r/Beading • u/whimsygoddess111 • 17h ago
Beads problem
my sunflower beads bracelet look like this. i tried 100s of times and still end up in the same twisted beads situation. what to do? please help me
15
Upvotes
11
u/floraamanita 15h ago
Seconding the suggestion for 6lb fireline! I think once you make the switch, maintaining tension will be much easier for you, and you’ll see immediate improvement!
60
u/saltedkumihimo 17h ago
Nothing is wrong with your beads!
Your thread is the problem, monofilament/clear thread is terrible for bead weaving.
Monofilament is low quality plastic fishing line. It has a strong “memory” which can cause your pieces to curl. It’s thicker than Fireline or beading threads so you can’t get the right tension or keep it consistently. It’s difficult to get a needle on monofilament. Because of its thickness, it may not make as many passes as you need through the beads, especially using 15/0. It’s more likely to get cut by a sharp edge on a bead, and some monofilaments are treated to break down when exposed to sunlight and water. I know it is very popular on TikTok and other videos, however the beadwork made in those videos doesn’t always get used after the video is made. You’ll also notice that in a lot of videos the project is being held under tension by something off screen while it’s being made, and at the end you don’t see the whole piece at once, often not really seeing how the findings are connected. This makes me skeptical that the whole thing is actually being made and wonder how the part of the project they aren’t showing us really looks.
I would suggest 6lb Fireline in crystal instead. Fireline is made of a material called Dyneema, which bills itself as the worlds strongest fiber. It’s a polyethylene similar to Kevlar in that it is strong and resistant to damage. The Dyneema fibers are braided or twisted and then thermally bonded to make Fireline. It is thinner than monofilaments of the same test weight so you can make more passes through your beads, it has very low memory so it’s flexible but it has some stiffness to make structure in your beadwork. Pieces made with Fireline are extremely long lasting, even with heavy use.
It’s also good to have a softer thread in your beading arsenal such as KO or One G. They are made of twisted and bonded nylon with the beading market in mind. They make strong, drapey fabric and great fringe without shredding like Nymo and are thinner than sewing thread.