The simplest form of beading is done by inserting an elastic string through the thru-holes of the beads, joining both ends and tie a knot at the end. Usually, a short thin wire or fishing line is folded and used to insert the string through the beads.
But recently, a seller gave me a beading needle as a gift for my purchase, which I didn't know existed until now. I researched a little and this is my first try with the beading needle.
A beading needle comes in a few sizes, depending on what we are stringing. I have a 10 inches and an 8 inches type. The needles are cheap, just a few cents, at most a dollar and can be purchased online. It has an open ended hook to allow a stringing thread to slip in easily and placed snugly.
And so, I have a thousand layer four seasons phantom bracelet which is multicoloured. One of my favourite things to do, is to rearrange multicoloured beads to an ombre effect.
The first thing I did, was to snip off the original knot of the bracelet and roll the beads out.
As the beads rolled out, the heart leaped with anticipation. The anticipation to have a "new" bracelet in a colour arrangement that I would prefer.
This is the first part of the fun. The beads can be rearranged any way we desire, and as I was playing with this, I arranged it to this way.
I decided to use the shorter needle because the holes for the beads are big enough for it. The longer needle is thinner and flimsier.
I used a dark green elastic thread for this and measured about 14 to 15cm for my wrist size of 16cm. The idea is to have a shorter string, so that when we knot the strings, it should be snugly tight.
I inserted the elastic string through the needle hook which was easy, as the string can be slid into the hook by tightening the string as it is inserted.
And here is the second part of fun, of inserting the needle through the beads, one by one, according to the arrangement and see the formation of the bracelet.
Before that, I used a binder clip to prevent the beads from slipping through the elastic string as I inserted them through.
One by one, the beads were inserted until all the beads were in. The beading needle helps in keeping the beads in place, and we can easily insert, remove and rearrange the beads before pushing the elastic string through.
The beads were then pushed down and the elastic string pulled through until the elastic string is visible and the needle out.
This was where I inserted the other end of the string at the binder clip through the elastic tring loop at the needle and tied 3 knots to secure them.
The first few tries can be a bit tricky but once I got used to it, it was quite easy. Just needed to make sure the elastic thread was long enough to hold the beads to form the bracelent.
When the knots were fastened, I pushed the beads through to cover the knots.
Aahh.. I am a happy "new" bracelet camper now. My ombre effect thousand layer four seasons phantom. Maybe in a few days' time, I might restring this and roll back into the mixed colours arrangement.
My conclusion - beading is definitely simpler with the needle compared to the flimsy wire or fishing line as the needle holds the beads in place.
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Here's wishing everyone a good week and take care!
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