Get Started In Jewellery Making
Jewellery making is a fun and creative way to craft beautiful items, whether for yourself or as gifts for loved ones.
With this easy-to-learn hobby, you can make everything from bracelets and necklaces to earrings and more. This guide will help you discover the essential supplies and materials you need to get started in jewellery making, including beginner-friendly tools like pliers and wire cutters.
If you’re new to jewellery making, why not start your journey by exploring a simple project by visiting our Jewellery Making ideas page.
You will need
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Get Started In Jewellery Making
What thickness of wire is ideal for jewellery making?
Wire for jewellery making comes in a wide variety of thicknesses. Ideally you want one that is strong enough to hold the weight of your beads but still flexible to work with. A 0.8mm wire (20 gauge) is generally a good one to choose to still be flexible but supportive to your design.
Wire is sometimes sold in mm or gauges to measure thickness. The higher the gauge, the thinner the wire. The lower the gauge, the thicker the wire will be.
18 gauge - 1.0mm
20 gauge - 0.8mm
22 gauge - 0.6mm
24 gauge - 0.4mm
There are many more wire gauges, but this is just a brief example.
Which type of wire is best for beaded projects?
Stainless steel wire is a good option for beading projects as it is strong, durable and resistant to tarnishing. This is also a more affordable option for initially designing a piece before you are ready to move onto more costly precious metals.
The Beadalon stringing wires are a great version of this type of wire as they feature several strands of stainless steel and are nylon coated. They are flexible but also nice and strong so last well and support heavy beads nicely.
What pliers do I need for jewellery making?
There are lots of different jewellery making pliers available depending on your project but what we would recommend as essentials are:
- Round nose pliers for making loop in your wire findings or designs.
- Wire cutters for cutting your wire with a nice, neat finish.
- Flat nose pliers for helping to shape your design and open findings.
You can buy multipacks of the pliers which works out a little bit more cost effective. This pack contains a pair of round nose pliers, flat nose pliers and wire cutters.
How can I prevent my pliers from scratching my jewellery?
To prevent pliers from scratching your jewellery you can wrap each side in masking tape to protect your designs. It’s best to use a low tack masking tape so that sticky residue isn’t left on the pliers once removed. Alternatively, you can also buy nylon jaw pliers. These have nylon plastic tips on the tips of the pliers which means you can safely hold/manipulate elements of your design without the components getting scratched.
What are the must have tools for a beginner in jewellery making?
As well as the pliers mentioned above must have tools for jewellery making include:
- Crimping pliers for closing crimp beads to secure your designs.
- Beading boards. You can lay your designs out before threading them to see how the beads will look together and to also measure how long the finished design will be.
- Beading needles are essential and very helpful if you are making beaded jewellery pieces. They make it a lot easier to thread your beads and some even come with a collapsible eye to make threading the needle easier.
- A ruler for measuring.
- If you are looking to make rings a ring mandrel or measuring stick is essential for making round rings and for getting the sizes right.
- A storage box with little sections/dividers to keep our beads and components tidy and organised.
What is the best way to attach clasps to jewellery?
Jump rings are a great way to attach a clasp to a piece of jewellery. They are little rings with a split in that you can open to thread a clasp onto and then close again.
If you want something that is a little bit more secure, especially if you are working on a heavier beaded piece, split rings can be a really helpful way to attach a clasp. They look like really small keyrings, so you can thread a clasp on similar to how you would a key on a key ring and they aren’t likely to come undone.
How do I choose the right clasp for my design?
Choosing the right clasp can often be tricky as there are so many lovely options to choose from. Overall, it depends on how the clasp will look with the finished design, how secure the piece is and how easy it will be to fasten.
Lobster claw clasps are a very secure clasp so perfect to use on jewellery that is worn a lot. They are also good at handing a little bit of weight so are perfect to use on pieces that feature heavyset beads and design elements.
Magnetic Clasps are a great option for anyone who might struggle with a small and fiddly clasp as they are a lot easier to fasten. However heavier pieces may pull on these too much meaning they are more likely to come unfastened. So, these types of clasps are better suited to lighter weight pieces.
Toggle clasps are also an easy to fasten option and can be a great decorative addition to the design of a finished piece.
What glue to use in jewellery making?
This entirely depends on the type of project you are working on. A good glue for securing knots in elastic or threaded jewellery pieces is GS Hypo Cement. It has a precision tip and, once dry, is fairly strong so stops any knots coming unraveled.
If you are looking to hold something together that involves bonding plastic to metal such as attaching a bead or a resin cabochon to a stud post, I recommend a two-part epoxy glue. Once applied and dry this provides a strong and lasting bond.
Can I use fishing line for beading jewellery?
You can use some types of fishing line for jewellery making but it isn’t recommended. Actual fishing line can be quite brittle as its generally designed to break down in water over time. Plus, components with sharp edges such as crimp beads can cut into it and damage the line.
You would be better off using a mono-filament thread or a clear beading thread. These are very similar to fishing line but have been designed for jewellery making specifically. They are less brittle and less likely to break down over time.
Why should I avoid doubling back through beads when finishing a design?
It can be tempting to double back through a design to add some extra strength to the piece but this can affect how the beads sit and can often make the overall piece a lot more rigid than intended. Instead, you would be better off choosing a thicker and stronger thread to thread your beads onto before you begin making.
Embrace the trend for all things terrazzo and create your very own terrazzo jewellery using FIMO.
Send someone a subtle message with these simple and fun earrings. This technique is very adaptable and you can write whatever you want!
These 90's style bracelets seem to always be in fashion and are so quick and simple to make using beads.
