In case you are just starting to do beadwork you may have become overwhelmed with the variety of beads out there. There are numerous different types of materials coupled with shades, sizes and textures that it could become tough to pick the best pieces to complete your job. Many beaders might inform you to pick the pieces that you want as you are the one making the piece. You will get the perfect idea of how you would like it to look. In case you are following a pattern then you must use the materials the style maker recommends.

The most often used materials include the following:

Plastic beads – they are made out of various kinds of plastic and vary hugely in quality. If you would like this type of bead to look its best choose those with minimum seam showing.

Glass beads – this is probably the most popular types of beads because they are inexpensive and can look amazing. You will find them in several sizes from the tiny seed beads right up to large exclusive pieces. You could purchase high-priced hand blown glass pieces if you wished to make some beadwork for an extra special day.

Crystal beads – they are beads made from glass with the high net content. These are more expensive as compared to normal glass beads and can look fantastic. One well-known brand of Crystal beads is the Swarovski brand which is accepted around the world.

Metal beads- there are different types of metal beads. The most inexpensive are made from aluminum, bronze, copper and nickel. The next lowest priced choice is silver and gold plated metal where the piece of metal is covered by a thin layer of silver or gold. The main metal is generally copper or bronze.

There are other forms of beads used in beadwork but the above are the most common.