Why people love beading

The only real decisions in beading are about color and rhythm. There is no wheel to center or pattern to count: you pick beads you like, try them in a row, and change your mind as often as you want before anything is permanent. It is easy to pick up for twenty minutes and put down, it travels in a small box, and a handful of bracelets makes an easy gift. Many people stay for the calm repetition of stringing and the slow growth of a bead stash.

Market trays from above, holding strands of turquoise and coral beads, mixed glass beads and heaps of metal spacer beads — A bead seller's trays: glass, stone and metal spacers

Bead EmbroiderySewing seed beads onto a stiff foundation, usually around a flat stone or glass cabochon, to make pendants, brooches and earrings.

Start here

Glue one cabochon to a scrap of foundation with the same jewelry glue and circle it with a single row of two-bead backstitch using your smallest seed beads.

Fire Mountain Gems beaded backstitch

French Beaded FlowersStringing seed beads on fine wire and shaping them into petals and leaves that last forever in a vase.

Start here

Make one five-petal flower from a single free beginner pattern, wrapping each petal around a basic frame, then tape it to a stem.

Bead & Blossom free patterns

Rosary MakingKnotting beads onto nylon cord to make rosaries and chaplets, often donated through parish and mission groups.

Start here

Knot one decade (ten beads plus an Our Father bead) on nylon cord before committing to a full five-decade rosary.

Our Lady's Rosary Makers: how to make a rosary

Pearl KnottingTying a small knot between every pearl or bead on silk cord, the classic finish for pearl necklaces that protects the beads and keeps the strand safe if it breaks.

Start here

Practice ten knots on silk cord with your base glass beads until every knot sits snug against its bead, then knot a real freshwater strand.

Potomac Beads knotting guide

Free patterns and how-tos for two directions

Your first week of beading

What you can string in your first month

Stretch bracelet stack

Three or four bracelets in one color story, the fastest way to learn bead sizing and the stretch-cord knot.

Gemstone and seed bead bracelet

Alternate round stones with seed bead spacers on elastic so the stones sit evenly.

Strung necklace on beading wire

Lay out a symmetrical design on the board and finish both ends with crimps and a clasp.

Seed bead anklet on thread

String seed beads with a needle and tie the ends with a square knot and a drop of glue, a low-stakes way to practice needle work.

Your first niche piece

A beaded flower, a small embroidered pendant, a single rosary decade or a knotted pearl bracelet.

Choosing beads and stringing material

Bead sizes

Round beads are sold by diameter in millimeters (6 and 8 mm are the easiest to handle); seed beads use an aught number where bigger numbers are smaller beads, so 6/0 is chunky and 11/0 is tiny.

Hole size

The bead hole sets the stringing material. Seed beads and gemstones have small holes, so check that your cord, wire or needle passes through before you plan a design.

Quality checks

Good glass beads are evenly shaped with smooth holes; sharp or chipped holes cut cord. Cheap painted coatings can rub off, so read reviews for color that lasts.

Gemstones

Low-cost natural stones are often dyed or stabilized. That is fine for practice, but do not soak dyed stones, and expect some color to rub off on light fabric.

Stretch cord

Best for bracelets that slip on. Use 0.8 to 1 mm for most beads and drop to 0.5 to 0.7 mm for small holes.

Beading thread

Soft nylon thread for needle work, embroidery and seed bead strands; wax or condition it so it does not tangle.

Flexible beading wire

Steel strands coated in nylon, the strongest choice for necklaces with heavy or sharp beads. Thicker wire (.018 to .019 inch) is sturdier; more strands means it drapes softer.

Silk cord

The traditional cord for knotting between pearls. It is soft and drapes well but stretches, so it is for pearl knotting rather than everyday strands.

A double strand of round white pearls lying on a pale cream surface — Pearls, the classic bead for knotting on silk

Skills to practice first

Designing on the board

Laying out beads symmetrically from the center and measuring length before anything is strung.

