How To Make Stunning Jewelry At Home: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners

Making jewelry is a fun and rewarding hobby that can be enjoyed by all ages and skill levels. From the simplest strung jewelry to the most magnificently elaborate statement necklaces, everyone loves a beautiful object handmade with love.

Jewelry Making Kits

One easy and simple way to get started making jewelry at home is with a kit. Kits contain everything or almost everything you need to make a finished piece of jewelry. Make sure you read the description carefully as some kits require you to have your own stringing material or tools such as needles and pliers may be required which would not be included. Kits also come with either written instructions or a link to video instructions for how to complete the project. The best part about jewelry kits is that you know exactly what you are getting in the finished product and you don’t have to worry about designing while you are just learning the basics and you can still brag to all your friends that you made it yourself!

We offer lots of fun kits at Eureka, many of them designed by well-known brands like TierraCast and Miyuki! Stay tuned as we add more fun jewelry making kits in the future!

Making Handmade Jewelry without a Kit

It can be scary starting a jewelry project without a kit so how do you get started making jewelry at home? You only need a few simple things to make your own jewelry. The main categories of things are 1. beads, 2. findings, 3. stringing material, and 4. tools. If you are a beginner, the best place to start is stringing jewelry and it’s good to have a pattern or tutorial that you will be following. It also makes it easier when the teacher can tell you exactly what items you will need to make the project. Our best advice is that if you are really excited about a project you want to make, watch the whole tutorial all the way through first, to see if it is at your skill level and to make sure there are no surprises like extra tools or equipment that maybe wasn’t explained at the beginning.

For basic beginner beaded jewelry making at home you will need beads, something to string your beads onto and a way to neatly and securely finish it off so your handmade jewelry can be worn and enjoyed for years to come!

1. Beads: for beginners, we recommend our line of Eureka BASICS seed beads. They come in beautiful preselected color palettes inspired by the zodiac and have their own snap closure plastic container so everything will stay neat and secure! Pick a palette that speaks to you or grab them all! You can also wade into the wider world of different types of seed beads and pick your own colors as well! Eureka offers a HUGE selection which can get a bit overwhelming for newbies so that’s why we offer these cute boxes. If you are going to select your own beads, remember that the size 11/0 are the most common and popular size and a very good starting point. Learn more about seed beads in this recent blog post!

Related Post: Frequently Asked Questions About Seed Beads

There are of course other types of beads that can be used for jewelry making and you can read all about the different types available here. In this guide we will focus on seed beads because they are the most accessible for a newcomer to beading.

2. Findings: the term ‘findings’ is used in jewelry to mean typically metal elements in which connect, close or serve other types of functional purposes in jewelry making. This includes jump rings, clasps, crimp tubes, chain, headpins, eye pins, ear wires and connectors. Findings can be very simple or they can also be elaborate. You can decide what style will work for your project and choose among all the available elements we have at Eureka. For a simple beaded strand necklace or bracelet, you will mostly need a pair of wire guards, jump rings and a simple clasp.

3. Stringing material: there are loads of different types of stringing materials you can use to create jewelry at home. The two most basic types in beaded jewelry are jewelry wire and thread. Jewelry wire is usually made up of multiple strands of wire twisted together and coated in nylon. Threads can be made of a variety of materials with different types of treatments. Nylon beading thread tends to be the most popular and widely used. You can learn more about the differences between the types of beading threads in our recent TikTok video here.

4. Tools: the main tools you will need to string seed beads onto thread and finish them off into a necklace or bracelet is a beading needle for your thread and a pair flatnose or chainnose pliers to open and close your jump rings.

Getting Started

Get all your materials together and make sure you have everything you will need close at hand including tools, extra findings and beads (in case you drop any!) and it’s also critical to have a good amount of lighting when working with small beads.

Thread your needle with the thread of your choice with about a wingspan of thread. Start picking up your beads with your needle, don’t send them all the way to the end of your thread, make sure you are keeping a nice tail long enough for you to add a needle to the other side and finish that side when you’re done with the first end. You can use a bead stopper on your thread to keep your beads from sliding off the other end of the thread. Thread as many beads as you need for the length you want. You can measure it against your own wrist or just a measuring tape. Once you are happy with the length, add on the wireguard and loop the thread through one side and then back down the other side, heading back towards your beaded strand, then pass back through the last few beads on your strand before tying a square knot. Then pass the thread through a few more beads before cutting the thread.

Take the bead stopper off the other end and thread the tail onto your needle and do the same on this side, adding a wireguard and finishing your thread by going back through the beads, knotting it and continuing back through a few more beads.

Finishing your Jewelry Design

You will now have a neat and secure strand of beads with looped wireguards on either end. Attach one or more jump rings to either wire guard and attach either side of the clasp to each jump ring. If you are using a lobsterclaw clasp, then you will only add that to one side and it will close on a jump ring on the other. If your bracelet is too tight, you can easily lengthen it by adding more jump rings on either end.

And that’s it! Use this technique to make a simple beaded bracelet, waist beads or necklace that is stylish, trendy and minimalist for everyday wear.

Best Resources for Tutorials, Demos and Beading Videos

For more fun beading and jewelry making at home projects, browse our video library on our website, full of gorgeous projects for all skill levels with complete listings of all the items you need for each design! You can also visit our YouTube channel and our TikTok for even more tips, tricks and other fun jewelry making and beading ideas!