Beading Crafts For Beginners

Beading crafts make a fun and rewarding hobby. However, there are a few things you should know before you begin. If you approach beading as prepared as possible, you will save yourself unneeded frustration and build your confidence as your creations are given life.

Prepare Thyself!
Beading crafts require few tools but the ones you need cannot be neglected. If you don't have the basic tools, you won't get far. These tools include pliers (needle nose and round nose), wire cutters, tweezers, stringing material and beads. Not that bad, right? The pliers and wire cutters you may already have. If not, you can locate them at a hardware store or craft and hobby stores. Stringing material for beading crafts can be cord or wire of a vast array of materials. For beginners, elastic cording or memory wire is a good choice. Beads can be found everywhere! Choose a few strands you like to begin your beading crafts.

Start Small 
Don't tackle huge intricate beading crafts and patterns when you start. Instead, begin by making a simple necklace or bracelet. This will boost your resolve, especially since you can create a simple design in just a few minutes and wear it out on the town the very same day. Take a few strands of beads in various shapes, sizes and colors. Design a simple pattern and string the beads on a memory wire or elastic cord. Finish the ends and voila! You've got yourself a unique, one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry. Once you've gained some experience, then you can move on to more advanced beading crafts.

Invest in a Beginner's Book
The best way to learn beading crafts, if you aren't able to take a class or learn from a more experienced beader, is to buy a book. I recommend Basic Beading by Carole Rodgers. This book is a fantastic introduction to beading crafts and you can progress through the book from the basics to more advanced beading crafts. However, there is also a plethora of beading crafts tutorials and projects available online.

Practice Makes Perfect 
In the case of beading crafts, the old adage stands true. If your first efforts don't look great, don't give up. The more you practice, the better you'll get. This is why it is recommended you start small in the beginning. It's hard to go wrong with a simple bracelet but more advanced beading crafts can cause frustration if you try to tackle it right away.

Most of all, just remember to have fun with your beading crafts. Do the projects you most enjoy and don't give up!