Beading onto plain hoops

[smargie]

Hi!  This is my first post...

I would like to "string" beads onto a pair of plain silver hoops--the kind that have a flattened end on one side with a hole in it, and on the other, a 90 degree bend that fits into the hole to secure it closed.  I see these all the time in magazines.  My question is, are you supposed to straighten the bend with flat nosed pliers in order to string the beads on, and then put the bend back in when finished?  This seems the most logical to me, but I've never found directions for this before and I don't want to wreck my hoops.

Thanks!

smargie

[Polly]

Hi smargie,

Ideally, you string the beads on before the bent end becomes bent.  (Flattening and re-bending it weakens the wire and might cause it to break at that spot.) 

At the moment, this page describes the ideal process for beadable / manipulating hoops, but doesn't have the image that helps make it more clear:
http://shop.rings-things.com/cart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=991&idproduct=13539
We will have the example image uploaded in the "more details" section of the page soon!  (by tomorrow I believe).

We also have these ready-to-wear hoop earrings, which sound like what you have.  They are nice and small, but it's only easy to put beads directly onto the sleeper style (which doesn't have the bent end that helps keep beads on). I have added seed beads to the sleeper hoops for personal use, but am not sure I"d want to sell them that way, as they don't *look* like the beads are very secure.  (However, I've never lost any of them and I've worn them many times, for years, switching out the beads to match my outfits.)