RSSCrystal Beads A Beginners Guide
Introduction
If you're looking for a fun, creative hobby then you should try crystal beads. It's a great way to add a bit of sparkle to your clothes, accessories and for that matter, nearly everything you own.
And crystal beads are also a great for creating gifts for friends, or even making a bit of extra money by selling your creations.
And the best thing is, it's very affordable and easy to start. Even if you don't think you're creative, you can just copy ideas that you see.
First we'll cover the basic materials that you will need.
Materials needed
Crystal beads - Obviously you will need some of these. They can usually be bought in small packs of about 15 crystal beads for around £3-£4.
Hot fix stickers - this is a roll of clear sticky sheet that is how to secure your crystal beads in place (alternatively you could use a hot fix glue applicator)
Scotch tape - to fix your design template in place while you apply the crystal beads.
Iron and ironing board - because heat is used to fix the crystal beads in place.
A clear glass or plastic sheet - you will use this to keep your design template away from your actual design, while still being able to see it.
Teflon sheet or bond paper - you will use this to cover your design while you iron it on.
Tweezers or pliers - you will use these to apply the crystal beads
Something to decorate - finally you will need some clothing to decorate
Creating your first design
As you're about to see, it's really easy to create your first design...
1. The first thing to do is choose a design. When starting out it's probably best to choose something small and simple. That way it will be easier to do, and you won't have to buy lots of crystal beads to complete the design.
You will need to be able to draw your design out on paper.
You can get books and magazines with designs, or you can just look online (you can see our gallery of customer designs here)
2. Draw out your design on paper, then use the scotch tape to secure it to your piece of glass or plastic. Make sure you can see your design through the other side of the glass or plastic.
3. Cut a piece of hot fix sticker that is large enough to cover your design. Remove the white backing and attach it to the other side of the glass with the sticky side facing up. It's also a good idea to now use the scotch tape again to secure everything to a table so it doesn't move around when you start apply your crystal beads.
4. Next start applying your crystal beads to your template using the tweezers. You should apply your crystal beads face down so that the shiny side is attached to hot fix sticker.
5. Once you've finished your design you can peel the hot fix sticker away from the glass and place it where you want on your piece of clothing.
6. Put the piece of clothing on your ironing board then cover it with your piece of Teflon or bonded paper. Then just iron for about 2-3 minutes until the crystal beads have been attached to the piece of clothing. If they've not properly attached, try ironing for another few minutes.
7. Congratulations. You've finished your first crystal bead design. Pat yourself on the back, then throw the clothing on and go out to show it off.
Getting more adventurous
Now you've created your first crystal bead design, there's no stopping you. Here's a list of further ideas for your new skill...
1. You can now experiment with increasingly complex or bigger designs
2. Start customising other things, like shoes, belts, hats, bags or even your mobile phone
3. You could even do designs on yourself by applying crystal beads to your nails
You really are just limited by your imagination (or if you're worried about your imagination, you're only limited by what ideas you can find to copy).
For some inspiration, here's a link to a gallery of crystal bead designs created by our customers.
What type of crystals to buy
There are generally two types of flat-back crystals. Hot fix which come with the bonding glue already applied and Non Hot Fix with silver foil backs which do not have the glue applied. Which one you use will depend on what you're applying them to.
If you’re applying your design to clothing that has a high melting point, such as cotton or jeans, then hot fix crystal are best. If you're applying them to harder surfaces, such as your mobile phone, or to fabrics with a low melting point like nylon, then silver foil back are best.
What to do now
So, if you're ready to create your first crystal bead design, you should start by looking for some inspiration and start planning your first design.
Once you know what you want to do, what colours and how many crystal beads you will need, you just need to buy them and away you go.
You can buy your crystal beads in specialist shops, or online, for example, you can buy crystal beads on this website.
