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        LEARN > Guide to Jewelry Stringing Materials > 

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          Guide to Jewelry Stringing Materials

          Shop jewelry stringing materials. Discover which types of necklace wire, cording, beading thread and other stringing materials will work best for your bead stringing creations. Beadalon®, SoftFlex™ and memory wire are just the tip of the beading supplies iceberg! Learn about various stringing cords, cables, and ribbons below, or ...

          Click here for Finishing Methods
          Click here for How to Choose a Clasp

          Wire Cable     |     Bead Cord     |     Leather & Cotton     |     Rubber, Plastic & Elastic
          Fabric Cord, Ribbon & Mesh    |     Chokers & Pendant Cords    |     Chain & Wire


          Wire Cable

          Related Supplies

          Tigertail Tigertail is one of the easiest stringing materials to use. It doesn't need a needle, and the ends are easy to finish with crimp beads. However, tigertail kinks easily and is weakened where it has kinked.     Crimp Beads
              Crimp Pliers
           
          Beadalon Beadalon®, Soft Flex® & Soft Touch™ Beading Wires are similar to tigertail, but are stronger (often made of more strands) and have a soft-feeling plastic coating. These stringing cables do not kink unless extremely abused. The more strands they have, and the thicker the diameter, the more durable they are. Use crimp beads to finish the ends.     Crimp Beads
              Crimp Pliers
           
          Beadalon Jewelry Cable Beadalon Jewelry Cable is similar to standard Beadalon, but is thicker and has no plastic coating. Cable can be separated, giving three to six wavy strands. Finish ends with crimp tubes w/ loops or sterling crimp-on ends.     Crimp Ends w/ Loop
           

          Bead Cord

          Related Supplies

          Needle-end cord Nylon and Silk Needle-End Cord is easy to use because a very fine needle is built onto the cord's end. Make the first necklace at the far end of the cord so the needle remains with the cord for the next necklace.Size #4 needle-end cord is popular for stringing Czech glass beads. Both the silk and nylon varieties knot well. Silk needle-end cord is a favorite for stringing larger gemstones and pearls. Bullion (French wire) is an elegant finishing method.     Bullion (French Wire)
              Bead Tips
           
          Nymo bead thread Nymo® Bead Thread requires a needle and is commonly used with English beading needles for Native American-style bead work. Size 'O' is very thin, so can go through most beads multiples times, or be doubled to make it thicker. Most beaders use beeswax to coat the cord. This keeps it from fraying and tangling as much when it repeatedly goes through tiny sharp beads.     Bullion (French Wire)
              Beeswax
              Needles
           
          SuperLon bead thread (image courtesy of Rings & Things SuperLon Bead Thread is thicker than Nymo, and available in a wide variety of colors. It works well for bead weaving with Japanese seed beads, and for beading on cloth or soft leather. It is commonly used with English beading needles. Most beaders coat the cord with beeswax to keep it from fraying and tangling when it repeatedly goes through small sharp bead holes.     Bullion (French Wire)
              Beeswax
              Needles
           
          Power Pro cord Power Pro Cord is a smooth waxed nylon braided bead thread. It's just stiff enough, so that for general bead stringing, you don't need a needle! It also knots very nicely.     Bullion (French Wire)
           
          Wildfire thread WildFire™ cord by Beadalon® is a bead-weaving and stringing thread that is super strong, knottable, 100% waterproof and no fray with near zero stretch. It cannot be pierced with a needle.     Bullion (French Wire)
              Needles



          Click here for Beading and Stringing Tools


          Leather & Cotton Cord

          Related Supplies

          Leather cord Genuine Leather Cord is very easy to work with — string an interesting pendant with a few large-hole side beads, tie knots to hold the beads in place, and add a clasp. Or, make necklaces long enough to go over the head. Black, dark brown and natural colors are the most popular. Types of round leather cord include economical "goat-skin" leather cord and superior-quality Greek leather cord. Pre-made leather chokers (necklaces) are also available; just attach a pendant and you're done!     Coil Ends
              Adjuster Beads
              Sterling End Caps
           
          Imitation leather Imitation Leather Cord (a.k.a. faux leather) is more regular in size and color than genuine leather cord. It is not affected by water; however, it does not like to be frozen. Available by the spool, plus in pre-formed chokers/necklaces and bracelets.     Coil Ends
              Adjuster Beads
              Sterling End Caps
           
          Fine suede lace Suede Cord & "Suede" Lace are both flat, straight-cut cords. Choose from 3mm genuine leather suede or a strong, thin (1.5mm) manmade suede-like laces. Supple genuine deer hide lace is a similar style of flat cord. Finish single strands of these types of cording with fold-over crimp ends. Finish multiple strands with bullet ends or clamp ends.     Fold-Over Crimp Ends
              Bullet Ends     Clamp Ends
           
          Leather cuff bracelets Leather Cuff Bracelets are made colored with lead-free vegetable dyes. Available in a variety of widths, lengths and colors, and complete with snap clasps, these bracelets are ready for your custom decoration. Leather strips are also available, if you want to make your leather bracelets from scratch!     Leather-Working Tools
              Rivets & Eyelets
              TierraCast Leather Accessories
           
