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Threads for Beading and Stringing

Have you ever wondered what the best thing to string beads on is? Or which thread to start bead-weaving with? We will go through the different types of stringing materials and beading threads and what jewellery making techniques they can be used for.

Beading Wires for Jewellery Making

Beadalon, Soft Flex, and Soft Touch are all types of flexible beading wire. They are thin cables, made up of fine twisted wires, covered in a nylon coating. It is different from standard craft wire; You cannot bend beading wire into a shape and you can’t knot it. Instead to fix beads on beading wire in place, you use small metal beads called crimps.

Beadalon is a great all-round beading wire, suitable for creating jewellery using mostly small to medium beads. It comes in different types; 7 strand is great for basic stringing and holds its shape with lighter beads, 19 strand is more flexible and holds weightier beads and 49 strand is even more flexible and suitable for heavy beads and it less prone to kinking.

Soft Flex is a flexible and tough beading wire. The nylon coating offers good protection against wear caused by heavy and rough beads. It is perfect for using with semi-precious stones and ceramic beads.

Soft Touch has similar properties to Soft Flex but is incredibly soft and flexible. This makes it perfect to use with lighter-weight pearls and seed beads. Soft Touch creates the drape of a fabric thread but with the added strength of a beading wire.

Beading Cords for Bead Stringing

Beading cords are fine often woven or twisted cords used for bead stringing and knotting.

Designed as a replacement for silk, Griffin Power Cord is a strong nylon thread. Power Cord creates precise, tight knots making it ideal for knotted pearl and gemstone pieces. It also comes complete with a fine, flexible needle pre-attached. This removes the bulk added by the eye of a standard needle, meaning you can string beads with very small holes. It comes in different thicknesses and colours.


Griffin High Performance is an incredibly strong version of Power Cord. I recommend using High Performance when knotting genuine, freshwater pearl necklaces. It provides a strong, long-lasting finish. High Performance is available in white and comes in a range of thicknesses.

S-Lon is a nylon thread like Power Cord, but is slightly thicker and feels stiffer to use. It comes on reels so is very economical. It is great for general bead stringing as well as micro macrame and knotting.

stringing

Bead-weaving Threads

Bead-weaving threads are very fine and are designed for use with small beads like seed beads and Delica beads to create woven beaded designs.


Nymo is similar to sewing thread (originally created as a thread to sew upholstery), so much stronger and with a slightly flattened profile to make threading on a needle easier! It comes in a range of colours and is a great thread when starting out with bead weaving.


Wildfire and Fireline are bonded threads with a coating that helps prevent your needle from getting caught as you weave back through beads. They come in a variety of thicknesses and in neutral colours to blend in with your beadwork. They are fine, but very strong and resistant to fraying. Wildfire is measured in mm and Fireline by the weight it can hold; so 2lb is a finer thread the 6lb.


Supplemax is a clear monofilament thread. It can give your beading a bit more stability than Nymo or Wildfire, particularly when creating 3D structures. You don’t need a needle to use it and being clear it can be used with transparent beads without affecting the colour. It can also be used for stringing lightweight beads and creating illusion necklaces.

Cords for Jewellery Making

Cotton, satin and leather cords are all ideal for creating necklace and bracelets using beads with larger holes, such as wooden and ceramic beads . You can choose to add on ends and a clasp or create a sliding knot to finish.

Waxed cotton cord is available in 1mm and 2mm and is excellent for necklaces and bracelets. Satin cord is softer to touch and has a wonderful shiny finish and leather cord is similar to cotton cord, but with a slight shine and smooth finish and will soften with wear.

Bead Elastic

Elastic is great for making stretchy bracelets. For larger holed beads like our pony beads, fabric elastic is perfect. It is easy to thread and tie and ideal for kids who want to make jewellery.

Stretch Magic is excellent for beads with smaller holes. Choose from a range of thicknesses in clear, black or sparkly silver and gold. You don’t require a needle to thread on even the smallest beads, and you can knot Stretch Magic or secure using a crimp tube.

Thank you for reading. I hope you have found this guide to threads for beading and stringing useful and helps you select the most suitable thread for your project. If you’re still unsure or want to discuss the options free free to email us or give us a call.

Do let us know if there any topics you’d like to learn more about.

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