How to Make Beads: Easy Barrel And Half Tube Clay Beads
Making your own beads allows you to create fashionable and customized jewelry designs. Learn How to Make Beads: Easy Barrel And Half Tube Clay Beads with this DIY jewelry making tutorial. Barrel beads and clay beads are popular homemade bead types. Clay beads are made from various types of clay and can be molded into distinct shapes. They can be any shape, from tube form to circular ball shapes. Barrel beads get their name from their distinct shape. Shaped like old-fashioned barrels, they are longer than the average round bead, but are big and round in the middle. In jewelry making, barrel beads are often used to accentuate the focal point of a piece, but they can also be used by themselves to create a unique and stunning design.
Below is an excerpt from Gloria Uhler's Hinged Clay Bracelets about how to make barrel beads and half tube clay beads:
"Curved polymer clay bracelet beads can be created in many ways. One of the easiest and most convenient I have found is using the Sculpey Bead Maker kit. The intent of the of the “U” shaped tool included in the kits, is to help you create uniform round beads. While it does that exceptionally well, I have discovered the tool is also ideal for designing different size barrel bead forms, and half round bangle bracelets."
You’ll find more clay making how-tos in the book Hinged Clay Bracelets by Gloria Uhler. Also visit her website at www.domestic-divaonline.com for more free clay tutorials.
Project TypeLearn a Technique
Bead TypeMiscellaneous
Bead Project TypeBracelet, Other
Instructions
Always condition clay first.
Barrel Bead Forms
Note: Sculpey offers the Bead Maker tool in three sizes - 13mm, 16mm, and 18mm. The variety makes it convenient to create beads and forms in three widths and curvatures.
-
Mist the tool with water and fill it with scrap clay. Pack it down tightly.
-
Use a tissue blade to slice off the excess so that the clay tube is level with the top of the tool and the ends.
-
Remove the clay from the tool and cure it on a flat surface according to manufacturer’s instructions.
-
Wrap the cooled form with foil or parchment paper.
-
Cut your raw bracelet bead clay to the length you want and drape it over the tube. Trim the clay edges and cure the new barrel shaped beads.
Half Round Bangles
-
Mist the tool with water and fill it with scrap clay. Pack it down tightly.
-
Use a tissue blade to slice off the excess so that the clay tube is level with the top of the tool and the ends.
-
Remove the clay from the tool and cure it on a flat surface according to manufacturer’s instructions.
-
Before curing, join the tubes, smoothing the seam with your finger. Adjust the length.
-
Wrap the tube around a bracelet form. Join the open ends smoothing the seam. For plain bangles, cure the clay as is. For a bangle with more texture or added color design design a thin layer and drape it over the tube.
-
Wrap a strip of parchment paper around the clay and secure it with tape to hold the tube in place while curing.