Beading

Beading is the art of stringing beads to each other, attaching them to another material such as leather or cloth, weaving them together with thread or adhering beads to various objects as decoration.

Fast Facts

1. Early beaders used vines for string and rocks or shells as beads
2. Jewelry is the most common beading product
3. Archaeological evidence shows that people made and used beads as early as 5,000 years ago
4. Looms are used for some types of beading
5. Beading was a common practice among many Native North American tribes

Beads

Beads can range in size to less than a millimeter to several centimeters in diameter. Traditionally, beads were usually somewhat round or oval in shape, but modern beads are available in dozens of shapes from various geometric shapes to those shaped like animals and symbols. Beads may be made of clay, wood, stone, bone, horn, gemstones, ivory, metal, seeds and various synthetic materials.

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