The Beader's Handbook: Beads - Tools - Materials - Techniques

by Juju Vail

Book Overview

Find all the beading know-how you'll ever need in this comprehensive, step-by-step handbook! Over 350 photos and illustrations spotlight scores of techniques?they'll take you from beginner to expert... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1564778002
• ISBN13: 9781564778000
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Martingale and Company
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.2" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Book Review: LibraryLoungeLizard.com

I've been making jewelry and glass beads for about 10 years now and I've seen tons of "how-to" and informational books about beads and jewelry. The Beader's Handbook is great because it gives a little bit of information on a lot of different topics. If you want a good intro book to see all the different types of ways to make jewelry and to find about various types of beads then this is a great place to start! I think it is great that the book only gives the basic supplies needed to start beading. I remember some of the books that I bought in the beginning completely overwhelmed me with the amount of stuff that I would need to buy to get started. The books were great overall but all the supplies listed seemed wayyyy expensive...in reality you can get started beading for less than $50 (even less if you go to garage sales and such :) The basics are listed for: beading * wire working * jewelry making * bead stitching/weaving and stringing materials. The book also explains what various parts of jewelry are and what they are used for ie: earring wires and split rings. You will also find the basics on how to do wire working, including a wire size chart, the different types of wire and their uses (including the hardness of the wire which is very important!) When it comes to the jewelry making part (earrings, necklaces and bracelets) all the basic skills are shown and I also like the fact that they list the "standard" length of various types of necklaces and bracelets. The book also shows the basics on how to make the following types of beads: wooden beads * polymer beads * fabric beads * felt beads and making beads out of smaller seed beads. Although it shows the basics, if you are interested in focusing on making any one of them in particular I definitely recommend buying a book devoted to making that certain type of bead. There is some info on stitching and weaving including a loom, peyote and off-loom stitching. A guide to Knitting and crocheting with beads is provided also. You can also find a lot of pages devoted to explaining all the different types of beads out there (there are a LOT) and semi-precious stones called "Know your Beads". Overall a great book for beginners! Again, if you find a particular style of beading in this book that you really like, I definitely recommend buying another book that focuses on that style because it will provide you with more in-depth instructions.

The Beader's Bible!

I have book searching for an all-inclusive book on beading. I finally found it! THE BEADER'S HANDBOOK is one that I would recommend for any beader but especially for the newbie - which is ME! With over 250 pages of information, you should find everything you ever wanted to know about beads and beading techniques. The book begins, as all good books do, with the basic tools and equipment needed to do beading. It describes basic tools, tools for wirework, threads, cords, findings and glues. The next chapter is about beading basics such as the length jewelry should be, how to string pearls, how to start and end threads and multiple strands. Chapter Three discusses any and all things to do with working with wire. Stitching and Weaving is the subject of Chapter Four while Chapter Five shows all types of beads you can work with. It has photos of each and a paragraph or two about the bead. The final chapter contains graphs that can be used for loom weaving designs. Since the book talks of crocheting with beads, there is an appendix on crochet hooks and conversion from US to Metric and crochet stitch definitions are also included. This book is going in my beading tote and will be used with regularity.