Jewelry Making

Jewellery and Beading for Dummies was published in 2005 and is probably the most popular book available to teach beginners the basics of making jewelry and beads.

When the book was published some years ago, had already made jewelry for a while so I was not really interested in obtaining it.

Now I'm concentrating more on teaching jewelry making I am always looking for jewelry making information that can help beginners, so I decided to get a book and exam.

Here is a summary of the contents of the book and my opinion on each section. If you're new to beading and / or manufacture of jewelry I hope you find this useful.

The book is divided into five parts: Part 1: Create Irresistible Jewelry, Part 2: Finding simple jewelry-making techniques, Part 3: Implementing Design Ideas, Trends and More, Part 4: Focus on Your jewelry making hobby, and Part 5: Part of TEN.

The first part, Creating Irresistible jewelry, covers everything from A to Z a beginner needs to know about the different strings, ropes, and wire options available. There is also a full explanation of jewelry making tools and basic types of connectors (pins, eyes, rings etc.) and staples.

There is also a very full explanation on types of beads, crystal beads, pearls and stones. A small section is also devoted to explain where you can find materials for jewelry online and offline.

The section ends with a chapter devoted to explaining the best way to configure your workspace.

Thus, a portion of the book is essentially a description of "what" whereas Part 2, the discovery of simple jewelry making techniques, enters the "how".

Not surprisingly, she begins by threading and knotting and how to use crimps. The next chapter is devoted to weaving and pearl focuses primarily on weaving with seed beads.

I thought it was a little odd to focus as much on seed beads as there are many beautiful pieces you can make weaving with beads other than seed beads. So I think this chapter could be greatly improved by showing more details in this area, but it does not cover basic weaving patterns.

Part 2 ends with a chapter on metal packaging which includes how to choose wire, basic packaging techniques, and a section of Nice on how to use a metal template.

Thus, parts 1 and 2 are about half the book and really cover everything you need to know as a beginner. I should also mention that there are simple projects spread over two sections so that you can put into practice what you learn that you go along.

Looking at this from the perspective of a beginner, I think Parts 1 and 2 of the book are all you really need.

Part 3 of the book consists mainly of pearls project, and while they are all very beautiful jewelry, there are very few graphics showing step by step how to do pieces. In my experience working with beginners I think many would find it difficult to make these pieces without detailed instructions or hands on help like a class or video.

So if I were a beginner, I would like to learn in Parts 1 and 2, and put the book on the shelf for a while, and then maybe revisit Part 3 later after acquiring more experience.

Part 4, in my opinion, goes off on a tangent that I do not think a lot of things to do with learning beading and jewelry.

Things are covered, such as how to decorate objects with beads, jewelry with kids, hosting a jewelry party, and advice on what to do if you want to turn your hobby into a jewelry company.

I would say the part about turning your hobby into a jewelry company has good advice, especially O.