4 Tricks to Keep Your Beads on Your Thread

re: 4 Tricks to Keep Your Beads on Your Thread

mary e richardson — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:58:40 GMT

Thanks for all the great tips for straying beads. No one told me when I started making jewelry that I would spend 85% of my precious time on the floor......... searching for the strays, and YES!!! Janine there IS a bead borrowing/stealing monster!!

re: 4 Tricks to Keep Your Beads on Your Thread

Cath@17 — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:02:59 GMT

Hi Jean,

nice tricks. I am a no. 4 type, with sometimes a no. 1 action ; )

Cheers

Cath

re: 4 Tricks to Keep Your Beads on Your Thread

JanineB@7 — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 20:31:44 GMT

Great tips on loosing all those beads on the floor. I always put an end on one end of what I am stringing and once I have completed the design I always hold it up tp see if all is well, prior to finishing. More than once I have held my design up in the air to look at, Alas !!!!! have lost all of my beads to the floor. Some seem to get eaten up by the bead monster, never to be retrieved. Hadn't really thought of putting a bead stop on the other end until I read your tip....Sometimes the light bulb does turn on !!!!! Perhaps now I can sweep my dining room floor more often, as there will not be so many beads and findings to pick through prior to sending the dust kitties to the trash.

Janine

re: 4 Tricks to Keep Your Beads on Your Thread

Lee@89 — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:00:07 GMT

I found a product called E Z mini Hook in a small beading shop a couple of years ago. It is available online. The origingal use is for electricians holding small wires. These little gadgets work great on wire, thread and fireline. They hold tight and don't get in the way or catch like the little spring holders

re: 4 Tricks to Keep Your Beads on Your Thread

SallyM@40 — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:45:49 GMT

I thread my needle without unraveling the spool but 1 foot or so then I slide the needle down as I unravel the thread until I have reached my arms length. I then gather the thread on the spool in the same hand as the thread and the needle and with the thread folded into my hand I double the thread as I pull the spool. Now I leave a 1' for more extra and then I cut the thread off the spool being sure to use the longest or last end of the thread to place a stop bead on the end. Now I simply do a half hitch and I am ready to bead. This keeps the thread from twisting so much and it is easy to know which end to put the stop bead. I take my thumb and index finger and slide off the stop bead later and it was easy. I teach this method in my classes for students to try. Keep what works for you and discard what you don't like.

re: 4 Tricks to Keep Your Beads on Your Thread

Jean Campbell — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:00:02 GMT

Um....Mimi....you just made my month! Thank you!

re: 4 Tricks to Keep Your Beads on Your Thread

MimiM@7 — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:17:49 GMT

I absolutely love Jean Campbell's writing! She could write an entire magazine and I would not get tired of it! Whenever I read one of her columns, I feel like going home from work, pulling out my beads and happily spending the entire day in my beadroom! Thank you for how much of yourself you put in the column!

re: 4 Tricks to Keep Your Beads on Your Thread

Oakwoman — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:35:21 GMT

I actually have 2 methods of keeping the free end of my project from loosing beads....

I usually work with beading wire so I unwrap what I think I'll need then put the little plastic collar back around the spool and voila! No escapee's.

The second is what we'd call "re-purposing" LOL! My mother-in-law was a nurse so she had a bunch of small forceps that she passed on to me. If the project is large and heavy, I wrap the wire 2 times around the jaws of a pair of forceps and click it shut. :)

re: 4 Tricks to Keep Your Beads on Your Thread

JSmaz — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 11:36:44 GMT

From a person living in Italy, I love your "Basta Bead". I may just have to adopt that phrase. :)