          Bolo cord Bolo Cord is typically a braided round cord offered in vinyl, rayon and leather. For bolo ties, finish with bolo tips and bolo slides. For chokers or bracelets, the four-strand leather cord can be finished with sterling hook & eye end caps, and the vinyl cord can be finished with bullet ends.     Bolo Tips & Slides
              Sterling End Caps
              Bullet Ends
           
          Waxed cotton Waxed Cotton Cord is very similar to leather cord, but since it is machine-made, it is much more regular in size and color than leather cord. Water does not seem to adversely affect waxed, flat or braided cotton cord.     Coil Ends
              Adjuster Beads
              Sterling End Caps
           

          Rubber, Plastic & Elastic

          Related Supplies

          Rubber cording Rubber Cording is round, flexible cording, great for showing off specialty beads and pendants. Finish the ends with sterling silver rubber cord ends and adhesive. Premade rubber chokers/necklaces are also available; just attach a pendant and you're done!     Sterling End Caps
              Loctite Ultra Gel Control
           
          Rubber tubing Hollow Rubber Tubing can be used in continuous lengths to cover an entire piece of memory wire. Or, cut the tubing into sections and string smaller-hole beads directly onto memory wire or Beadalon, between sections of black tubing. Finish with rubber-tubing end caps and glue.     End Caps for Tubing
              Loctite Ulgra Gel Control
              Memory Wire
           
          SuppleMax SuppleMax™ is a soft, supple — but not stretchy — plastic cord. The clear style is designed for "illusion"(floating bead) necklaces, and looks good with pearls, translucent glass and gemstone beads. It is also available in black. Finish ends with crimp beads, super glue or square knots.     Super Glue
              Crimps
           
          Stretch Magic Stretch Magic™ is a strong, flexible elastic cord. It is often used for "endless" crystal bead bracelets, or for nearly invisible stretchy hair bands and necklaces. Comes in clear and black. Ends may be seared (fused together), square knotted or crimped.     Crimps
           
          Gossamer Floss Gossamer Floss™ is a strong, extremely stretchy five-ply semitranslucent cord. It knots very well, doesn't crimp, and the resultant tiny square knots can often be hidden inside beads. A dot of glue helps secure knots. We suggest size-10 beading needles, or a big-eye needle such as the Igolochkoy needle/threader.     Needles
              Hypo Cement
           
          Elastic cord Elastic Cord is normally used for inexpensive jewelry, especially where coordination might be a problem (great for kids' jewelry!). For durability, use the heaviest cord that will work for your beads. Finish with square knots.  
           

          Fabric Cord, Ribbon & Mesh Tubing

          Related Supplies

          Rattail Rattail is a round, satin-like cord often used to show off one large centerpiece. Rough or thin edges fray this cord, so use necklace tubes instead of jump rings for backs of pendants. Single strands are usually finished with fold-over crimps, and multiple strands with bullet ends.     Bullet Ends
              Fold-Over Crimp Ends
           
          Braided nylon cord Braided Nylon Cord is popular for Chinese knotting. It's normally finished with a loop and knot. Cut the cord with a Perfect-End Thread Burner to keep ends from fraying.     Thread Burners
           
           
          Hand-dyed silk ribbon Hand-dyed Silk Ribbon & Cord comes in color blends with lovely ombre. Handmade ribbons come in 32"-36" lengths with finished edges and are 1/2" wide with tapered ends. They work great for necklaces and wrapped bracelets. Handmade cords / strings are 2mm wide and 40-42" long.    
           
           

          Chokers & Pendant Cords

          Related Supplies

           
          Magnetic chokers Magnetic Chokers are coated-steel neck rings with a strong magnetic barrel clasp. Beads with 2.7mm and larger holes can be strung over the smaller clasp end, and of course bails and jump rings can be used to hang anything else. Highly versatile — can be worn with a different bead or pendant every day!     Split Rings
              Pendant Plates
           
           
          Wire chokers Wire Chokers are convenient pre-made necklace forms. Some large-hole beads may be slipped over the ends. Pendants are generally attached with jump rings or split rings, or handmade wire-wrapped attachments.     Jump Rings
              Split Rings
          Nylon necklace cords Nylon Necklace Cords are nice looking, unusual, and inexpensive options for displaying handmade pendants.     Thread Burners
           
          Velveteen Flocked necklace cords Flocked Necklace Cords are sleek and inexpensive with a"velveteen" outer coating. Use a large jump ring or wire-wrap a bail to attach a pendant.     Jump Rings
           

          Chain & Wire

          Related Supplies

          Chain Metal Chain is available bulk by the spool, meter, and foot. It's also available as finished necklaces and bracelets with a clasp already attached! Use chain for everything from stringing heavy statement necklaces, to making free-form multistrand beaded chain necklaces, to linking delicate filigree findings and crystal beads.     Jump Rings
              Split Rings
              Clasps
           
           
          Memory wire Memory Wire is very strong coiled wire that retains its coiled shape. Use for chokers, bracelets, wine-glass charms and rings. Finish ends with memory-wire end caps, or use durable round-nose pliers to twist ends into loops, then dangle charms or beads from the end loops.     Heavy-Duty Cutters
              Memory Wire Looping Pliers
              Memory Wire Ends


          Click here for More Finishing Methods
                    Click here for Tips on How to Choose a Clasp

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