An Introduction to Beads and Beading

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Beads are small decorative objects that are usually used to make jewelry. Beads must usually first be pierced before they can be used as they will need to have thread or string passed through them so that they can be strung together. However beads can also be used to decorate the surfaces of items such as sculptures and wall hangings in which case there would be no need to pierce them. Beads can also be found decorating personal items such as purses and handbags. They can also be used in home furnishing such as table cloths and cushions. Beads vary greatly in size from the tiniest beads that are less than a millimeter in diameter to the largest beads which will be a centimeter in diameter or more.

Please don’t get confused by the term “seed bead”. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the bead is made from seeds, which some beads are. The term “Seed bead” is a generic term that is often used to describe any small bead.

Beads can be made from all kinds of different material, but glass, plastic and stone tend to be the most common. However beads are also made from many other materials including bone, horn, shell, ivory, coral, pearl, metal, gemstones, polymer clay, metal clay, resin, wood, ceramic, fiber, paper, seeds and synthetic materials. As you can see you are spoilt for choice when it comes to deciding what materials you would like to work with.

Beads have been around a very along time since the first known civilizations. The oldest known examples of jewelry are an approximately 100,000 year old pair of beads made from sea snail shells. Apart from being used in jewelry and personal adornment beads are also used for religious purposes, good luck talismans and curative agents.

The craft of making items from beads is known as beadwork. There are many different beadwork techniques and they can be broadly categorized as stringing, embroidery, crochet, knitting, loom weaving and off-loom weaving.

Hobbyists of all abilities can practise the craft of beadworking. The simplest examples of beaded jewelry can be created by a novice beader in virtually no time at all. It may takes weeks of meticulous work for experienced beadworkers to create some of their beading projects and they will often need to use special tools and equipment.

For more information about beads please visit http://www.beadyeyez.com

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