Essential Resources

Discover how Commedia dell'Arte and Carnevale shape today's fashion. Infuse this historic flair into your jewelry designs!

Enhance your jewelry-making skills with this step-by-step tutorial on using the Beadalon® “Baby” Jewel Loom® to create a charming necklace.

Fine silver is a high-purity form of silver, consisting of 99.9% pure silver, often denoted as .999 or 999. This means it contains only a minimal amount of impurities, typically 0.1% or less. Fine silver is known for its lustrous white appearance and high reflectivity, making it a popular choice for high-quality jewelry, coins and investment-grade bullion.

A popular bead weaving technique in jewelry making, brick stitch involves adding beads in an offset pattern to create a flat, tightly woven fabric. This stitch resembles the layout of bricks in a wall, where each bead is positioned between two beads in the previous row. Brick stitch is versatile and can be used to create intricate patterns, shapes, and designs in bracelets, earrings, pendants and other beaded jewelry pieces. It is known for its durability and the ability to form both geometric and freeform designs.

A tension bead (or stopper bead) holds your work in place. To make one, string a bead larger than those you are working with, then pass through the bead one or more times, making sure not to split your thread. The bead will be able to slide along but will still provide tension to work against when you're beading the first two rows.

A technique in which beads are gathered on a strand. Beading wire, needle and thread and other materials are used for stringing.

Discover the history of glass bead making, with roots in Ancient Rome and evolving through innovative techniques spurred by the advent of industrialization.

Begin with a foundation row of ladder stitch. Join the ends together to form a tube. String 2 beads. Pass down through the next bead and up through the bead after it. Repeat around the tube. At the end of the round, pass through the first beads of the previous and current rounds to step up to the new round.

Begin by stringing a base row of 13 beads. String 5 beads and go back through the fifth bead from the end of the base row. String another 5 beads, skip 3 beads of the base row, and go back through the next. Repeat to the end of the row, passing through the fifth, fourth, and third beads of those just strung and exiting from the third. Turn the work over and go back across the same way.

Pass through means to move your needle in the same direction that the beads have been strung. Pass back through means to move your needle in the opposite direction.

Begin with a foundation row of even-count ladder stitch. String 2 beads, pass down through the second to last bead in the ladder, and up through the next bead. String 2 beads, pass down the next bead and then up through the following. Repeat to the end of the row. To end the row, pass back through the last bead strung. To begin the next row, string 2 beads and pass down through the second to last bead of the previous row. Repeat, stringing 2 beads per stitch and passing down then up through two beads of the previous row. The 2-bead stitch will cause the beads to angle-up in each row, like a herringbone fabric.

String an even number of beads and make a foundation circle by passing through them two more times, exiting from the first bead strung. String 1 bead and pass through the third bead of the foundation circle. String 1 bead and pass through the fifth bead of the foundation circle. Continue adding 1 bead at a time, skipping over 1 bead of the first round, until you have added half the number of beads of the first round. Exit from the first bead of the second round. String1 bead, pass through the second bead added in the second round and pull thread tight. String 1 bead and pass through the third bead added in the second round. Continue around, filling in the ''spaces'' 1 bead at a time. Exit from the first bead added in each round.

Using two needles, one threaded on each end of the thread, pass one needle through one or more beads from left to right and pass the other needle through the same beads from right to left. Continue adding beads by crisscrossing both needles through one bead at a time. Use this stitch to make strings of beads or as the foundation for brick stitch. For a single-needle ladder, string 2 beads and pass through them again. String 1 bead. Pass through the last stitched bead and the one just strung. Repeat, adding one bead at a time and working in a figure-eight pattern.

One-drop peyote stitch begins by stringing an even number of beads to create the first two rows. Begin the third row by stringing one bead and passing through the second-to-last bead of the previous rows. String another bead and pass through the fourth-to-last bead of the previous rows. Continue adding one bead at a time, passing over every other bead of the previous rows. Two-drop peyote stitch is worked the same as above, but with two beads at a time instead of one.

The right angle weave (RAW) is a basic jewelry-making stitch often used with seed beads and crystal beads. String 4 beads and pass through them again to form the first unit. For the rest of the row, string 3 beads, pass through the last bead passed through in the previous unit, and the first two just strung; the thread path will resemble a figure-8, alternating directions with each unit. To begin the next row, pass through the last 3 beads strung to exit the side of the last unit. String 3 beads, pass through the last bead passed through, and the first bead just strung. *String 2 beads, pass through the next edge bead of the previous row, the last bead passed through in the previous unit, and the last 2 beads just strung. Pass through the next edge bead of the previous row, string 2 beads, pass through the last bead of the previous unit, the edge bead just passed through, and the first bead just strung. Repeat from * to complete the row then begin a new row as before.

Using two needles, one on each end of the thread, string three beads on one of the needles and slide them to the center of the thread. String a fourth bead, passing one needle through from left to right and passing the other needle through from right to left. String one bead with each needle, then pick up one more bead and pass one needle through from left to right and pass the other needle through from right to left. Continue for desired length of row. To work the next row, repeat as for the first row, stringing new beads only onto the right thread and passing back through beads from the first row with the left thread. To make a row-end decrease, simply stop your row short and begin a new row.

Discover how to choose the perfect hammer for each jewelry-making project with Patti in this product spotlight video. She introduces the chasing hammer, mallet, texture hammer, and ball peen hammer to help you select the right tool for every job.

Items have an industry standard of .15 to .25 mils thickness of gold which is plated to the surface of the base metal.

Discover the different links available and how to use these components in jewelry making to save time and create beautiful one-of-a-kind pieces.

Where do gemstones come from? Discover the origins of your favorite gemstones from around the world (or beyond).

Discover the reasons and techniques for cleaning enamel prior to application, through these simple illustrated instructions.

Explore some great ways to use cabochons in your jewelry projects.

Learn about plated metals: what they are, why they're used in jewelry, and how to take care of them so they stay looking their best.

Don't let your bolo or lariat necklace be incomplete. Design your piece from tip to focal with these creative cord finishing methods.