Beading wire help!

Did you contact the manufacturer? A reaction like that is most odd - I wonder if the batch you have didn't get properly cleaned off during the manufacturing process. SoftFlex is nice, but I do like the way SoftTouch lays - much softer. Another option would be Beadalon.

As far as using wire - eventually it will break - it can only take so much back-and-forth movement. It will continue to harden at the movement points. You could try sterling cablestrand as an option.

Help, I am desperate! I have no idea what to string beads on. Soft touch and Soft Flex seem to be the standard, but I had some kind of reaction to Soft Touch the second time I used it. (My hands got hot and red, then swollen and itchy.) So a beading friend recommended using Power Pro or doubled Nymo D. This has worked great, until yesterday. Out of maybe three dozen necklaces, yesterday one on Power Pro was sliced by a rough bead. This is absolutely unacceptable if I want to try selling! So, what kind of wire can I use if the coated steel bothers me? I received the latest Beadwork magazine on stringing, and found no help. It read like an ad for Soft Flex, because every single project used that product and brand... then I realized that half the contributors worked for Soft Flex!

Any advice on stringing on Sterling Silver wire? I have heard this mentioned, but I can't find any good details in the newsgroup archives or anywhere online. I want to make durable jewelry of professional grade for selling, and will be using a variety of both small, large and stone beads.

Thanks in advance, Mjoann

I string on Fireline and have found it to be wonderful, it knots well and is super strong. It's available from tackle shops in different strengths. I think mine is 8lb and it still goes through pearls. It drapes very nicely. I bought mine in Australia and it was quite expensive, but the roll is huge and has lasted me a long time. I would also advise using an emery to file off sharp edged beads. Marisa (AU/NZ)

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from "Marisa Cappetta" :

]I string on Fireline and have found it to be wonderful, it knots well and is ]super strong. It's available from tackle shops in different strengths. I ]think mine is 8lb and it still goes through pearls. It drapes very nicely. I ]bought mine in Australia and it was quite expensive, but the roll is huge ]and has lasted me a long time. I would also advise using an emery to file ]off sharp edged beads.

YOU FOUND SOME! i'm so glad you like it! whoever recommended it to me a long time ago, i can't say enough thank yous!

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

(Jewelry) ----------- The measure of the menace of a man is not what hardware he carries, but what ideas he believes.-- Jeff Jordan

If you use very small guage SS (like 30g), you can do bead crochet chains or tubes. However, it does tend to "snap" after a while-- the larger/heavier the beads, the sooner it wil snap.

With heavier wire (say, 20g), you can make head or eye pins to dangle off chains or you can connect a series of eye-pin wired beads into a chain (like on a traditional rosary). It would probably be best to use the half hard SS. Kaytee "Simplexities" on

You can really make lovely things using sterling silver chain and wire wrapping with sterling silver. Also, try Silamide rather than Nymo - it's more durable (in my opinion) and doesn't twist as much. I love Soft Flex as well, but if you're allergic to that, chances are you are allergic to any type of nylon covered wire, which is what Soft Flex is.

Here are some tutorials for you:

Be careful if the beads are glass - do the filing in water. Breathing in the glass dust is very dangerous. :)

Sure, one or two. But if this is a thing people do all the time, it can aggravate the lungs. I for one clean my beads in water. But, hey, to each his/her own. :)

Wow! I didn't know that! So the gorgeous wire crochet necklaces I see aren't that durable?

Valerie Website:

Check out my site for the RCB member links pages! E-mail me for details!

I sure did, Vicki, I found it in Aus . And today I found some in a tackle shop in Christchurch, so I'm a happy camper!

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from "Marisa Cappetta" :

]I sure did, Vicki, I found it in Aus . And today I found some in a tackle ]shop in Christchurch, so I'm a happy camper!

**grin** as i said, i'm SO glad! especially that you're LIKING it!

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

(Jewelry) ----------- The measure of the menace of a man is not what hardware he carries, but what ideas he believes.-- Jeff Jordan

I don't know that that is true in every case. I have been crocheting necklaces and bracelets in sterling and goldfilled wire for more than 10 years. I have a bracelet that I wear almost every day, and have never had a problem.

In addition, I have a necklace that an aunt of mine crocheted with wire more than 25 years ago, and I have never had a problem with it.

I am sure that once in a while, a bracelet or necklace breaks, but I am equally as confident that it is an aberration, or user error.

Wear your crocheted necklace with confidence...it will last for many, many years.

Those are what have been breaking, for me. Of course, I'm not exactly "easy" on my jewelry.... The chains using small beads do a lot better than the ones with big beads, but are a lot "springier" (so they don't drape as well). The smaller guages work up easiest, but also break easiest. 34g works up wonderfully-- but snaps in the hooking/pulling through loops. 30g is very easy, very delicate.

28g is starting to get a bit stiff, unless well weighted. 26g-- very stiff. 24g-- forget it; ended up with a bruised hand. Kaytee "Simplexities" on

I found some today! It was at Big W, in the fishing tackle section.

I bought 6lb and 20lb (from memory - don't have it near me) in the grey colour.

Excellent, I bet is was a bit cheaper at B W. You'll find the 6lb line is fine enough to go through pearls and still ultra-strong. It's the one store I'm finding that I miss in NZ, they don't have Big W and I used to shop there a lot. Marisa (AU/NZ)