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Beads - Size Matters
Picking out beads is one of the most enjoyable parts of making
your own jewelry. There are so many color combinations,
complementary beads, beautiful handcrafted beads and unique
beads; its easy to get lost in the process of looking at beads.
As easy as it to get lost playing with beads, there are a few
How To Make Hoop EarringsYears ago, a friend of mine taught me some simple beading techniques. You can make all sorts of shapes using ..... facts that are helpful to know about beads. When you are armed
with a little knowledge about beads, youll have an easier time
reading instructions or have a conversation about beads with a
sales person. So lets look at one of the basics of beads
their size.
One of the best things about beads is that they are consistent
in sizing. Not all the beads are the same size, but most use the
same method of sizing. Most beads are measured using the metric
Black And White Print 19I was shopping with my sister in law several months ago. We were looking in home interior shops for pictures to hang in her living ..... system; they are sized in millimeters.
For Americans who have desperately been trying to avoid
converting to the metric system, this may seem a little
intimidating. But before you know it, youll be thinking in
millimeters.
Most bead stores lay out their bead inventory in small
individual compartments. Usually, the compartments are labeled
with the size of the beads and the type of beads. For instance,
youll see a compartment labeled 4 mm blue agate.
Small round beads are sized generally from 2mm to 10mm. These
beads increase per millimeter size 2, 3, 4mm, etc. Medium to
Candle Wedding Favors 16If you want to dazzle the guests at your receptions you might want to consider investing in really thoughtful tokens of ..... large round beads begin in sizes 12mm to 32mm. Generally, at
this size, the beads range in even sizes 12mm, 14mm, 16mm.
Another popular bead shape is oval beads. These beads are
measured by their length and width. So, oval beads range from
8mm x 6mm, 10mm x 8mm, up to 40mm x 30mm.
Generally when beads are extremely large, they are referred to
as cabochon. A cabochon is a large stone or glass bead. These
beads can be a beautiful centerpiece to a necklace or bracelet.
Many jewelry designers opt to use cabochons as a setting for
wire wrapping, for beading around the cabochon with seed beads,
or the cabochons are used in a bezel setting (a metal setting
that holds the stone and has a bale attached a fixture at the
top of the setting that makes it easy to use in stringing).
Most of the time, the cabochon is an oval cut, but there are
some beautiful glass and stone cabochons that are other shapes.
In the case of an oval cabochon, the front of the cabochon is
Beaded Christmas Ornament 19The fall is the season that I see very little of my husband. He is an avid hunter. He archery hunts for white tail deer. The ..... rounded, while the back is flat.
There are far more shapes of beads than merely round or oval,
but these are certainly the most common. Now that you have an
understanding of how a beads sizing is described, you can have
more confidence mixing and matching different colours and styles
of beads.
About the author:
The author recently released The Ultimate Bead Lovers Guide.
To find out more, check out www.beading.learnheaps.com for more
information.
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