Once you have all of the tools you need, you will also want to consider the
jewelry making supplies that you should have on hand. Here are a list of the jewelry making
supplies that you will want to have available for making jewelry with wire and
beads.
-
Practice wire in 18, 20, 22 and 24 gauge. Before you use your good
wire, ALWAYS make your wire components in practice wire several
times. Even advanced wire workers do this. (Item
2777 in our Internet store).
- Jewelry wire for finished pieces.
Silver-plate, gold-plate, gold-filled or sterling silver. 18, 20, 22,
24 and possibly 26 gauge. We recommend sterling silver or gold-filled
wire for upscale pieces and non-tarnish silver-plated wire for inexpensive
pieces.
- Beads. 4mm, 6mm, 8mm and others.
For upscale pieces consider Swarovski Austrian Crystal beads. For
economy pieces consider Fire Polished Glass Beads. For some beads with
larger holes it is helpful to also have metal accent beads in 2, 2.5 or 3mm
available that match the jewelry wire you selected. By placing one of
these metal beads on either end of a lampwork bead with a large hole, you
effectively decrease the size of the hole to match the size of your wire or
stringing material.
- Findings --
headpins, clasps and ear wires. Headpins to match your jewelry
wire for the finished pieces are very important. 1 1/2 inches or 2
inches long seems to be the most common sizes. With clasps, we
currently prefer the magnetic clasps in 6mm and 8mm to match the jewelry
wire that you selected. Magnetic clasps for bracelets make that
bracelet very easy to put on and remove with one hand, but we do recommend
that you use a guard chain when using a magnetic clasp on a bracelet.
Sometimes the bracelet can get snagged or caught and will come off without
the guard chain. Finally for ear wires, we frequently make our ear
wires, but at times we also like to use commercial ear wires. The
ear clips style of ear wires has become very popular because they are
secure, won't come off accidentally, and they are easy to put on and take
off. Many upscale designers are using these ear clips now.
- Commercial chain.
Use fine chain for a guard chain on bracelets. Use medium chain to
make bracelet and necklaces links. Obviously, select the chain to
match your jewelry wire.
- Bead stringing
thread. For bead stringing projects we recommend Soft Flex or Soft
Touch instead of using thread. Soft Flex and Soft Touch are made with
a stranded stainless steel base that is very resistant to breaking.
You will also need crimp beads to use with this bead stringing wire.
We recommend
2x2mm tube type crimp beads.
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about that topic. Often this will link to our WigJig Jewelry
Supplies Store. |