In order to maximize the strength and durability of a piece, it's a good idea to use the thickest version of your chosen stringing material that you can easily get through your beads.

Because there are so many needles on the market for beading and jewelry making, it can be difficult to know where to start. For bead stringing, there are three traditional favorites: English beading needles, big eye needles, and twisted needles.

When trying to string items with very small holes, there often is not enough room for a needle and two thicknesses of stringing material. You can stiffen the end of a single piece of soft stringing material by dipping it into super glue or a clear cement.

The three most commonly used bead stringing needles — English beading needles, big eye needles and twisted wire needles — will probably work for most beading projects, so choosing a needle is in some ways more a matter of personal preference than matching functionality.

Seed beads and needles use a similar gauge (the smaller the number, the larger the bead or needle).

There are several types of nylon bead thread. For beadweaving and fiber arts, Nymo and Silamide are popular choices. For jewelry making, we recommend twisted Poly/Nylon (Polyamid) thread as an alternative to silk.

There are several relatively new high-tech braided threads on the market today. We offer Power Pro and Tough Thread.

When using light colored thread materials like Power Pro, the white color sometimes appears where you don't want it to, such as near the clasp or where you've tied off a strand (on a multi-strand piece).

Beadalon and Acculon are probably the two best-known brands of this strong, flexible beading wire. It's made of 7, 19, or 49 strands of stainless steel twisted together and coated with nylon.

Which type of stranded wire should you use for your beading project? A bracelet probably doesn't need to be as flexible as a necklace does, so the 7-strand wire might be adequate for your bracelet designs.

While usually finished with crimps, nylon-coated stranded wire is so flexible and threadlike that you can tie knots in it and finish it with a bead tip if you prefer. Another choice is a crimp that has a ring attached to the end; see examples at SS Crimp End with Ring or GF Crimp End with Ring

As a general rule, you should try to use the largest size of your chosen stringing material that you can comfortably get through your beads, because the thicker the material, the stronger it is.

Rattail is about the same thickness as a rat's tail. Fortunately, the resemblance ends there. It's a finely braided cord with a lovely satin finish.

Memory wire is a sturdy, coiled steel wire that has become extremely popular. It can be used to make everything from necklaces and bracelets to wine charms.

As fun and easy as memory wire is to work with, the little end caps used to finish it with are notoriously unreliable. It's no fun to have one pop off, scattering your beads all over the floor. But we have a solution! Check out our tutorial for bending the wire and using a simple, inexpensive crimp bead to finish your memory wire projects.

Silk thread is the traditional favorite for stringing pearls, although it can also be used to string and knot other beads.

Silk thread can be found in sizes from #0 (very fine - about .30 mm) to #16 (very thick - about 1.05 mm). We sell the most commonly used sizes of silk thread on cards with a needle pre-attached: #2, #4 and #6.

Traditionally, pearl necklaces were finished with French wire bullion, which is a small tube of tightly wound wire that protects the silk cord where it bears the most strain - at the clasp. For more today's more casual styles, you can use a bead tip or knot cover.

Elastic cord is a soft, clear, stretchy cord used primarily for fun, inexpensive jewelry. It's especially useful for projects with children, since it doesn't require a clasp.

Monofilament is a very thin, delicate bead cord that is most commonly used for making "illusion" necklaces where the beads appear to float on the skin because the cord is nearly invisible.

Braided polyester cord typically comes either waxed, to prevent fraying as you work, or unwaxed. It's strong, colorfast and durable. Because it comes in so many colors you can easily coordinate it with your bead design. The type we feature is 0.8 mm in diameter, so it can't be used to string pearls or tiny gemstone or metal beads, but it works well for many of our glass bead mixes and larger gemstone and metal beads. The wax wears off in time without affecting the color. To permanently prevent fraying, you can melt the ends of the cord.

Nothing beats leather for creating rustic, organic looking pieces of jewelry. It can be easily looped around a gemstone donut, hung with a single pendant, or strung with a few eye-catching metal, glass or gemstone beads. The Greek leather cord we sell is among the best you can get.

Because leather cord is relatively thick compared to threads, the options for finishing it are somewhat different. You can tie knots in the leather as part of your design, and sliding knots can be used to form adjustable length jewelry.

Delicate sterling silver beading chain is an exceptionally elegant way to feature a special pendant or a few choice beads.

Nobody likes to have a necklace or bracelet break and scatter beads all over the floor. Stringing materials need to be able to stand up to the everyday wear and tear of the human body as well as the stresses of various types of beads. Please don't try to use any of the following kinds of strings (they've all been tried and they've all failed): * fishing line * dental floss * plain cotton thread * standard sewing thread

Glass Bead Mixes offer an excellent way to purchase a wide variety of bead styles, colors and sizes without blowing out your budget.

We spent our annual week of buying merchandise at the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show in early February 2008. Each year the show grows larger, yet the items stay mostly the same. With the overwhelming number of vendors carrying the same beads & jewelry supplies, it is difficult to define trends, but we always take a stab at it.

The twisted Polyamid thread we recommend for jewelry making can be finished just like silk thread, most commonly with a bead tip or knot cover.

Stranded beading wires are soft and supple, yet strong. The more strands there are in the beading wire, the more thread-like it is, making it more flexible and less likely to kink.