The Best of Beaded Ropes on Beading Daily

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Ever since I first learned how to bead, I've loved beaded ropes. From my very first spiral stitched ropes made with cylinder beads to my recent experiments with beading stitches like right-angle weave, herringbone stitch, and peyote stitch, I'm totally in love with making beaded ropes. Making beaded ropes is an art form in and of itself, and you could probably spend a lifetime exploring and experimenting with all the ways to make fabulous beaded ropes! Want to get started with making beaded ropes? Read these blogs before you do:

Stitching Tension In Beaded Ropes

Tension is so important when you're stitching a beaded rope. Depending on which beading stitch you choose, you want to make sure that you know how and when to stitch tight or to let it all hang loose. Stitching too tight in certain bead-weaving stitches will cause problems like stiff ropes, and even broken beads.

Mix It Up with Different Seed Beads

You can turn an ordinary twisted herringbone rope into something spectacular with just a simple change of beads. The beauty of the herringbone stitch thread path is that it allows for so many possibilities with such little effort — because, really, how easy is it to swap out a color of Japanese seed beads for cylinder beads? Just making that little change will give your herringbone ropes a whole new look. And why not play with different sizes of beads, too? Once you've seen how much fun it is to play with your beaded ropes, you'll wonder what else you can do with them.

Finishing Your Beaded Ropes

When it comes time to finish your beaded ropes, you have lots of options available for creating a professional-looking piece of beaded jewelry. Whether you choose to use end caps, a hidden wire inside your hollow rope, or some other method, there are lots of ways you can finish your beaded ropes neatly and cleanly.

Learn the (Beaded) Ropes From a Pro

Sure, blogs are great for learning about beaded ropes, but sometimes you need to see the techniques demonstrated before it all clicks and you have your "ah-ha!" moment. In that case, check out one of my all-time favorite beading videos, Beadwork Designer Of the Year Series: Beaded Ropes With Jill Wiseman. Not only is Jill one of my favorite people on Planet Bead, but she knows her stuff when it comes to designing and stitching beadwork.

In this video, you'll learn 5 different ways to stitch beaded ropes using your favorite off-loom bead-weaving stitches, tips for adding colors and patterns, how to recognize those step-ups at the end of each round, and so much more! Get your copy of Beaded Ropes With Jill Wiseman and learn how to start stitching beautiful beaded ropes today.

Bead Happy,