Why should you stretch your beading thread and what’s the best way to do it? Which threads should you always stretch?
These are questions I get asked a lot! In this blog I’ll guide you through this and answer these questions.
Why should you stretch your beading thread?
The easy answer is; it makes it easier to bead with!
Most beading threads have a natural stretch to them. This allows them to be supple, and makes them ideal for projects such as peyote, brick stitch and more. We want a bit of stretch to them, it makes it easier to do projects such as geometric peyote or bezelling as it has that little bit of give in it. However too much give and over time you’ll find that your projects lose their tension and you may even start to see more thread showing between the beads. This will be even more noticeable with projects like spiral ropes, woven bracelets and necklaces that are taking weight or being worn.
By stretching out your thread before you work with it, you’re taking out some of that natural stretch in the thread and reducing the risk of this happening to your project over time.
The second benefit is that it reduces knots, by stretching out any kinks!
What beading thread types do I need to stretch?
If you are working with FireLine then you don’t need to stretch your thread. However if you are working with a more supple-type of beading thread such as KO, Miyuki, One-G or S-Lon then I recommend stretching your thread.
I don’t usually work with Nymo but this thread has a lot of stretch in it so I would recommend always stretching Nymo – and avoid using it for stringing-type projects in bracelets and necklaces; eg daisy chain, spiral ropes.
How to stretch your thread
Cut off your thread that you are working with, and pull it out taut between your fingers, and give it a firm but gentle pull. If you’re working with a long arms’ length of thread you might need to do this in two sections. And that’s it!
If you’re going to wax your thread, then do this now. See my blog post on Keeping a firm tension for tips on waxing your thread.