The surgeon's knot

The knot that keeps stretch bracelets closed, tied tight and hidden inside a bead.

Crimping

Sliding a crimp tube onto beading wire, looping it through a clasp and folding it with crimping pliers so the wire cannot pull out.

Needle and thread control

Threading a fine needle, keeping even tension and tying off without leaving loose tails.

Planning spacing

Using seed beads and small spacers so large beads sit evenly and the strand bends naturally.

What trips beginners up

Beads roll everywhere. A bead mat and small piles fix most of it; spills on a bare table are the norm until you have one.
Elastic wears out. Restring a favorite stretch bracelet about once a year and keep it away from lotion and perfume, which break the cord down faster.
Your first necklace will be the wrong length. Measure on the board and check against a necklace you already own before you crimp.
Sizes are confusing at first: seed bead numbers run backward, and a bead that looks right online can arrive smaller than expected.
Do not string heavy or sharp beads on elastic or thread; they wear through it. Move to beading wire for those.
Do not cut stringing material short. Leave several inches extra on each end for knotting or crimping.
Do not buy every bead in sight. One mixed assortment plus a few colors you love is plenty for the first month.

Setting up a beading spot

A table and a bead mat are all the space you need; the mat keeps beads from rolling and lets you scoop them up with a needle.
Work under bright, even light. A daylight lamp makes tiny seed beads and dark colors far easier to tell apart.
Keep beads away from small children and pets. Loose beads are a choking hazard, and elastic bracelets are not for children under three.
Use a lidded, divided box so a knocked-over bead stash stays sorted.
Sharp scissors you already own are fine for cord and thread, but trim beading wire with old nail clippers or a wire cutter so you do not ruin your good scissors.

Where to learn

Free video tutorials from bead suppliers cover every basic finish, from the stretch-cord knot to crimping and knotting between beads. Bead shops often run inexpensive beginner classes, and an online beading community is the fastest way to get help identifying a bead or fixing a strand that keeps breaking.

Free tutorials and a forum

A rosary of round wooden beads knotted on dark cord, with a wooden cross, lying on a black book — A knotted cord rosary with wooden beads

About this kit

Beads are the biggest variable, so the kit pairs one mixed glass assortment and one seed bead assortment with a gemstone set rather than lots of single colors. The stringing materials are cheap and last for dozens of pieces; the crimping pliers are the one tool the base kit needs, and only for necklaces on beading wire. Each niche adds only what that direction needs on top of the base kit, and the jewelry making guide covers pliers and findings in more depth.

The first five lines are enough for a stretch bracelet tonight. The recommended lines add needle work and necklaces on wire, and each direction's add-on lines start out of the kit until you switch that direction on. Clicking a card selects it in the kit, and clicking the selected card again takes that line out.

Bead 01

Glass bead assortment

Essential · Beads

Mixed round glass beads in 6 to 8 mm sizes are easy to handle and give you enough colors to design real pieces from day one.

budget

JULIMAIDONG 8mm 24Color Glass Beads for Bracelets Jewelry Making Kits

4.7(703)

$6.83

Beading

Why people love beading

Where beading can take you

Your first week of beading

Choosing beads and stringing material

Skills to practice first

What trips beginners up

Setting up a beading spot

Where to learn

About this kit

String the kit

Glass bead assortment

Seed bead assortment

Clear elastic stretch cord

Bead mat

Bead stoppers

Natural gemstone bead set

Nylon beading thread

Beading needles

Flexible beading wire

Crimp tubes and clasps

Crimping pliers

Bead design board

Bead storage box

Bead embroidery foundation

Cabochons for bead embroidery

Fine beading wire for beaded flowers

Floral tape and stem wire

Rosary crucifixes and center medals

Nylon cord for knotted rosaries

Silk bead cord with attached needle

Bead knotting tool

Freshwater pearl strands