We have been using and selling beading wire for around 15 years, so we know a
thing or two about it. There are many different types of beading wire to choose from,
including material and colour, and it can be difficult deciding which beading wire to use. We
hope this article will help you decide which is the best beading wire to use for your project.
Choosing Which Beading Wire
To Use
When it comes to choosing the correct jewellery beading wire,
we need to move away a little from art and think of wire in engineering terms.
How the wire is engineered is the main reason why there is such a vast and
confusing amount of beading wire
to choose from.
Beading
wire is made from multiple strands of wire, like a miniature cable, and
the more strands you have the more flexible the wire is, the better it drapes,
the stronger it becomes and the more it resists kinking. Due to the improved
quality of the wire, the more strands beading wire has, the more expensive it becomes.
At CJ Beaders we supply 7, 19 and 49 strand beading wire. We would
recommend avoiding less than 7 strands (often known as tigertail) since it is
not very strong, it kinks and does not drape well.
There are four factors to think about when choosing your beading wire;
- Your budget
- How strong the wire needs to be
- How well you wish the finished piece to drape
- If the beading wire can be seen
1. Beading Wire Budget
As is usually the case, with beading wire for necklaces and jewellery you get
what you pay for, so it’s important to decide how much you want to spend. It’s
also good to bear in mind how much use you’ll get out of the wire. The most
common spool of beading wire
comes on a 9.2m spool, enough for around f necklaces. If you divide the
ticket price by 15, the price per necklace between 7 and 49 strand is not a
huge amount.
Better quality jewellery beading wire (19 and 49 strand) can often be
purchased in smaller spools such as 3 or 4.5m spools, which is worth looking
out for if you wish to make a special piece of jewellery or want to try it out.
It’s also good to consider the beads you are stringing. Why
spend a lot of money on wonderful gemstone beads or high-quality glass beads
such as Miyuki beads, if
you are going to string them on a cheap beading wire? Particularly if you are going to sell the
finished piece.
2. How Strong Does Beading
Wire Need To Be?
Use the thickest beading wire that will comfortably fit through the hole of the
beads you are stringing to give maximum strength. Pearls will need thin wire
whereas heavy, semi-precious beads will require a much thicker beading wire.
The thinnest beading
wire is about 0.25mm in diameter and the thickest is 0.91mm. As well as improving
the overall quality of the beading
wire, the number of strands also makes a difference to the strength. For
example, 7
strand beading wire 0.38mm diameter 'Bright' colour has a breaking strain
of 6.8 Kg and 49 strands in the same diameter has a breaking strain of 9.1 Kg.
Even though 6.8 Kg is heavy and you may think; "I do
not want to have something as heavy as that around my neck", the breaking
strain weight is at-rest. If you think back to school science lessons, force
applied to a swinging long necklace is much more and therefore the breaking
strain can be exceeded with thinner or fewer strand beading wire.
3. Beading Wire Drape
If you wish to have the best possible thread-like drape,
then 49 Strand is the best, particularly for lighter weight beads such as pearls.
However, there are times when you want your wire to have more shape, for
instance when you weave with wire or want to form a design with multiple
strands. This is when a 7
strand beading wire may
give a better effect.
The weight of the beads you’re using can make a better drape
but you shouldn’t be tempted in such cases to use a cheaper if you can afford
the better wire. 7 strand beading
wire and to a lesser extent 19
strand beading wire will
kink, so the finished item of jewellery will not drape as well.
Another factor to take into account is the length of the
piece. Drape is not so important on a short bracelet or earrings. If you’re
looking to produce an item of jewellery for the first time and aren’t sure what
beading wire to
choose, why not try one of our beading
kits with all you need to make a stunning piece of jewellery.
4. Beading Wire Colours
Beadalon supply beading wire in a range of colours - and all of them are coated
in a clear nylon.
So, why not incorporate the
coloured jewellery beading wire into your designs? If your design just uses opaque beads and the wire is
hidden, then go for the 'standard' colours of Bright (raw stainless steel),
black or bronze, the latter adding a nice shine to designs. If your beads are
translucent, then a metallic colour can help reflect the light inside the bead.
And of course, any of the wires can be used to enhance your design, so why not
put the beading wire on
display?
A special note
though on Sterling
Silver beading wire. Use it for special pieces, but we do not recommend it
for everyday Jewellery. Sterling Silver beading wire is not as strong as stainless steel and has a
breaking strain of only 3Kg (7 strand). If your piece is going to be in
everyday use, then we would recommend the much stronger Silver Plated wire in
19 or 49
strand beading wire.
We hope this
article has been useful. As experts in beading art and jewellery beading wire, we’re here to answer any
questions you might have and help you choose the right beading wire for your project. Contact us today on 01202 798151 or fill in
our online contact form – we’d love to hear from you.