(Part 2) Best beading supplies according to redditors

Just in case if you need to draft the whole school as well

1mm elastic cord - this and only this. Don't be fooled by stretch magic or any other false prophets. It's super sturdy and won't break, while also being stretchy enough for anything you need to make/still be able to trade. The 100 meter spools will last you a long time too! Also if you ever want to make perler necklaces, fishing wire works great (the elastic cord is too bouncy as a necklace).

You can get regular Kandi beads at any craft store (make sure to check their website for coupons!)

I like to use elastic cord instead of string because I find it’s sturdier. I love this rainbow stuff and it looks great with clear beads.

I don't know for sure. but I know perler sells this. https://www.amazon.com/Perler-80-11125-Nintendos-Pattern-Multicolor/dp/B07PD2LMRG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=master+shield+perler&qid=1564799972&s=arts-crafts&sr=1-1


I bought their mario one and mine was 2x2 boards.

Hi! The beads you want are called pony beads, best to buy a variety of colors, and I really prefer sorted boxes like this: https://www.amazon.com/Beadery-Bead-Extravaganza-19-75-Ounce-Pearl/dp/B007QNFP40/ref=sr_1_7?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1496023909&sr=1-7&keywords=pony+beads

They are good to use for most of the bracelet, some people also like to put on fancy glass or wood beads, or metal charms, or plastic small toys, the possibilities are endless.

For string, you want something stretchy, and my personal favorite is this fabric covered elastic: https://www.amazon.com/White-Medium-Elastic-Cord-Yard/dp/B000GPTDB6/ref=sr_1_4?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1496023994&sr=1-4&keywords=elastic+string but some people also use clear plastic stretchy string.

Other things you might want are letter beads for writing words: https://www.amazon.com/Trasfit-Acrylic-Alphabet-Bracelets-Necklaces/dp/B01IQNJF1W/ref=sr_1_13?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1496024078&sr=1-13&keywords=letter+beads

You can find all of these locally at any craft store (joann, michael's, hobby lobby, even the craft section of walmart, or whatever your local equivalents are).

For the kandi masks, I've never made one, but I have had good luck searching for tutorials for cuffs and other things on youtube. I'm sure they will have a good one for masks too. Good luck! :) It's very rewarding to be able to give kandi and trade to make memories.

How much are you going to be making electronics a hobby? If you're just going to be soldering some boards occasionally you could save a bit on the iron and get this Weller. Also a cleaner. If you go with the 888 that will have a wire cleaner built in. I'm getting old so I personally would recommend at least a magnifying glass. I have this helping hand The clips didn't do much for me but the glass did. There are times where the switch pin just gets lost and the glass helped a lot. I also picked up this kit when I started, primarily for the sucker, but I thought the other tools may come in handy. So far they haven't, other than the solder. The first time I tried to use the sucker I could not get it to work correctly, I just wasn't getting enough of a seal around the hot solder, thinking I'd melt the tip, so I ended up buying a different pump that I still have never used, because I eventually DID learn to use the cheaper sucker. I also can't make solder wick work properly, apparently. If this is your first time soldering/desoldering I recommend getting a cheap practice kit that you don't care if you ruin. I can recommend this one as it has you intentionally foul up joins so you can learn to fix them. You won't need strippers. Flush cutters would be helpful if you need to trim the pcb mount legs off your switches (like Zealios, which you will if you have a GH60 Satan pcb) or trimming LEDs. Work mat would be helpful to keep your work area clean but not necessary. You will need a small screwdriver but I can't remember what size. Tweezers or one of these grabber thingies are always helpful when the screw flips sideways when you are trying to seat it. I used this solder on 3 builds so far and have had no issues with joins failing.

Sure! Looks like it's backordered right now but it was a fun kit.

Perler Beads Marvel Avengers Pattern and Fuse Bead Kit, 4503Pc, 10 Patterns

Something I love to do is make perler bead figures/designs. You can make so many different things, as complicated or as simple as you like. And they make great gifts or magnets or wall decor or shelf decor.

https://www.amazon.com/Perler-80-17537-Mini-Large-Multi/dp/B0798V9KS6/ref=pd_sim_201_4?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0798V9KS6&pd_rd_r=58023a82-dc9c-11e8-bee5-11f85c3f70ca&pd_rd_w=OCRCc&pd_rd_wg=9KDKM&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=18bb0b78-4200-49b9-ac91-f141d61a1780&pf_rd_r=SS6ZAEABAW1MEW8YSHXR&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=SS6ZAEABAW1MEW8YSHXR


This has a light gray, light blue, and dark read I really needed.

Thank you for the reply, if you don't mind I have some questions on your comment:

1. >Get some beeswax for your thread.
   So this is just to pull the string though so it doesn't get tangled?
   
   
2. So in general, silk thread is the way to go? Any place where i can buy silk thread by the colour? Best I could find on Amazon was this one that has black and white. Is polyester fine too? Maybe like these?
   
   
3. what's stay stitch? Where do i find a bottle of it?
   
   Thank you for the help

This probably won't help those that have been doing this a while, so this is more for somebody with no experience to stumble upon. Drawers and the flat organizers were out at this point (see other comment replies), so jars looked attractive. But how large?

I set out to try to figure out how much space a 1000 bag takes up. Reported measurements of what holds 1000 pcs were a bit different across the board here, so I decided to calculate it myself. Since there's no way I'm counting out 1000 of these things, and probably the bags don't even have exactly 1000 pcs, I had her buy a bag of black. The idea was to make a little paper box and measure how much space they take volumetrically.

