You may be familiar with using rubber tubing over the top of beading wire, cord, or memory wire, but did you know that you can use the surface of the tubing to create dimensional jewelry?

To create a necklace with head pins piercing the tubing, you'll need a beading awl with a pointy tip. Press down through the tubing to make the pilot holes. Start in the center of the necklace so it's easier to get the correct spacing. Once the first hole is made, pass a head pin through the holes, positioning it so the head pin is on top of the tubing. Next, add beads or charms to the head pins and finish the ends to hold the beads in place.

If you're using beading wire, it's more flexible than a head pin and can be more difficult to pass through the tubing. You may need to use a Sbeady™ beading needle to push the wire through the tubing.

To finish the necklace, you can attach tube or cord ends directly to the tubing and then attach the clasp, or you can pass beading wire through the tubing and attach the clasp to the beading wire. Using beading wire reinforces the tubing and gives the necklace a sturdier feel. So, the method you choose will depend on what type of drape you want the necklace to have.

Pierced tubing designs can have a wide variety of looks. They can be simple or complex, depending on the number of pierces and the type of beading you combine with the tubing.

Designer Fernando Dasilva created a unique effect by passing brightly colored beading wires through velour tubing and adding sparkly crystal beads for an eye-catching bracelet in the new book, Bead & Wire Jewelry Exposed (F+W Pubs 2008). A similar effect can have a totally different look when made in a monochromatic color palette.

Links:
Velour tubing
http://www.beadalon.com/velourTubing.asp

Awl
http://www.beadalon.com/knottingtools.asp

Clear Colors
http://www.beadalon.com/19strClear.asp

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