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The Use of Seeds for Attractive Jewelry PiecesStringing seeds to make organic necklaces is often a mainstay of crafting jewelry and many novice jewelry makers start with seeds and work from there to learn other methods of crafting jewelry from organic materials. Many people are concerned that using seeds to make jewelry, which is referred to as seed beading is too difficult for them to learn and that the seed beads are so small that they wouldnt be able to do it right. This is not the case. With the proper supplies, equipment and instruction, using seeds to make jewelry can be very easy to master.
First of all there are plenty of books to help a beginner jewelry maker learn how to seed bead but one of the best books to consult is called Beaded
Amulet Purses and it is by an author named Nicolette Stessin. As the title suggests, this book specifically is about how to make beaded amulet purses but it also contains appendixes that given very detailed instructions on how to learn peyote, fringe, tubular lattice netting as well as right angle weave.
Beading thread comes in an assortment of types and colors but the best to start with is grey, size 0 silamide thread. This type of thread is excellent for the novice seed jewelry maker because it does not need to be waxed and the color grey is very easy to coordinate with practically any color of bead from white to pink to purple to green. As you become more experienced with seed beading you can go on to experiment with other types of thread and other colors but grey is a nice, neutral grey to begin with.
The best kind of needles to use for seed jewelry is the English beading ones because they are by far the very highest in quality. If you purchase needles from India you will not be nearly as happy with the results of your work. The best type for beginners are size 10 English needles because these kinds have large eyes, which make them an excellent choice for someone who is new to seed beading.
Next comes the most essential element, which are the beads themselves. Seed beads are the type of beads you need of course. You can choose either Czech beads or Japanese beads but Japanese ones are best for those who are beginners as the Czech beads have much smaller holes than the Japanese beads. Japanese beads are generally sold in tubes while Czech beads are sold in hanks and Japanese beads tend to be a little pricier than Czech beads but they are well worth the money. Japanese beads have larger holes and they are also more evenly sized and shaped and that is a plus for a beginner to the world of seed beading. For lots of fun buy beads in a multitude of colors or if you are more conservative stick with one or two colors that appeal to you most.
You have to have something to store your beads in so look for a bead tray or if you have lots of different beads and plan to do plenty of projects buy an assortment of trays. Bead trays come in all different shapes, sizes and can be purchased at different prices, some starting as cheap as two or three dollars. By one with individual compartments so you are able to keep like colors with like co9lors or if you prefer, group the seed beads by size or shape.
For newbies you do not have to start out with a great deal of money to learn seed beading. In fact this is one of the most cost effective of all crafts there is to do, not to mention the fact that it is fun and will give you hours of enjoyment and beautiful pieces to show for it in the end! Set aside at least $50.00 to get yourself set up and you can buy more as you get more involved with seed beading.
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