Getting Started: Seed Beads

I made beaded stone jewelry for years. I still make it today. Though I liked the look of seed beading, I kept telling myself, "That’s too hard," "Those beads are too tiny," "I could never learn to do that." Then I came to a point where I got bored with the simple string designs I was making and resolved that I would at least try to learn seed beading.

My first step was to scout for needed supplies and equipment at the next rock and gem show I went to. I talked to a few vendors there and told them what I wanted to do. They were all very helpful. Here’s what I purchased that help me get started seed beading.

Beaded Amulet Purses by Nicolette Stessin: This book was suggested by one of the vendors, and I bought it from her for about $25. Though it is an amulet purse project book, the appendixes have instructions for peyote, right angle weave, tubular lattice netting, and fringe. It also explains how to read bead graphs. Though there are other books that have a lot more stitches explained in them, I used this book to successfully learn peyote and right angle weave.

Silamide Thread: It was recommend that I use gray, size 0, silamide thread, and again, I was happy with this suggestion. Of course, there are a rainbow of colors available, as well as different kinds of beading thread, but this worked nicely for me as a beginner. One reason it worked well was because I didn’t have to wax it. And, since it was gray, it worked with just about any color of bead. Of course, now that I’m more experienced, I’m more particular about the color of thread I use, but gray was a nice neutral color to start out with.

Needles: I first tried out some needles I got at a craft store. Big mistake. They were from India. At the show, I was told to never use anything but English beading needles because they are the best quality. They suggested I get size 10 English needles since they have fairly large eyes (comparatively speaking) and are a little easier to use for beginners.

Beads: Of course, I needed seed beads. Now, I have a preference for Japanese seed beads, but at the time I didn’t know how small the holes were in Czech beads compared to Japanese. So, I bought 3 or 4 hanks of Czech beads in various colors. Actually, I was pretty lucky and got some nice quality beads. However, after teaching a few people how to seed bead now, I always recommend newbies use Japanese. Sold in tubes rather than hanks, they cost a little more than Czech, but since the holes are more evenly sized, they tend to work better for beginners.

Bead Tray: Another vendor recommended this little bead tray that retails for about $3, and I have a number of them now. Everyone has their own preference, but I like these trays. They make it easy to pour the beads out when you want to change colors. Also, they make the beads very portable when you want to go beading with friends.

That’s about all it took to get me started seed beading. Of course, now I have a ton more of everything - beads, books, needles, thread - but if you’re looking to start seed beading, it really doesn’t take a large financial commitment. I probably spent less than $50. If you’re interested in starting to seed bead, here are some links you might find helpful:

About.com Beginner Projects/Articles - You'll find links to a few basic seed bead stitches here such as ladder and brick.
About.com Bead Projects/Articles - Past bead projects and articles previously posted on this site.
Beading Supplies - Lots of links to bead suppliers of all kinds
Beads - Links to bead related sites from beadwork artists to bead shops to bead suppliers.

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All graphics created by Tammy Powley.

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