Beading Basics:
Lesson 1 - How to Make a Beaded Necklace

This lesson teaches how to properly start, string, and finish a beaded necklace. You may need to refer to Beading Basics: How to Crimp, in order to help you properly finish this project.




Step 1:

Gather together all the necessary part and tools. You will need:

-Assorted Beads
-2 Crimp beads
-Beading wire (Beadalon, SoftFlex, Tigertail)
-Clasp
-Bead Board
-Crimping Pliers (not pictured)
-Wire Cutters (not pictured)

Step 2:

-Using the Bead Board plan out your necklace design before starting to string beads, this allows you to easily change your design without having to restring.
-Give your self a few options before deciding on a final design.
Design 1                                           Design 2                                               


Step 3:

-Cut piece of soft flex a few inches longer than you want the necklace to be, give yourself some room to play with.
-Attach one end of the clasp to the beading wire using a crimp bead. (This is where you may need to refer to the How to Crimp instructions.

Step 4:

-Start stringing the beads as they have been layed out on the bead board, starting at one end and ending at the other.
-It's a good idea to stop from time to time and check that the pattern is correct. Especially when working with smaller beads, it's very easy to make a mistake and mix up the pattern while stringing.



Step 5:
-Keep stringing the beads as laid out on the bead board until you reach the end of the pattern.
-It is a good idea at this point to take the necklace to a mirror and hold it up to your neck to check the length. If it's too long/too short this is the time to make that correction.






Step 6:

-Finish off the necklace using the other half of the clasp and the second crimp bead.
-You will need a pair of crimping pliers for this step.






Step 7:

-Cut off any excess beading wire after the crimp bead has been properly crimped into place.
-You will need a pair of wire cutters for this step.

You have your finished product!