Course description

Would you like to make your own necklaces, bracelets and earrings? This course takes you from your first pair of pliers to a finished matching set, using beads, wire, thread, cord and ready-made findings at your kitchen table. There's no soldering and no costly equipment.

You begin with the five core tools and a safe, comfortable workspace. Then you learn about beads, stringing materials, wire and metals, and how to use findings such as jump rings, clasps, head pins and ear wires. You string and crimp necklaces and bracelets to the right length, make simple and wrapped loops, drop earrings and hoops, and move on to coils, wire components and a link bracelet. Later sections cover stretch bracelets, knots, macrame, bead weaving, colour and design. Finally, you learn to check, care for, photograph, cost and price your pieces, and what UK rules on hallmarking, metal content, product safety and children's jewellery mean if you'd like to sell.

There are 10 sections and 50 written lessons. Each lesson has a worked example, common slips, questions people often ask and a short exercise to try, and each section ends with a short quiz. You follow Luned, a parish council clerk in Lancaster who makes her first pieces and plans a small collection for a church hall craft fair, with help from Tjitske at her Tuesday beading circle. Every section has a practice pack with exercise sheets, answer keys and cheat sheets, plus project sheets with simple line drawings, tool and findings reference cards, a wire gauge and length chart, sizing guides, a design planner, a costing and pricing spreadsheet with a worked example, and finishing and selling checklists.

What you'll learn

• Tools and a safe workspace: the five core tools and how to hold them, a bead mat, trays and measuring tools, eye protection, small parts, light, posture and breaks, and a first practice session.
• Beads, stringing materials and metals: bead types and sizes, beading wire, thread, cord and elastic, wire thickness and temper, metals in plain words and nickel allergy.
• Findings and jump rings: a tour of findings, opening and closing jump rings properly, clasps, head pins, eye pins, bead caps and ear wires.
• Stringing, crimping and sizing: measuring necks and wrists, planning a strung piece, crimping a necklace, making a bracelet with a trial fit, and ring sizing.
• Loops and earrings: simple loops, wrapped loops, matching drop earrings, wire hoops and simple wire shapes from a template.
• Wirework, coils and links: coiling, wrapping a bead, making your own jump rings, hooks and connectors, and a wire link bracelet.
• Stretch bracelets, knotting and macrame: stretch bracelets that last, knots that hold, knotting between beads, macrame basics and a sliding knot bracelet.
• Bead weaving and design: bead weaving basics, ladder stitch and the daisy chain, colour, balance and proportion, and planning a small collection.
• Finishing, care, photographs and pricing: a quality check for every piece, care and simple repairs, photographing jewellery with a phone, costing and pricing, and selling at fairs and online.
• Selling legally, and your final project: UK hallmarking and describing metals, product safety and children's jewellery, a matching set of necklace, bracelet and earrings, and a mini collection plan.

Who it's for

Complete beginners in the UK who'd like to make jewellery for themselves, as gifts or to sell in a small way, and crafters who'd like to add beading and wirework to what they do. No experience is needed.

What this course is, and isn't

This is a practical beginner course. It doesn't teach soldering, and it isn't legal advice. The legal points come from official guidance from the UK Assay Offices, the British Hallmarking Council, Business Companion (Trading Standards), GOV.UK, legislation.gov.uk and the NHS, read on 1 November 2026. Rules and guidance change, so check the current pages before you rely on a detail. Luned, Tjitske and every other person in the course are fictional.

What will I learn?

• Choose and use round nose, chain nose and flat nose pliers, flush cutters and crimping pliers, and set up a safe, comfortable workspace
• Choose beads, stringing materials, wire thicknesses and tempers, and describe metals such as sterling silver, plated metal and silver tone accurately
• Open and close jump rings properly, and choose clasps, head pins, eye pins and ear wires, including findings for sensitive skin
• Measure necks and wrists, plan a strung piece and finish necklaces and bracelets with crimps, wire guards and crimp covers
• Make neat simple and wrapped loops, matching drop earrings, wire hoops and simple wire shapes
• Wind coils, wrap beads, make your own jump rings, hooks and connectors, and build a wire link bracelet
• Make stretch bracelets that last, tie knots that hold, knot between beads and make a macrame sliding knot bracelet
• Work ladder stitch and a daisy chain, and use colour, balance and a focal point to plan a small collection
• Check, clean, care for, photograph, cost and price your pieces using a clear method
• Understand UK hallmarking, the nickel, lead and cadmium limits, product safety duties and care with children's jewellery before you sell

Frequently asked questions