WildFire Beading Thread

And here's is the other love of my beading thread life - WildFire.  If you saw my last post on FireLine, pretty much ditto for WildFire.  It's another nylon thread that's very strong and doesn't self-puncture, so it doesn't get tangly or impossible to pull out your mishaps.  But whereas FireLine is the perfect fluid, drapey beading thread, WildFire is fantastic for sturdy, structured pieces with some body to them.  It's a little bigger, despite having the same advertised diameter, but I use it whenever it will fit when I'm aiming for a structured piece of bead weaving.  One of my newer favorite obsessions is dimensional, shaped weaving.  I get a ridiculous kick out of creating 3D shapes with seed beads.  I love how strong the WildFire makes these pieces.  I don't bead without these threads!

FireLine Beading Thread

Have I mentioned by love for bead weaving?  If you've seen my Etsy shop, you'll know how much of my crafty time is spent with a needle, thread, and seed beads.  In the past, I always just used whatever beading thread I had lying around.  But when I started my current job, a coworker introduced me to FireLine.  Oooooh.

FireLine is a braided nylon beading thread.  It's strong, it doesn't tangle as easily as regular nylon thread, and it doesn't separate and pierce itself so easily.  That means that it's easier to undo stitching when you (inevitably) make a boo boo.  Basically, it's a bead weaving miracle.  It's very fine, and makes for some beautiful beadwork.  It's my thread of choice for finer, more fluid weaving projects.  Stay tuned for my structured project thread of choice, that's next.

Magnetic Clasps

I was never sure of the best way to close a bracelet when I started making jewelry.  Bracelets can be tricky, since you've got to work the clasp one-handed.  One of my favorite purchased bracelets has a magnetic clasp, and I always thought it was genius, but I never thought to look for magnetic clasps for my own work until more recently.

And when I did it was miraculous.  I found these magnetic clasps at Beadaholique - there are a number of finishes and different sizes, etc.  They make me so happy.  They are a neat, clean finish to keep the focus on the bracelet, plus they're super easy to open and close one-handed, but strong enough to stay closed while wearing.  Definitely my favorite go-to bracelet clasp these days.

My Favorite Bead Weaving Book

Okay, you might not fully understand the weight of the statement when I say that Teach Yourself Visually: Beadwork is my favorite resource for bead weaving techniques.  Bead weaving is one of my favorite crafty activities...EVER.  And it can be tricky, but I keep this book on hand for when I forget how to decrease square stitch or make round netting and it's always easy to find what I'm looking for in a moment.  The photos and illustrations are clear and the instruction makes sense.  Plus, the way it's organized is really user friendly and makes finding what you're looking for a breeze.  If you're learning how to bead weave, or like me, you just like to keep a reference guide, I highly recommend this book.  Amazon's got it for a pretty good price.

Bead Stoppers - Don't Bead Weave Without Them

Bead weaving is one of my favorite things.  And it became much easier when I discovered Bead Stoppers!  They're a lifesaver for bead weaving or stringing - They just clamp right onto the end of your thread or wire where you would usually put an anchor bead (or hold on for dear life) and keep your beads from sliding off the strand.  Then, when you're done, they just open right up and they're off in a jiff!  They're one of my favorite, favorite tools!  I found mine at Beadaholique.

Needle Grabbers - Seriously.

If you sew or do bead weaving or millinery, or, I imagine any other number of crafts, then you need these things.

I hate thimbles.  When I was taking a millinery class in college, my costume shop manager suggested these little gems - and changed my sewing life forever!

Anytime you are using a needle to go through tight spaces (like bead weaving) or tough materials (like millinery) you end up wrestling with your needle trying to pull it through.  Many folks use a thimble to push from the back of the needle.  But with the needle grabbers, you just wrap it around the needle and suddenly it pulls through like a breeze!  In fact, be careful bead weaving, it makes it so easy to pull through that it can be easy to break a bead!

Needle grabbers are cheap and come 2 to a pack, so I usually have them floating around all over the place in my craft supplies.  I usually mine from CreateForLess.

Wire Looping Pliers

If you make jewelry, you know that wire loops (simple or wrapped) can be a bit annoying.  For me, they were downright troublesome - until I found these pliers!

I make a LOT of jewelry, in my personal time, and at my full-time job.  So listen when I tell you that this is one of my all time favorite tools!  I got my pair from Beadaholique, and there's even a video on the page that shows how to use them.  You just place the pliers next to where you want the loop and close them.  Bend the wire around, rotate the pliers, and bend the wire the rest of the way around. 

The loops are neat and round every time, and you can change the size simply by moving up or down the nose of the pliers.  Oh, and let me tell you, they transformed my wire wrapped loops - into something that actually looked nice! 

Sullivan's Make-A-Zipper Saved My Wedding Dress!

If you sew, you probably know that most fabric stores carry zippers in lengths from, oh, 7" to about 22" long.  And one of those would be fine for your average run of the mill strapless wedding gown.  But I realized after mine was already under way that my full, high-backed bodice was going to require something different.  And I panicked a little.

And then I found Sullivan's Make-A-Zipper (which I found for a great price at createforless) and I knew that it was all going to be okay!  So, what this product is really meant for is cutting 12 of your own zippers whatever length you may need.  Pull one of the zipper pulls into the zipper fabric your're using and cut off however much you need.  Just make sure you stitch around the base and the ends so your zipper pull doesn't come off, and you're golden.  But what I used this product for what creating an invisible zipper that was about 30" long, which is hard, if not impossible, to find.  I was so relieved to realize that I had found the solution!  And actually, I still have quite a bit of the 4 1/2 yard spool left to make zippers with my other 11 pulls too.  It's a great deal, and such a life saver if you occasionally need odd-sized zippers!