Every bin here is ours — we make it and we pack itSizes measured at our own bench, not copied from a cataloguePrice on the label is the reading we took, with its date
PATIKILOffice, craft and home improvement accessories, made by us

Beading & jewelry making

This is the aisle we are best known for: jewelry making supplies kept in counts that finish a design. Beads, the cord and wire that carry them, and the findings that close the loop.

181 bins · 1053 sizes and colours

The beading & jewelry making aisle at the PATIKIL counter

Beading & jewelry making — how we pick and size them

These jewelry making supplies were specified against each other, shelf by shelf, so a basket from one bay actually assembles. The beads we make are measured at the hole as well as the body, because a bead that will not take your cord is just a very small ornament. Our porcelain beads and ceramic beads run 6mm and 8mm with a hole wide enough for waxed cotton. Glass beads, acrylic beads and resin beads cover the 4mm to 12mm range where most bracelet work lives. Metal spacer beads, heishi beads and letter beads fill in the rhythm between them. Seed beads and bugle beads sit here too, in tubes rather than bags, so the small ones stay findable.

What sits next to what

Stringing supplies are the other half of this aisle. Waxed cotton cord, nylon cord, elastic cord for stretch bracelets, leather cord and satin rattail come on spools in 0.5mm to 2mm. Beading wire is sold by gauge with the strand count printed, and craft wire comes in copper, silver plated and gold tone for wrapping. Match the cord to the bead hole first and the rest of the build gets easier — a 1mm cord through a 1.5mm hole knots cleanly, a 1mm cord through a 1mm hole will fight you for an hour.

Taking a basket home that works

Findings finish the job. Lobster clasps, toggle clasps, jump rings, head pins, eye pins, ear wires, crimp tubes and bead caps, in silver plated, gold tone, bronze and stainless — the supplies people forget to order until the last knot. We sell them in counts of 20, 50 and 100 because making one bracelet is rare; making six for gifts is normal. If you are assembling a starter kit, take beads, a cord that matches the hole, a clasp, crimps and one pair of pliers — order those supplies in one basket and that is the whole list, and everything else on this aisle is a preference rather than a requirement.

Questions we get at the beads shelf

Which cord fits a 6mm porcelain bead?

A 1mm waxed cotton or nylon cord goes through our 6mm beads with room for a knot. Elastic at 0.8mm also passes, which is what most stretch bracelets use. Measure the hole, not the bead: two beads of the same diameter can be drilled differently.

Do I need crimps if the clasp already has a jump ring?

Yes, on beading wire. The jump ring joins clasp to loop; the crimp tube is what holds the wire in that loop. On knotted cord you can skip crimps and finish with a double knot and a drop of glue from the adhesives aisle.

Why are findings sold in counts of 50 and 100?

Because almost nobody makes one bracelet. Fifty jump rings is a year of repairs for most benches, and buying the supplies once beats paying postage four times for ten.

Notes from the bench

PATIKIL 30 Sets Pure Cotton Watercolor Cards 140lb/300 GSM P$11.60