A Beader’s First Aid Kit 

Bust out the Band-aids! Sometimes a beader needs to know how to repair or mend up a tragedy of a beady sort. Here are some good tips to help you do just that.

The broken bead

I once purchased a bead from a very well known lamp-worker who was hip-hop-happenin’ in popularity at the time. I paid $120.00 for a spectacular bead she had hand made and wasn’t something she originally wanted to part with. It had certain things on it that I couldn’t stop staring at, and she told me those things were “haphazard happy mistakes” and she had no idea on how to recreate the technique. Forgive me for being vague… but I don’t want to reveal her identity by describing her bead because she’s an amazing artist and I don’t want one freak incident to ruin her reputation. Anyway, I bought it and took it home. I set it down on my work table a little harder than I had meant to, but it shouldn’t have caused any damage since this bead doesn’t have any stickey-outey or hangey-offey things on it. Similar beads have taken more of a rough and tumble but since they’re annealed, they survive fantastically. But alas, when I unwrapped the tissue paper it had a clear break through the middle and it was in two pieces. My heart sank.

Making a decision

I called the artist to tell her it had happened, since I felt she needed to know her work had broken by my hand, but that it perhaps shouldn’t have been so fragile if it had been properly annealed.  She said she had a new kiln and was having trouble, and did I want to be refunded. No! I didn’t want a refund. I wanted the one of a kind bead. So I got out my glass glue and fixed it up. Now, this is a bead for me. I’ll never sell it or give it away. Some day one of my nieces will probably score it, but the repair is so good they’ll probably not notice it. What is glass glue, you ask?? I’m glad you did.

Glass glue

I’ve used it many time, on china and marbles and coffee cups and bottles. Its called Instant Glass Glue by Henkel and you can find it at hardware stores or pharmacy stores. It dries clear and holds fantastically. For glass beads its great… and it will stayed glued forever. At one of my Bunco games we got hit with an earthquake (a small one) that felt like a tractor trailer truck hit the house we were in. Everyone was fine, but the china closet had a large raised Waterford bowl that had one stem and a small base.  The bowl was really heavy, and when the quake hit, it snapped right off in the middle of the stem. I gave the home owner my glass glue. Done deal. Stupid earthquakes.

A seed bead fix

After spending a long time beading a small purse in peyote stitch, I noticed that the colors were changing. On a closer look I realized that I had used a galvanized seed bead among other solid glass ones. Galvanized beads are a base bead with a coating of another color on it. So it can rub off to reveal the bead underneath. So my bracelet was doomed. The color would all come off eventually with wear. So, I re-beaded it using the same beads right after I fixed the galvanized ones by pouring them out evenly in a shallow box and spraying them with a clear spray paint called Krylon. Then I rolled the beads around in the box and sprayed them again. This gave the beads a coating of lacquer to prevent the color from rubbing off. You can find this spray at any place that sells spray paint.

Doing repairs

Speaking of beaded bags and other things made from seed beads, many times I have made a simple ‘repair kit’ to keep just in case the bag has issues and needs a fix. A few of each color bead, and then maybe a few of the embellishment beads and a length of thread if a special thread has been used. This is especially nice if you’ve given a hand made piece of beading as a gift. Oh, and a  good way to help prevent needing to repair anything is to only use good beads. Avoid beads that are misshapen or have sharp edges.

The broken seed bead

If you try to pass through a seed bead one too many times and it breaks, my best advice is to back track and put a new and perfect bead in that spot. I know you don’t want to hear that. But a fix it job in bead weaving compromises the integrity and stability of the piece. Better to have it right than have someone hand you the repair kit you made for it when it starts to come undone.

First aid for your pocketbook

Buy strands! You’re saving a lot of money over time by buying a few more beads on a strand at a better price than buying them loose. Think of it as an investment and that you’ll be able to buy more beads in the long run. :-) And that’s what we want. More beads.

Bits of broken chain

Chain is good, no matter what the length is. You can use chain in little pieces for earrings, backs of necklaces and so much more. Don’t ever throw away tiny bits of chain. Just save them up and link them together with beads in between for funky necklaces or bracelets.

The big jewelry fix

When you have something that’s been in your jewelry box for a while, and it breaks when you’re wearing it, please don’t do a patch up fix on it. You really need to give it the total spa experience and use  fresh new stuff on it. New Softflex, new clasp, new bales, etc. will give it a longer lifespan. Chances are if you patch it up and wear it, it will break again… probably when you’re getting into your car while you’re leaving the grocery store and you won’t notice that it slipped off your wrist onto the parking lot and you may drive over it when you leave. It could happen. So give it a proper exam and diagnose some replacement parts. Think of it as an upgrade!

When something can’t be repaired

Pliers wear out. Instead of throwing them away, donate them to a thrift store. They love them for use in their stores, but will also sell them to people who are not doing such fine, precision work. Your old cutter that used to trim sterling will have a change to cut off the nails in Percy’s barn, know what I mean? Recycle. Up-cycle. Call it whatever...but do it!

“I have beaders back. You know. When you’ve been beading all night and you suddenly choose to stand up, and you’ve got a permanent bend in your spine. So remember to stretch, people! And, always keep Chapstick in your beading tray. For your lips, not your beads.”   ~Allie Morrow’s best beading advice