Beading Tips - Stranded Wire
Which type of stranded wire should you use for your beading project? Beadalon® and Acculon® are probably the two best-known brands of this strong, flexible beading wire. It’s made of 7, 19, or 49 strands of stainless steel twisted together and coated with nylon.
The more strands used, the more flexible and threadlike the wire becomes. While even the 7-strand wire is flexible enough to tie knots in, you get a nicer drape with more strands. Because of its strength and durability, this wire is an excellent choice for stringing gemstone, pearl, glass and crystal beads. It comes in some surprising colors, too, so the wire can be exposed as part of the design.
A bracelet probably doesn’t need to be as flexible as a necklace does, so the 7-strand wire might be adequate for your bracelet designs. If you are using fairly large and heavier beads, the 7-strand may not only be adequate, it may drape more regularly, especially if the center focal beads are weighty. If you’re just getting started with beading, you may want to begin by using the 7-strand wire since it’s the most economical, too. The 19-strand wire is probably adequate for most professional beading projects requiring a little more flexibility, but for particularly expensive pieces or very tiny light weight beads, you can’t beat the 49-strand wire for both strength and flexibility.
Which size should you choose? As a general rule, you should try to use the largest size of your chosen stringing material that you can comfortably get through your beads, because the thicker the material, the stronger it is. In the case of nylon-coated stranded wire, you also have to consider how m any strands you want to have. The 49-strand wire is very strong, but also fairly thick (0.018” in diameter), so it may not work with small pearls or tiny beads. For the tiniest pearls and beads, you should use .012” Beadalon (it is available in 7 strand or 19 strand on our site). The medium size (0.015”) also comes in a larger variety of colors, giving you additional design options.
We are a direct Beadalon distributor and carry a wide variety of their beading supplies.
Beadalon 7 Stranded Wire @abeadstore.com
