Here are some of the most commonly-used terms in handcrafted jewelry:
Aurora Borealis – named for the northern lights, aurora borealis is a term for crystal stones that have a highly iridescent surface; a reflective coating on one half a bead that generates a rainbow of colors in the reflection.
Bead Caps – act as frames for your favorite round or oval bead. They add an appealing metallic accent to turn your crystal or pearl bead into a focal point.
Bicone Beads are the three-dimensional geometric shape swept by revolving an isosceles triangle around its edge of unequal length beads that make from a material like crystal, glass or plastic.
Bugle beads – cut glass cane in a variety of colors and finishes. The small, long, cylindrical beads are great for adding accents to jewelry or purses.
Czech fire-polished beads – are made of glass. They are machine made, then polished over an open fire. By nature, they are slightly imperfect and some people consider this a part of their charm. Unlike Austrian facetted crystals, they contain no lead. The polishing process gives them their glow and brilliance.
Diagonal right-angle weave – is a popular stitch to embellish with accent beads. These beads are not part of the structure of the right-angle weave beadwork; instead, they simply add texture, height, and complexity to a design. Right- angle weave is so-named because of the way the beads lie at right angles to one another.
Fresh Water Pearls – are a kind of pearl that comes from freshwater mussels. They are produced in Japan and the United States on a limited scale, but are now almost exclusive to China. Freshwater pearl harvests are typically bought while still in the shell.
Heishi – is a term that was originally used by Pueblo Indians to describe shell disks of a consistent size that had been drilled and strung as a necklace, creating a rope-like tube that was as fluid as a serpent when it moved. Today, this term describes thin, uniform disk-shaped shell, gemstone and metal beads that are center drilled and strung in a row. The Heishi beads in our barefoot sandal designs are metal and are used as accents.
Seed beads – small, uniform beads ranging in size, but all are relatively small. “Seed Bead” is a generic term for any small bead. They can be sued for loom or off loom weaving, and also in wire jewelry between larger beads. Some contrast, some match and others blend in.
Mother of Pearl – Mother of pearl is one of the toughest and most beautiful natural materials on Earth. It is the iridescent substance that forms the lining of the shells of some fresh-water and some salt-water mollusks. Jewelry made from mother of pearl falls in the group referred to as organic jewelry — jewelry that originates from a living creature, plant or organism.
Two-Needle Cross-Weaving – when two needles are used, it is often called cross-weaving (because the threads cross in opposite directions through the beads).
Peyote Stitch – is a pattern used to weave beads together using a needle and thread. Peyote stitch is also known as Gourd stitch, an off-loom bead weaving technique. Peyote stitch may be worked with either an even or an odd number of beads per row.
Pony Beads – Pony beads are plastic or glass beads similar to seed beads, but much larger in size.
Wire Wrapping – wire wrapped jewelry is a method of crafting jewelry by hand, with wire & a few simple hand tools….it involves wrapping, weaving, and twisting wires together to create wearable jewelry. The tools consist of many types of pliers, cutters, hammers, & files…NO torches, kilns, solder, chemicals, or machinery is used! The result is beautiful, TRULY handcrafted jewelry with every piece being One-of-a-Kind! Wire wrapped jewelry has been treasured since Ancient Egyptian and Babylonian times!
Recent Comments