Following PDXKnitterati's lead, I decided to make myself some stitch markers. And goodness knows if I can make them, so can you. I was able to get every one of these items in the beading aisle of JoAnn Fabrics. You could absolutely buy them at jewelry and beading supply stores. But I found them to be very inexpensive at the craft discount retailer. I will list the brand I purchased in parenthesis although the brand is not important.
In this tutorial, the pictures are above the corresponding step.
You'll Need:
- Nylon Coated Stainless Steel Bead Stringing Wire, .018 inches or 0.46 mm in any color of your choosing (Beadalon 7 Strand Nylon Coated Stainless Steel Bead Stringing Wire, Black)
- Crimp Tubes - Size #2 or 1.3 mm (Beadalon Silver Plated Crimp Tube Variety Pack Sizes #1, #2, #3, & #4)
- Beads (Blue Moon Beads 7in. Glass Bead Strand)
- Beading Wire Cutters (Cousin Corporation Precision Comfort Flush Cutter)
- Crimp Tool (WT Crafting Expressions 1 pc. Bead Crimper Pliers)
Step 1:
- Cut a comfortable length of wire. I threaded my beads onto the wire and doubled the length plus 1/2" for the loop length.
- Bend your wire in half (w/o leaving a crink) and thread a crimp tube up the bottom two ends until you see a loop.
Step 3:
- Pull the crimp tube up until the loop is the size you want it. Using the crimp tool (See video instruction directly above from Blue Moon Beads on how to use the Crimping Pliers), crimp the tube to secure the loop.
- Place beads on the wire in a configuration you like.
- Thread another crimp tube so that it is sitting below the beads you just threaded.
Step 6:
- Crimp the tube, using the crimp tool to secure the beads.
- Snip the excess wire below the 2nd crimp tube off.
NOTE: Not being a beader by hobby, I didn't realize how important a beading mat was until I had seed beads flying about. Save yourself some trouble and invest in a beading mat to work on.
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