Bead Glossary

A
Aurora Borealis	Rainbow effect on the surface of the bead. Also known as AB. Refers to any iridescent finish.
Alabaster	Translucent, marble-like appearance

B
Bail	A metal loop or u-shaped hook used to attach a pendant to a cord or chain.
Barrel Clasp	A jewelry clasp consisting of two parts that screw together. Used on necklaces or ankle bracelets.
Base metal	Any non-precious metal such as copper, zinc, nickel, or brass.
Bead Mat	A soft, foam-like material that helps keep beads from rolling away.
Bead tip	A metal finding that connects a string of beads to a clasp.
Beadalon^R Wire	Flexible bead stringing wire coated with plastic. Comes in 7, 19, or 49 strand. More strands means more flexibility. Also, comes in several different diameters.
Beading Needle	Needles that are longer and thinner than a sewing needle. Several different sizes available to fit through the smallest seed beads. The higher the number the thinner the needle. English hard beading needles are the most common.
Bent Nose Pliers	Similar to chain nose pliers. The tips of the pliers are curved at approximately 30 degree angle.
Bicone	A shape sometime called diamond shape, that looks like two cones connected at the base.
Big Eye Needle	The eye of the bead spans the length of the needle and is attached at each end. Easy to thread without eye strain. Fits all sizes of bead cord and great for stringing single strand beaded projects.
Brick Stitch	A beading stitch in which the beads are sown together so they resemble a brick wall. Also known as Comanche, Apache, or Cheyenne stitch. Can be worked flat, tubular or 3-D.
Bugle Bead	Thin tube-like seed beads that comes in sizes of 1.5mm, 3mm, or 6mm in length.

C	Back to Bead Facts
Cast	Glass, metal or plastic injected into moulds to produce a form.
Cat's Eye	Glass beads that appear to reflect the light like a cat's eye.
Ceylon	A soft and subdued pearl-like finish.
Chain Nose Pliers	Pliers with tapered half round tips. Used for gripping, crimping, wire wrapping, opening and closing jump rings, and close bead tips.
Charlottes	Bead has one facet and looks like a 3/4 round. Typically known to be made in Czechoslavakia. However, Toho Corp. also manufactures these beads.
Chain nose pliers	Pliers that have a narrow tapered nose with each half being half round. Flat on the inside and round on the outside.
Chevron	A "V" shape. Also, >, <.
Crimp bead	A small, metal bead used on coated wire thread to finish the ends. A crimper tool is required.
Crimping Pliers	Primary use is to crimp beads. Crimping is a two step process. Use the crimp notch closest to the handle to crimp and flatten the bead; use the round notch at the nose of the bead to round the crimped portion.
Crystal	Glass with a minimum of 30% lead which produces a highly refractive quality.

D	Back to Bead Facts
Delica	High quality Japanese seed beads typically in a cylinder shape. Delicas tend to be uniform in size and shape. Delica beads are manufactured by Miyuki Shoji Corp.
Design Board	A board with channels and small compartments used for designing a jewelry project. Channels cut into the board makes it easier to design. Use the small compartments to hold the beads. The most common and least expensive are made of flocked plastic. Range in size from 18 inches to 24 inches. One to 5 channels.
Drop Bead	A bead shaped similar to a tear drop with the hole at the narrow end of the bead. Also known as fringe bead.

E	Back to Bead Facts
Elasticity^TM	Soft, plastic elastic that stretches like a rubber band. Very strong. Several colors and diameters. Great for hair bands, bracelets, and anklets.
English Beading Needle	A hard rigid needle measuring about 2 1/8" long and used specifically for beading projects that requires flexibility. Usually used in loom and off-loom stitches. Perfect for use with Nymo^R thread.

F	Back to Bead Facts
Facet	A flat polished surface on a crystal, glass or gem stone bead which enhances the beads ability to reflect light or sparkle. A single bead may have multiple facets and be known as a faceted bead.
Finding	Typically the metal parts of the jewelry piece including clasps, jump rings, crimp beads, head pins, wire earrings, etc.
Fire-polish	Faceted glass beads that are polished by intense heat treatment which creates a highly reflective surface and makes the bead scratch resistant.
Flat nosed pliers	Pliers with flat straight edges and tips that do not taper. Inside surface is smooth to prevent marks on metal or wire. Used for bend wire, open/close jump rings, close bead tips.
Focus Bead	A bead that is usually larger and sometimes slightly different in color or shape than the other beads in the project. Used as the main focus in the project.
Fringe	Long strands of beads usually at the bottom of a beaded project.

