Stringing Choices For Beading & Jewelry Making

 Stringing Choices For Beading & Jewelry Making

Silk has a wonderful "hand" (a soft, flexible feel). Silk is a relatively fragile material and should be re-strung every few years. Nylon stretches significantly less than silk and does not rot when wet. Beads with sharp edges or that are heavy, like silk, should be avoided. To prevent fraying, I recommend coating nylon thread with bee's wax or "Thread HeavenTM ".

Bonded nylon is available in a variety of colors and on smaller spools. This comes close to being a "Universal Thread", "Stringth" and "Silkon" are two brand names.

One crucial lesson I learned is that there is no such thing as an all-purpose (Universal) stringing material.

Here are the main stringing materials, as well as how and when to use them.

THREAD OF SILK: 

Silk has a wonderful "hand" (a soft, flexible feel). This thread is available in a variety of sizes and colors. It is packaged on spools and "carded" with a needle attached. This is a traditional stringing material that creates lovely knots between pearls and beads. However, silk is a relatively fragile material. It stretches, is cut by abrasive beads, and rots when wet, so pearls strung on silk should be re-strung every few years. Only use silk when stringing pearls and lightweight, smooth-holed beads. A needle is required.

THREAD ON NYLON: (Nymo): 

This thread is also available in a variety of sizes and colors. It is packaged on spools, bobbins, and "carded" with a needle. Nylon is less fragile than silk and can be used in the same places. This material knots beautifully and can be used for pearl stringing, seed beadwork, loom weaving, Peyote and other specialty stitches, and heishi. Nylon stretches significantly less than silk and does not rot when wet. Beads with sharp edges or that are heavy, like silk, should be avoided. To prevent fraying when using nylon thread, I recommend coating it with bee's wax or "Thread HeavenTM " before use. A needle is required.

BONDED NYLON: 

A much stronger type of nylon thread. For added strength and abrasion resistance, the strands are physically bonded together. Although it knots well, it lacks the "hand" of silk. Bonded nylon is available in a variety of colors and on smaller spools. Because of its abrasion resistance, you can use it with "hard", more abrasive gem beads; in fact this comes close to being a "Universal Thread". "Stringth" and "Silkon" are two brand names. A needle is required, but you can form a "Self-needle" by putting "Super Glue" on the end. This is one of my favorite beading materials.

FISHING LINE: 

This is a single strand of hard, semi-rigid plastic. It does not knot well, and sun or ultraviolet light can cause it to weaken and fall apart over time. Fishing line is purchased in sporting goods stores on small spools. I personally use fishing line for two reasons. I use it to string together "raw" strands of beads and to do preliminary stringing while designing a necklace (I transfer the beads to a better material for the final product). There is no need for a needle. This is not a material I would use for a finished beaded piece.