Feb 28 2009
The “Right” Beading Thread
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a self taught beader with the aid of online tutorials and very generous advise from beaders of all levels of experience at the About.com beadwork forum .
Getting the right thread was a problem for me at first. All the beading thread I could find was Nymo, which was supposed to be the very best beading thread on the market. I had problems! Nymo stretches and must be pre-stretched before you start stitching, or your project will sag with time. I had trouble stretching each length the same amount. I also had trouble with splitting, shredding and fraying. I’d heard about other beading threads, but none of them were readily available in my area. Then someone on the forum mentioned fishing line, and a whole new world opened up to me. I now use Fireline almost exclusively for beadweaving and Power Pro for fringe.
Here are some descriptions of beading threads available. If I have experience with them, that has been noted. Otherwise the descriptions come from merchants and bloggers all over the internet.
Nymo thread is one of the most popular threads for beadweaving. It is a slightly waxed and lightly twisted monofilament, and comes in eighteen gorgeous colors. My problems with Nymo–stretch and splitting/shredding.
Silamide - a 2-ply twisted, waxed nylon thread that is stronger than other beading threads. Equivalent to a size A beading thread.
Imported from Japan, SoNo thread is colorfast and best suited for size 12 beading needles. It is the same thickness as Nymo size B and can be used with seed beads. Use with or without wax, works for on- and off-loom beading.
I have no experience with SoNo, but the beader who was instrumental in developing it, Sonoko Nozue, values stretch in a beading thread to make her designs drape properly. It is reportedly much more resistant to shredding and splitting than Nymo.
One-G Thread from Toho: The most fabulous beading thread on the market. This thread is similar to SoNo in that it is very resistant to shredding and splitting, but it does not stretch like SoNo. It is very smooth going through your beads.
C-Lon is a UV resistant monofilament, that it comes in 36 gorgeous colors, is stretch resistant and strong (a single strand has a breaking point of 7 pounds).
The fishing lines listed below are what I use now almost exclusively.
Clear monofilament fishing line such as Vanish. I use the 6lb or 8 lb. Readily available at any store that sells fishing supplies or big box stores such as Wal Mart. Very affordable.
It does have some stretch which I find invaluable when making 3D figures.
Disadvantage: It is round and cannot be threaded onto a needle. Using it without a needle is, for me, is time consuming and frustrating, but worth the effort when the project calls for a little bit of stretch and invisibility of thread.
Power Pro fishing line. Braided microfilament line. Available anywhere fishing supplies are sold and in big box stores. Very affordable. Comes in green and white. An 8 lb test line is very fine, easily threaded onto a needle. White can be used with light colors and green with dark. The line is so fine it blends well with the color of the beads. I now use this only for fringe. It is very flexible and give a beautiful drape to fringe, but for beadwork such as peyote etc. it frays, shreds and splits as easily as Nymo.
Fireline fishing line. Another type of braided microfilament line, Fireline isn’t quite as fine as Power Pro. 6lb test is a little larger than 8 lb Power Pro. Sold where fishing supplies are sold and in big box stores. Very Affordable. If crystal color isn’t available locally, you can order it from Cabela’s . Comes in crystal and smoke and may come in other colors as well. Crystal is suitable for nearly all projects light and dark, as it’s a little translucent and picks up the color of the beads. For very dark beads I like to use the smoke color, but they’ve started coating it and it has to be wiped clean before use. I just run a damp cloth over it a couple of times.
Fire line is a round line and the end must be flattened to thread it onto a needle. I use a pair of flat nosed pliers. Just mash about ½ inch of the end of the line and it will go into the needle fine. Fireline is hard to cut without fraying. Thanks to advice from another beader, I found that Kindergarten Fiscars (it has to be Kindergarten and it has to be Fiscars) will cut it with no problem. My dressmaker Fiscars will NOT work, and neither will anything else I’ve tried.