G	Back to Bead Facts
Galvanized	Non-permanent metallic finish applied to exterior of a glass bead. Can wear off with abrasion.
Gold-filled	Metal wire alloyed with a small amount of 12k gold.
Gold-plating	Electroplating 18k gold to metal. Base metal usually brass.

H	Back to Bead Facts
Hamilton Gold	Brass mixed with a very small amount of pure gold.
Hank	12 Bundled strands of beads measuring approximately 18-20" long. (usually seed beads)
Hex	Outer shape of the bead is cut into a hexagon which allows a soft movement when reflected by light.

I	Back to Bead Facts
Inclusion	A color trapped within a transparent bead.
Iris	See Aurora Borealis.

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Jump ring	A round finding used to join two or more pieces or chain together.

K	Back to Bead Facts
Karat	Measures the pureness of gold. 24k is pure gold. 18k and 14k gold is combined with an alloy metal.
Kevlar	Beading thread that is extremely strong. Originally used to make bullet-proof vests. Expensive.

L	Back to Bead Facts
Lampwork	A bead made by melting glass and forming the bead on a rod. May have decorative glass on exterior of bead.
Loom	A device which holds multiple strands of beads used to create woven projects.
Luster	This colorless transparent coating provides a high gloss on the surface of the bead.

M	Back to Bead Facts
Machine Cut	Facets cut into crystal with a machine. Creates high brilliance and sparkle. Faceting is regular and consistent.
Matte	A velvety, low luster, smooth finish. Also known as frosted.
Metallic	A metal finish to the exterior of a bead.

N	Back to Bead Facts
Neihua	Glass bead painted on the inside and made in China.
Nymo^R	A brand name for nylon thread that is very strong used for seed bead projects, off-loom beading and loomed bead weaving. Sizes vary from 00 (thinnest) to F (thickest). Comes in a variety of colors.

O	Back to Bead Facts
Off-loom	Any bead stitch not done on a loom. Most typical stitches are peyote, brick, right angle, square, and netting.
Opaque	Color is solid and not transparent and does not allow light to pass through.
Oxidation	Also known as antiquing. The oxygen in the air will darken or change the color of metal such as brass or nickel. Some sterling silver will also oxidize.

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Pattern Holder	A thin metal plate with magnetic strips to hold a pattern in place. Used primarily with projects that consist of many rows and columns of beads. Helps keep track of your place in the pattern.

Q

R	Back to Bead Facts
Rocaille	A silver-lined seed bead. Can be slightly larger than an 11/0.
Round-nose Pliers	Pliers with round tapered tips used for making loops in wire for jewelry project.

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Satin Finish	Surface looks matte with a low luster glossy finish.
Seed Bead	Beads are made of tubes of drawn glass with slightly rounded middles. Ranges in size from 24/0 (smallest) to 8/0 (largest).
Sharps	Sewing needles that are shorter than beading needles and used for sewing through material. Not suitable for beading.
Silver-lined	A silver coating on the inside hole of a bead to give off a reflection of silver through the color of the bead. Adds brightness to your beading projects.
Silver-plating	Surface of metal is electroplated with sterling silver and heavily lacquered to prevent oxidation.
Sterling Silver	Contains 92.5% pure silver.
Surgical Steel	Non-allergenic steel used for jewelry findings. Not as bright as sterling silver.

T	Back to Bead Facts
Tiger Tail	Nylon coated steel wire used for stringing heavy beaded projects. Tends to be stiff which does not hold its shape well. Not suitable for lightweight necklace projects.
Triangle Bead	A bead with three flat sides like a triangle. The hole in the center is typically round.

W	Back to Bead Facts
Warp	A term used for stringing beads to a bead loom.
Weft	A term for the thread and needle that is used to string the warped beads together on a loom. Also known as woof.
Wire cutters	Specially designed for cutting jewelry wire. Several different kinds offered.