Jewelry-Making Techniques
Accu-Flex™ Paper Beading Cord
by Tammy Honaman, Author, Jewelry-Making Expert and Educator,
Exclusively for Fire Mountain Gems and Beads®
B945
Accu-Flex Paper Cord is:
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Strong
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Resistant to breakage from rough/sharp bead holes
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Holds up in water
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Can be dyed to match your beads and findings
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Can be crimped, knotted, braided, woven etc.
Paper cord can be crimped with crimp tubes and crimp beads. When choosing a crimp, the inside diameter of the crimp needs to be large enough to accommodate the cording, which is 0.8mm.
For crimp ends with loops and hooks and crimp tubes (the kind you compress in the center section) the inside diameter should be 1mm to 1.6mm.
STEP 1
Cut the cording to suit the length of your design.
STEP 2
Place a crimp end onto one end of the cording so the cording is threaded through the entire crimp (seeing it peek out of the other end).
STEP 3
While holding the crimp in place, compress the tips of a pair of chain-nose pliers into the center section of the crimp to secure.
STEP 4
Flip the assembly over and crimp again to make sure the crimp is compressed equally from both sides.
STEP 5
String on your design then repeat, adding a crimp on the other end.
For crimp tubes (crimps finished with crimping pliers), the diameter should be 1.5mm-2mm so the paper cord can pass through the crimp twice, as is needed for traditional crimping.
STEP 1
Cut the cording to suit the length of your design.
STEP 2
Thread a crimp tube onto one end, a soldered jumpring or the loop on the end of your clasp. Pass the cording back through the crimp.
STEP 3
Tighten up the cording so there is little space between the crimp and the jumpring or clasp. Position the crimp into the second notch closest to the handles of the crimping pliers. Separate the cords inside the crimp tube so they each wind up on either half of the crimp tube after the next step.
Tip: Separating the cords will make for a stronger crimped connection as the metal surrounds more of the stringing material.
STEP 4
Squeeze the handles of the pliers until you feel the crimp tube collapse. The crimp should be a ''U'' shape now.
STEP 5
Set the crimp in the first notch of the pliers so it is standing up in the notch. Squeeze the pliers until the crimp bead has fully collapsed forming a smaller tube. Pull on the cording to make sure the crimp is tight and holding.
STEP 6
String your design then finish the second end with a crimp and a soldered jumpring or the loop on your finding.
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The diameter of paper cord is 0.8mm so ensure you choose beads with a hole size of 1mm or larger.
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Paper cord will work with any clasp you can crimp or knot. I found that I loved working with the magnetic barrel clasps. Paper cord knots so well, and when a double-overhand knot was used and a drop of cyanoacrylate (Loctite® adhesive) applied, the knot fit neatly inside the barrel and within a few minutes was secure.
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To help thread the paper cord through the beads, a bit of white glue can be applied to the end so the twisted paper strands do not fray.
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Paper cord can be cut with wire cutters but a good pair of sharp scissors will cut the paper cord just fine. The key is to use something that is sharp and cuts cleanly so the end does not fray.
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Paper cord can be dyed any color. Since the beads in
this design are transparent, the color chosen matches the beads but a contrasting color would be fun too. Two different markers were used to give the cording a little life.
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