Wire- Single Strand Necklace Instructions

Denise J. Bonaimo, San Diego visual artist & educator www.bonaimo.com artdiva@bonaimo.com

Stringing with Beading Wire- Single Strand Necklace

1)      PREPARING TO STRING.

a.      Using the bead design board, take some time to thoughtfully design your necklace by placing the beads in the exact order, tip to tip, to reach the desired finished length.

o        Standard necklace sizes are 15” (choker), 16”, 18”, 20”, 22”, 24”, 30”.

b.      Choose a clasp that is easy to grasp and in proportion to your beads.

c.      Cut the desired length of beading wire. (Usually 3 inches longer than your design.)

2)      ATTACHING THE FIRST CRIMP.

a.      Slide on the first crimp onto one end of the beading wire.

b.      Slide on one side of your clasp.

c.      Double back the beading wire through the crimp.

d.      Grasp the two beading wires so they lay side by side within the crimp, taking care to be certain they do not overlap.

e.      Maintaining a loose grasp on the two wires, pull the longer beading wire to lessen the diameter of the loop.

o        The final loop should be no wider than a beading awl, just enough to allow the clasp to swing freely.

f.        Squish the crimp with either a chain nose pliers or crimping pliers.

o        Do the “Finger Nail Test”. Use the finger nails of your thumb and forefinger to deliberately try to slide the crimp off. It shouldn’t budge at all.

3)      STRINGING YOUR BEADS.

a.      Starting from one end of your beads, string one bead at a time onto the open end of your prepared beading wire, paying careful attention to maintain the order.

b.      Grasp the loose end in one hand and the clasp end in the other hand and hold them up, side by side at eye level up to see if the pattern is in order and to make sure you like your result. If the design doesn’t seem balanced or the beads do not hang the way you envisioned, consider redesigning.

4)      ATTACHING THE SECOND CRIMP.

a.      Slide on the second crimp onto the beading wire at the end of your beads.

b.      Slide the other side of your clasp.

c.      Double back the beading wire through the crimp.

d.      Slip an awl into the loop and pull the remaining string taught, until the loop is as small as the width of the awl and there isn’t any gap between the beads, the crimp and the loop.

e.      Squish the crimp with either a chain nose pliers or crimping pliers.

o        Do the “Finger Nail Test”. Use the finger nails of your thumb and forefinger to deliberately try to slide the crimp off. It shouldn’t budge at all.

f.        Snip the remaining beading wire as close to the crimp as possible with a good pair of wire cutters.