This
beading lesson will show you some exciting ways to use leather cord and
suede lace to create jewelry with a designer look.
Leather
cord and suede lace are available in a variety of colors and sizes. Leather
cord is typically round, while suede lace is usually flat. Both are available
in natural and imitation versions. Imitation leather cord is stronger
and more inexpensive than natural leather. Faux suede lace tends to be
even softer and suppler than natural suede.
It's
easy to create knotted designs with leather or suede. Just string a bead
onto the cord or lace, then wrap it around your fingers to make a loop.
Place the end through the loop to make an overhand knot.
You can also get a similar look by using coiled spring spacers to hold
beads in place
on a cord. To attach a spring spacer to the cord, use chain nose pliers
to tighten the first loop on the coil.
Use cord ends to give your designs a professional look. Use round cord
ends for round leather cord and flat cord ends for flat suede lace. Here
are a few examples of different cord ends: spring cord ends, tube cord
ends, fold-over cord ends and c-crimp cord ends. You can also create your
own cord ends by folding the leather or suede and securing it with a larger
spring coil spacer.
You might think that using leather cord and suede lace would limit your
bead choices because the cord and lace will only pass through large-hole
beads. But, there are actually a variety of ways to use smaller-hole beads
with leather cord and suede lace.
String small-hole beads onto flexible beading wire to create a beaded
section. Then, use crimp tubes to attach the ends of the beaded section
to the center of a suede cord necklace.
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