Thread: Bead Suggestions

I'm getting ready to make my first real professional costume and looking for suggestions/recommendations on what types of beads to buy. I want to make sure I don't buy something that will break with all the banging together from shimmies and also something that won't rub off. One of my costumes has beading where the color has worn off where it hit my skin.

Any suggestions on the type to shop for, or where to shop would be greatly appreciated. I do have two local bead shops with all sorts of lovely beads calling out to me to buy :)

Gwen

Will be watching this... As I am about to make my own costume as well. :)

Most traditional costumes use silver-lined rocaille seed beads for fringe and holding sequins in place. They come in low quality (cheap, but sometimes prone to losing their silvering, and often irregular in terms of size and hole placement), all the way up to very expensive, size-matched, high-quality beads, designed for weaving and bead embroidery. Because of their size, they are time consuming to string, but the fringe has good movement, lots of sparkle, and if you don't buy the cheapest-of-the-cheap, they are reasonably durable. You can also get seed beads in different finishes and opacities, and occasionally you see costumes made with oil-slick or pearlized bead embellishments.

Cut beads (hex seed beads, flat rectangles, bugle beads) usually have sharper edges. If you use a good, fray-resistant beading thread, you'll have better results. They string up faster, and can be used to create interesting fringe designs, but they don't have quite the same movement as the rounder seed beads.

Chunky glass beads offer lots of possibilities for funky embellishments. Faceted beads or foil-lined and glazed types of smooth beads will give you better reflectivity under stage lights, but plain glass beads are used on costumes, too.

Plastic beads don't tend to hold up well. The color can flake off, and faceted edges can become dull and tatty from friction. Occasionally, they are used as big accent beads, because they weigh and cost less than comparable glass beads. Plastic beads have more bounce than sway to their movement because of their weight.

If you want to use metal beads on your costume, it will probably be worth the investment to buy actual metal beads, instead of vacuum-plated plastic beads with metallic coatings. You can tell by the price and weight which are which.

Personally, I usually order from Fire Mountain Gems and Beads, but Shipwreck is another good source.

I have two tips:

For fringe, use a heavy cotton thread or nylon filament. It'll be even stronger and more sweat-proof (and easier to use) if you coat it with Thread Heaven, which is a micro-crystalline wax. Be careful with fish line, since some brands are water-soluble (and hence are not sweat-proof).

Test your beads for color-fastness. Some glass beads are dyed (suspiciously bright colors) or galvanized (metallic finish), and their finishes can wear off. Discretely moisten your fingers and rub a bead between them for a few moments. Did any color or finish flake off or stain your fingers? If so, those are beads you do not want...

Thanks ladies. Do you recommend any of the merchants that sell on ebay?

not ebay, but try firemountaingems