A Guide to Jewelry Making for Beginners

Jewelry making is a great skill to have, whether it’s to turn your craft into a business or just to acquire as a hobby or creative outlet. If you are looking to start a jewelry making hobby but don’t know where to begin, then this guide will help you get started. This guide to beginner jewelry making will cover different types of jewelry to know about, the tools, supplies, and beginner jewelry making kits you will need to get started as well as some tips for starting out jewelry making. Finally, you’ll learn about some of the basic skills required to start making jewelry for beginners.

Types of Jewelry

When starting out making jewelry, it may seem overwhelming given there are so many types and styles of jewelry to try. Some types may be more difficult or require more supplies than others. Here are 10 different types of jewelry to consider as you get started making jewelry.

1. 1. Beading: Jewelry making using beads is great for beginnings because of its simplicity and versatility. Beads are easy to string together to create a variety of jewelry pieces.
2. 2. Perspex: Perspex is a type of solid plastic and transparent material made from acrylic. It can be cut into unique geometrical shapes strung together or layered over each other.
3. 3. Stone Setting: Stone setting involves securely placing and setting gemstones into silver jewelry. There are different styles of stone settings including cabochons and tube settings.
4. 4. Wire Wrapping: Wire wrapped jewelry uses the technique of stringing beads or stones along jewelry wire and combining the pieces together. Wire wrapping gives the jewelry piece a sturdy structure.
5. 5. Metal Clay: Metal clay is a method of creating jewelry that uses very small particles of metals like silver, gold, bronze, or copper. The metal particles are bound together and can be shaped and fired to create countless styles.
6. 6. Wax Carving: Wax carving using wax models or wax pieces. It is a process of cutting and carving into the wax piece to create a design to be used in jewelry pieces. Wax carving can be done by hand or using a computerized system.
7. 7. Wooden Jewelry: Wooden jewelry is jewelry made from wood pieces and often looks more earthy or traditional. Different types of wood can be used in wood jewelry depending on the nature of design as different woods provide different naturals colors.
8. 8. Fused Glass: Fused glass jewelry is the technique of taking pieces of glass and heating them at a high temperature to fuse them together to create different shapes and designs.
9. 9. Fabric: Jewelry pieces can also be made using fabrics and textiles. These fabric pieces can be rolled and shaped to form different designs to be featured on jewelry pieces.
10. 10. Chain Making: There are several different ways to make chains but they are generally all made from a metal material and attached together by fastening loops.

Tool and Supplies to Begin Making Jewelry

Before getting started, it is highly recommended to assemble a starter kit. This kit should have different tools and supplies that are essential for jewelry making.

Here are some of the basic tools you’ll need to add to your jeweler’s tool kit.

1. 1. Wire Cutters: An essential tool for helping you create and finish off your jewelry pieces is a set of wire cutters. Wire cutters allow you to snip off headpins and eyepins as well as the wire used to string the jewelry together.
2. 2. Round Nose Pliers: Use round nose pliers to help you to easily make loops. The round nose plier jaws are tapered down which allow you to get a better angle on the wire in order to create the desired size of loop. The thinner end of the plier jaws allows you to make small loops, while the thicker end allows you to create bigger loops.
3. 3. Chain Nose Pliers: Similar to round nose pliers, chain nose pliers also taper down. However, the insides of the jaws on chain nose pliers are flat. Chain nose pliers work well for holding wire firmly in place by offering better grip support. Chain nose pliers also give you better maneuverability in tight loops.
4. 4. Flat Nose Pliers: Flat nose pliers are a great gripping tool for holding wires in place while you cut. Like chain nose pliers, flat nose pliers have flat jaws, but they do not taper down. They stay straight and flat along the whole jaw edge. Many jewelry makers use two or more sets of flat nose pliers.
5. 5. Crimp Tool: A crimp tool marks a crimp in the wire so that beads can’t fall off the end. The crimp tool helps beads and stones to remain fastened specifically to one location on the wire. Specifically, the crimp tool creates notches in the wire that secure the bead so that it cannot move on either side.

Depending on the type of jewelry making you’re doing there are assorted jeweler’s kits, beading supply kits, and jewelry soldering and torch kits for you to pick up and try out. Another useful supply to consider as you learn jewelry making is a jewelry cleaning kit.

Beginner Jewelry Making Tips

As a beginner, there are some simple tips and tricks to know before getting started. These tips will help you to start out on a good foot so you can enjoy the process of learning jewelry making skills.

Here are some beginner jewelry making tips for you to consider:

1. 1. Find Your Own Jewelry Making Interest: As you start out, narrow down which types of jewelry making is for you and try these out to find the right fit.
2. 2. Master Some Basic Skills: Take your jewelry making craft one step at a time by first learning some basic skills. There are plenty of online resources or classes available to teach these basic skills so you can learn more over time.
3. 3. Invest in Quality Tools: Buying the right tools from the beginning and it will make jewelry make much more enjoyable and successful.
4. 4. Learn the Lingo: Learning the correct jewelry making terminology will make it easier to follow along when reading and learning about jewelry making.
5. 5. Have a Decent Workspace: To really commit to your jewelry making hobby, be sure to dedicate an area as your personal workspace for working and storing your tools and supplies.
6. 6. Find Ideas and Inspiration: The fun part of jewelry making is getting to be creative. You can find unlimited ideas and inspiration online with websites such as Pinterest and other blogs. As you see more examples of works of art, you can start to develop your own style or your own spin on certain ideas.
7. 7. Take Classes: Classes are a great way to develop your jewelry making skills. You can start to learn the basic skills and terminology and continue to be filled with inspiration as you build up your jewelry making experience.