Reasons for Using a Bead Board
January 3, 2006 by Tammy Powley
Filed under Beading
One of the fundamental elements of learning how to do bead stringing is using a bead board. While it’s not 100% required to have or use a bead board for your bead stringing, if you plan to get serious about it, then I highly recommend getting one (or two) and trying them out. Some of the advantages to using a bead or beading board include:
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The measurements on the bead board will help you determine the finished length of a necklace, bracelet, or anklet.
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If you like to work on more than one project at a time, bead boards help you store unfinished jewelry pieces. It’s not unusual for me to have a few half-finished pieces stacked one tray on top of another.
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By assembling the beads in the grooves of the board, you can move them around and get an understanding of how the different configurations will look before you string up a piece.
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I often like to arrange a beading design and then set it aside for a day or two before finishing it. Bead boards are good for this because you can arrange a jewelry piece and take a look at it later to see if you still like it or if something else comes to mind that might help finish off a piece.
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You can save a lot of time by looking at your design on a board before you design to string them up. Otherwise, you might find yourself restringing pieces needlessly.
For more information about why and how to use a bead board, refer to my article: “How to Use a Bead Board: A Bead Stringer’s Best Friend.”