These are some cheapie spice jars we picked up from Winco, each under a buck. 4 oz, 8 oz, 16 oz. They didn't say if that's fl oz or oz weight of some specific spice, so I threw water in one and weighed it. It's fl oz.

Weights:

• 1000 pack, bag removed - 60.20g
  
  
• 4 fl oz, full (tared) - 47.33g
  
  
• 8 fl oz, full (tared) - 87.40g
  
  
• 16 fl oz, full (tared) - 182g
  
  Results:
  
  
• 4 fl oz holds about 786 beads
  
  
• 8 fl oz holds about 1452 beads
  
  
• 16 fl oz holds about 3023 beads
  
  These are all rough numbers. Containers probably vary slightly within a batch. The 4 oz was probably slightly overfilled and the 8 oz slightly underfilled, but it's close enough. Roughly 8 oz seems to be the winner for refilling before empty.
  
  Picture with scale
  
  Also found these Perler brand 80-22816 storage jars and pre-filled 80-22826 neutrals/80-22825 pastels/80-22824 tropicals sets. They look pretty close to 100% full at 1000 beads, so I'm guessing they're roughly 6 fl oz. If I can find some square-ish plastic 8 oz jars at a similar price (for closer packing), I'll probably go with those. Otherwise, I'll just call it a day and go with the branded ones.

I wanted to point out that there is legit glow in the dark rope out there. Amazon link.

But from the other comment, it does sound like your looking for the stuff that glows under a black/uv light instead. That's probably the effect your looking for.

I got the "The Beadery Craft Products Assorted Pony Beads 2300 ct Box" from Walmart. It's a good starter box because it has 6 of the primary colors (purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, and pink) and 3 different finishes (translucent, matte, and pearl sheen). Over time I start to notice which colors and finishes I prefer to use then I just purchase those specific ones from BeadTin.com. You should check out their website because their organization makes a lot of sense.

Amazon is the best place for strings that I've found. I only use crystal elastic string and the thicker the better imo. Tying the knot 3-4 times usually does the job. I also like to tuck the knot underneath one of the beads so that it doesn't get exposed.

0.8mm

1mm

1.2mm

Use elastic cord, not string! Tenn Well Elastic Cord Thread,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B2CM7RL?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

This is the closest I could find to it Graduation Honor Cord Three-color Braided Grad Days (black white red) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B3JGJDJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_eVM8AbEAB0E56

Artkal has the best color selection, but you'll have to have it shipped to you. https://www.bakerskidscrafts.com/ is the only US reseller I know of (I'm gonna assume you're in North America). Otherwise, you'll have to order from their main site https://artkalfusebeads.com/ , and a package typically takes 2 weeks to arrive. Free shipping to the US and a few other countries. Artkal beads come in two types of beads. Hard and Soft. (The soft beads are exclusive to ARTKAL and are a special flexible kind of bead). You can get the beads in two sizes as well; Midi (regular sized, 5mm), and mini (2.6 mm). I personally use Artkal mini soft beads as my main beads, which is the A-series of beads. Though I do also have some C-series beads (the mini hard beads), and perler mini beads. And a small selection of Perler midi beads.

Artkal hard beads (both midi and mini) can be used with Perler brand beads. If you live in the states, you can find bags of perler beads for sell at most craft stores (though limited selection of colors in stock sometimes), and online websites that ship within the US. If you'd like to be able to restock quickly, you might go for the Perler beads, so you can just run to the store and restock when necessary (If you're in North America). You can also take advantage of craft store coupons and sales. And for more variety of colors after you become experienced, you can pair it up with Artkal hard Midi beads (S-series beads).

There are other brands of beads, such as Hama (comes in both midi and mini), and Melty brand beads. I've seen Melty brand beads in some craft stores and even walmarts, but I've never tried them. I just get the feeling they're not going to be as good quality as Perler or Artkal, but I dont know. Hama beads I've never used myself, but I've heard they can melt a bit odd, and while they *can* be used with Perler, they dont melt the same, so they do look off. (again, I dont have personal experience with this)

Overall, if you just want to try the beads, before deciding to commit to the hobby, I suggest you get one or two of the kits. If you're interested in midi beads, I suggest you pick up something like this:

Perler 16 Color tray - $8

if you're interested in the mini hard beads, you can pick up one or more of the Perler mini trays. There are many different trays, each with 8 colors (1000 ish beads each). And they're around $8 to $10 each. The Joanne's Craft store near me sells them.

Perler Mini Tray, Warm colors

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If you want a bigger selection of colors, you can consider these trays:

ARTKAL Mini hard beads, c-series 48 colors kit

or

ARTKAL Mini soft beads, a-series 48 colors kit

or

ARTKAL Midi hard beads, S-series 48 color kit

Whichever kit you get, you'd be best off buying it with an extra bag of black beads, because black is the most used color in beadsprites.

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When choosing mini versus midi, it's just personal preference. I prefer mini, for these reason, 1. they cost less, 2. they take up less space, 3. finished pieces look more detailed. Though for some people, mini beads are too small, and take more concentration to use.

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Sorry for some much text. If you dont happen to live in North America, then possible another brand of beads other than Perler is cheaper and easier to obtain.

This stuff: https://www.amazon.com/CleverDelights-Brown-Fabric-Elastic-Cord/dp/B01H29JI04/ref=sr_1_5?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1484273432&sr=1-5&keywords=elastic+cord+1+8 I'm not sure of the size that I have. I just happened to have a length of it in my bookbinding stuff.

It’s just a generic Jewelers claw. I usually turn the whole row stem down so I can just grab the next one in line by the top so you don’t have to touch the sides with lube on them.

Here is the link to the Jewelers Claw.