Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

If you want to get into beading & jewelry-making, Chris Franchetti Michaels's Teach Yourself VISUALLY Jewelry Making & Beading is a fantastic place to start. It's a thick book loaded with photographs, and it tackles a comprehensive spread of topics. Thorough charts detail everything from the common lengths for various styles and sizes of necklaces (both men's and women's), bracelets, and anklets to common finishing methods used for different stringing materials. Photos clearly display techniques for knotting strings, creating eyepins and headpins (not to mention clasps), and making your own Byzantine chain from jump rings. Wire gauge is demonstrated visually, with an image of each gauge's thickness, and with examples of what each gauge is used for. The book goes through bead-stringing techniques; wire-work; bead-weaving (by hand and on a loom) and even macrame. If you truly want to delve into beaded jewelry as more than just a way to make a few pieces for yourself, then I highly recommend grabbing a copy of Michaels's book. It's extremely valuable and highly instructional. The use of brief, clear instructions combined with a ton of tables and photographs make it a quick read that teaches you an incredible amount of material. It's also a fantastic quick-reference book for use while making your creations.