How to Avoid Correct Common Mistakes When Beading Animals

Although making your very own bead animals can be entertaining and fulfilling it’s important to recognize that mistakes can and will happen – to even the most experienced makers. Luckily most problems you can encounter while crafting your bead animals are easy and simple to fix especially if you have a solid plan for how to avoid the problem in the future. Having this information will lead to you being a more skillful maker and will lead to bead animals that are stronger neater and more polished/professional.

Bead tension is a problem a lot of people run into when making a bead animal. If the tension is too strong the bead animal will be curl and lose its shape. Leaving tension too loose causes gaps that make the bead animal appear unfinished. Maintaining even tension is easily accomplished simply by pulling the string the same amount of tension after every row. It can also be useful to check the shape bead animal has every few rows.

Knotting is another concern. Bead animals can easily fall apart if the final knot isn’t securely done. Having string that is easy to knot means you can double or triple knot to secure the joints strong enough to withstand play. To secure the joints even further you can trim the ends of the string after knotting and weave them through the beads.

You can also have an unfinished design if you bead animals with the wrong amount of beads. It is common for bead animals to have distorted patterns and some rows can even be impossible to complete if you’ve added or even missed a single bead. It is always better to correct your mistakes in the moment removing the beads that were added rather than waiting to fix the problem afterwards, Be sure to count the beads going through each row to make sure you haven’t missed or added any beads. A good way to prevent your bead animals from having the wrong amount of beads is to not pull on the edge of each row tightly before you check to make sure the row has the right amount of beads.

There’s nothing more irritating than having your string break especially when you are almost finished. Try not to allow that to happen by using strong threads fishing lines or elastic strands. Pulling the string too hard can result in a broken string especially if you are working with sharper beads. If you have a string break while you work tie the new section of string and weave the knot through the beads to conceal it.

For beginners working with threads and beads can lead to uneven patters. It helps to keep your work flat and line it up with the pattern instructions to make sure you maintain the symmetry.

Try to run through the following checklist in your mind before working on your next beaded animal:

Be sure to read the pattern all the way through first Count each of your beads as you string them all together. Make sure that the string you are using is good quality, Pay attention to the tension in the string and be sure to check your knots before you cut them, Keep your workspace tidy and be sure your beaded animal doesn’t have any loose beads once you are finished.

Using all of these tips along with your patience will allow you to make high quality beaded animals.