| seed bead | Seed beads are a type of small beads. Seed beads are often made of colored glass and are inexpensive beads. These beads range in size from 1mm thick to less than 3mm in thickness. |
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| Silamide Nylon | Silamide Nylon is a brand of nylon bead stringing thread. See our selection of Silamide here. |
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silk |
Silk is a type of bead stringing thread. Historically, quality necklaces were strung on silk. At present there are many alternatives to silk that are stronger and equally colorful. |
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| silver | Silver is element number 47 from the periodic chart of the elements. Silver has outstanding ability to conduct heat and electricity. It is used in making jewelry because of its ability to be polished to a shiny surface. |
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| Soft Flex | Soft Flex is a brand of stainless steel bead stringing wire. Made of multiple threads of stainless steel coated with plastic to preserve the stainless steel. Soft Flex comes in a variety of colors. |
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| Soft Touch | Soft Touch is a premium brand of stainless steel bead stringing wire made by the Soft Flex company. It is more flexible and supple than Soft Flex, but retains the same strength. |
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| spiral (in wire) | A spiral is a wire component made by wrapping wire around itself in a flat plane. An example of a spiral is shown at right. Spirals can only be made in wire with a hardness of dead soft. |
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| Spiral Maker | The WigJig Spiral Maker is an accessory that when used with an associated WigJig jig helps to make spirals without marking the wire. The spiral is made between the Spiral Maker and the jig and since both are relatively soft plastic, they do not mark the wire. See our Spiral Makers here. |
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| split ring | A split ring is a circular finding made of hardened wire. The wire is wrapped in a circle about 1 1/2 times so that there is overlap. The hardening of the wire preserves the shape of the split ring as it is used to connect other components. |
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| split ring pliers | Split ring pliers are special pliers used to hold a split ring open so that other components can be connected to the ring. |
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| spool knitter | The spool knitter is a tool used to support making knitted wire chains. See our spool knitters here. |
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| spring ring clasp | A spring ring clasp is a type of clasp made in the shape of a ring. A segment of the ring can be withdrawn into the ring to allow connecting the clasp to a loop. The spring in the sliding segment causes the ring to close once pressure is removed. |
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| sterling silver | Sterling silver is a very common alloy of silver made of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% copper. See also Argentium Sterling Silver. |
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| straightening | Straightening wire is the technique for removing the curl in wire, leaving it straight. Both the manufacturing process and packaging of wire tend to make the wire have a natural curl. For this reason, straightening the wire is the first step in most jewelry making projects. Straightening is frequently performed by pulling the wire through the jaws of nylon jaw pliers. | |
| Stretch Magic | Stretch Magic is a synthetic bead stringing material similar to elastic. It has the ability to stretch and for this reason is used to make beaded bracelets that do not require a clasp because the can stretch over the wearer's hand. See Stretch Magic here. |
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| Super Pegs | Super Pegs are a WigJig accessory that facilitate making rounded shapes in wire. The Super Pegs are shaped like a mushroom. The stem of the mushroom fits into the hole in the jig and the top of the mushroom allows making round wire shapes. See our Super Pegs here. |
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