Flexible Beading Wire





Photo courtesy and with permission from Beadalon - http://www.beadalon.com/

 Flexible beading wire is known by several brand names - Beadalon, Softflex and Acculon, to name a few. It is made up of a certain number of tiny stainless steel wires twisted together which are then coated with nylon. It is the combination of all those tiny stainless steel wires that allows you to create flexible and, just as important, durable designs.

The higher the strand count (i.e., 19 strand), the larger and more flexible the wire. Today, it is available in many different colors - including sterling silver and 24k gold. Many teachers recommend that you match your wire to the beads in your project unless you want to make it a part of your design. You can finish beading wire designs with a crimp bead.



To keep flexible beading wire a little more manageable, I cut a strip of clear, plastic tablecloth the width of the spool and a little longer than its diameter, then wrap it around the spool to keep it from tangling. The plastic strip sticks to itself and prevents unraveling. You can buy it by the yard at the larger fabric stores, but I recently cut up a large, clear plastic tablecloth that I found at the dollar store.

My first experience with flexible beading wire was with Beadalon and although I’ve tried some of the other brands, it still remains my tried and true favorite.