I finally found a pair of crimp pliers locally and am wondering about one thing....I see that you can hide one crimp when you put on the first bead, but does the last one always have to show....is there some "trick" to hiding it?? You guys seem to have all the answers...tia...Sharon
My crimps are usually showing - if they are tubular crimps and crimped properly, they will just look like a small cylindrical bead. I can hide the crimp on one end by putting a bead with a large hole over it, but there's no real way to do the same thing at the other end without leaving some room, so I just don't. :) Get the sterling silver tubular crimp beads that are 2mm long. The plated silver ones tend to flake and don't crimp as nicely. 2mm adds more strength than 1mm in my experience. Good luck! :)
Hi Sharon, On single strand pieces my crimp beads are visible for all to see. I usually put on a crimp, then another bead, then a crimp and maybe another bead so that the focus is on the beads surrounding the crimp and not on the crimp itself. I always use tube crimps and if you crimp them correctly they are not all that obtrusive.
When I am making a multistrand piece I hide the crimps under a bead cone.
I always work with softflex or a similar product and finish by making a double wrapped loop like a figure eight with about 22 or 20 gauge wire.
If you look at other finished pieces, including those from better department stores, you will see that you have been looking at exposed crimps all along. They become part of the finished piece and blend right in.
Have fun. And use good crimps. Softflex makes a good tube crimp, but they are very expensive. I am sure others here know of better sources. It is best to use sterling or goldfilled for strength and ease of work.
My crimps show unless I'm using a cone. No big deal. If you look at well-made jewelry in a shop, you'll see crimps showing.
Use good, SS crimps! It does make a difference. ~~ Sooz
------- "Those in the cheaper seats clap. The rest of you rattle your jewelry." John Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance ~ Dr. Sooz's Bead Links
Okay, now *I'm* confused. I've seen a number of projects in Bead & Button which seem to assume that you can hide crimps in large-hole beads at both ends of a project, and I've never been able to figure out how they do it either. Does anyone have any ideas here? If someone wants specific examples, I suppose I could dig thru my back issues and find some, but it's been shown often enough that I'd think someone else would have noticed.
Celine
InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.