Bead

Small, Decorative and Pierced for Stringing

A bead is a small, decorative object that is pierced for threading or stringing, and the piercing is what separates a bead from a sequin, a button or a loose gem. A bead is made to have thread, cord or wire pass through it, so beads can be joined in lines, nets, fringes and woven structures rather than sitting alone. Beads range in size from under a millimetre to over a centimetre, a span that covers tiny seed beads used in dense embroidery at one end and large statement beads used singly or in short strands at the other. Size affects both technique and effect: very small beads create a fine, fabric-like surface when worked together, while larger beads read as individual shapes and are spaced, knotted or combined with other elements so each one can be seen. Counting, sorting and grading by size are therefore part of working with beads, because a pattern that depends on even rows will fail if the beads vary too much in diameter.

Material gives beads much of their variety. Glass, plastic and stone are probably the most common materials, but beads are also made from the seeds of the bead tree, and from bone, metal, resin, wood, clay, felt, paper and other materials. Each material changes weight, shine and durability. Glass can be transparent, opaque, glossy or frosted and holds strong colour; stone is heavier and cooler to wear; wood and seeds are light and natural in appearance; metal adds brightness and weight in small amounts; plastic allows inexpensive, uniform beads in many colours; and felt, paper and clay allow handmade forms that would be impractical in harder materials. When beads are described or sold, material, size and finish together tell the buyer how a strand will look, feel and behave in a finished piece. They also tell the maker how the beads should be handled, since a heavy stone strand needs a stronger thread than a light plastic one, and delicate glass needs more protection from impact than wood.

Beadwork and Types of Beads

Beadwork is the craft of making things with beads. More precisely, beadwork is the art or craft of attaching beads to one another by stringing them with a sewing needle or beading needle and thread or thin wire, or sewing them to cloth. Those two methods, stringing and sewing down, cover most beaded objects. Strung beads become necklaces, bracelets and fringing that move freely; beads sewn to cloth become decoration fixed to a garment, bag or hanging, where the fabric supports the weight and pattern. Beads are used to create jewelry and other articles of personal adornment; they are also used in wall hangings and sculpture and many other artworks. The same small pierced object therefore serves dress, decoration and art, depending on how it is joined and what it is joined to. In apparel, beadwork appears as trim on garments and accessories, where rows or scattered patterns of beads add colour, texture and weight to an edge, a neckline or a whole panel.

Named types help buyers and makers specify what they need. Types of beads include lampwork beads, chevrons, fire-polish beads, millefiori, pressed glass beads, seed beads and prayer beads, among others. Lampwork and millefiori describe glass beads made and decorated by particular glassworking methods, fire-polish and pressed glass describe finishes and forming methods for glass, seed beads are the very small uniform beads used for weaving and embroidery, and prayer beads are beads made and strung for counting, where number and sequence matter as much as decoration. Related forms such as magatama and rudraksha beads show how bead traditions also develop in specific cultures and uses. For apparel and trim, the practical lesson is that bead is a structural term, pierced for threading, while the type name tells the maker the material, method and intended use of the particular bead in hand, and choosing the wrong type can change both the appearance and the durability of the finished work.