Yesterday was not the best of days for me, stress catching up and being thrust upon me turns me into a bit of a wreck and the only thing I can really do at those times is retreat to a corner and do some beading.
I finished cross weaving a piece that had broken!
To my horror, a piece I had sold broke and was returned to me for repairs. It was an earlier piece and was woven with Silamide which I don't use anymore, strictly a Fireline gal now. A lot of my own pieces are made with Silamide and some of them I wear a LOT and never had a problem, other than one....a braclet made with some inferior tiny cubes which have cut through Silamide, 4lb, 6lb and 10lb Fireline....grrrrrr! Buy the best beads you can folks and watch for those sharp edges.
Anyway...I reworked the piece with Fireline and added extra support threads (40lbs worth) to double safe the piece. Now I'm working on an apology gift because I feel so badly about it. Must say...I'm liking the gift and may have to do more of this one :)
But...those are the breaks (pun intended). Sometimes you have no idea that a bead has a sharp edge until it cuts your thread, hard to imagine something as small as a seed bead can cause such damage, but it happens. If you're a tight beader you'll encounter this more than if you're a loosey loo...tight and sharp are not good together...unless you're a size 0 wearing Calvin Klein.
So, heed my warning, don't make my mistake, stock up on Fireline in all it's weights!
Now...get on over to the Bead Maven blog or Bead Maven forum and post questions for us to answer next week :)
I too, am strictly a Fireline gal, having learned the hard way too. I feel much safer with my work done with Fireline. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteso very true ... some shapes of beads are inherently dangerous, and those little cubes are dangerous. the recommendation to "put a 15/0 bead on either side" doesn't work all the time either, I've found.
ReplyDeleteI lost a day last week on a bracelet w/ similar problems, also strung on silamide. the bad beads in this case were old (meaning I bought them years ago) Toho triangles. Toho has improved their bead finish since then.
Fireline in all its strengths is the best solution.
I too had to repair a piece recently - thankfully I don't sell my pieces so it was just one of my own. It was the edge beads on a beaded cabochon. I was really surprised a few beads had some loose and fallen off. I usually go through the beads twice so not sure what happened... but I guess as you say these things happen!
ReplyDeleteKaryn
I started with Fireline on Nancy Dales suggestion. I hated it at first because I was so used to Nymo - but now I use nothing else. Recently I mistakenly bought a 300 yard spool of 14lb test and was horrified. Now I'm in love with it! Talk about holding tension! And there is NOTHING more embarrassing than having your work break after you guarantee it's "heirloom" quality!
ReplyDeleteI think it was probably the silver lining on a bead that caused the cutting...sometimes the silver can create a sharpness....my belief after examining them :)
ReplyDeleteFirline has always been my thread of choice. I save money not buying it from bead stores, I get it from sporting good stores. Much cheaper!I buy smoke and crystal then dye it the color I want using Sharpies. So many colors you can create the perfect shade. Run the dyed thread through tissue a few times to absorb excess and then run it thru thread heaven. Ready to go, if your thread shows, it blends in.Got a deal once where I got 900 yds for the price of 125 yds.
ReplyDeleteYep....I've bought it in the fishing supply section too though the 4lb isn't quite as readily available. I also have the complete line of Sharpies for dying it too, though I can't say I'm thrilled with the dyed results.
ReplyDeleteAh, I'm the exception. I started with Fireline, but now I use Nymo. I like the way it drapes . . . Fireine leaves things too stiff for my taste.
ReplyDeleteNymo split too much for me...drove me nuts. I like the 4lb Fireline the best....thin enough to give a decent drape.
ReplyDelete