Stringing Material 101
Stringing Bracelets and Necklaces
It's amazing and somewhat overwhelming when you consider the variety of stringing material that is on the market! Beaders with any experience at all will tell you that a good wire or thread is an essential base to a great piece of wearable art.
For clasp bracelets and necklaces, I recommend Beadalon, Accuflex, Softflex or a similar brand of plastic coated wire. You simply cannot break this stuff. It can be a little pricey, but believe me, it's worth it. For my professional pieces, I use the 49-strand, .14, .15 for lighter beads and .18, .19 for heavier beads. For necklaces that require a little more body to them, 19 or 21 strand works great. 7-strand will work for necklaces that need a stiffer wire for a lightweight focal bead only, but I don't recommend it at all for bracelets.
If you want to make stretchy bracelets, you will need to get good material as well. Stretch Magic is what I use, and it is readily available in most craft stores in varying weights. You can use crimp beads and clasps if you want, but I like to just knot it about 4 times and add a drop of nail polish (clear) to secure the knot. Smaller diameters will work better with delicate beads with tiny holes, use heavier diameters for chunky or heavier beads. If possible, hide the knot when you are done inside a bead with a larger hole. Always, always, always test your knot BEFORE cutting the loose ends to ensure it's not a "granny" knot!
If you are stringing pearls or seed beads, you may want to use silk thread or Nymo beading thread. These come in spools in a variety of colors - use something neutral or that complements your beads.
