European wire is measured in millimetres whilst the US use gauges. A lot of jewellery books use American ire guage sizes in their instruction see chart below for European equivilant
34 gauge wire = 0.16mm ( 0.006”)
28 gauge wire = 0.32mm ( 0.013”)
26 gauge wire = 0.40mm ( 0.015”)
24 gauge wire = 0.51mm ( 0.020”)
20 gauge wire = 0.81mm ( 0.032”)
18 gauge wire = 1.02mm ( 0.040”)
Coated copper wire also known as craft wire is used for both craft use e.g. making an animal form out of wire and for making jewellery with pliers using shapes and loops. For example you can make your own headpins by cutting the wire and making a circle with round nosed pliers around fishhook ear wires. The wire ranges from very fin e.g. 0.2mm which would be used for fine wire knitting and twisting, through to 0.5mm which is most commonly used for craft and 0.8mm or 1mm which is used to make jewellery pieces as it is thick enough to hold it’s shape when combined with some weight e.g a semi-precious bead as a centre piece. See wire gauges for the different thicknesses and conversion to US gauges.
Elastic cord is sold by the spool and comes in various thicknesses strengths and colours. Often used for bracelets, some of today’s elastics are very strong. They tend to be knotted/ glued.
Invisible cord (or illusion cord) is a strong nylon product that is almost see through so is good for illusion necklaces.
Kevlar is a very strong synthetic thread used in making bulletproof vests. It is heat resistant and less likely to stretch than other cords, but more likely to fray. There have been reports of it disintegrating over time.
Leather cord comes in several thicknesses and is good for modern casual designs and larger beads and pendants. To finish either knot or use some of the cord ends in the finding section. Glue and crimps can also be helpful here.
Nymo is a waxed nylon thread most commonly available on small bobbins (64-72 yards). It has various sizes from 00-FF. 00 is very fine but can snap, whilst FF is too thick for many beads. B and D are most popular. Nymo is a good choose for bead weaving (on or off loom) or any other beadwork that demands a tough yet fine thread.
Nylon thread is less expensive than silk.
Polyester cord won’t shrink from moisture and is less likely to fray than silk.
Rattail, Mousetail and Bugtail are names for 3 thicknesses of satin cord which comes in many colours and knots well. Good for use with large beads and Chinese knotting techniques.
Silamide is a 2-ply twisted nylon thread produced for the hand-tailoring industry. It comes waxed and can be sued in the same way as Nymo.
Silk thread is versatile and comes in many colours and sizes. It is sized from 0 to 16 with 0 being the thinnest. Silk is easily knotted and is the best choice for delicate beads such as freshwater pearls. Because it will stretch, you may wish to pre-stretch.
Softflex is just one trade name for a 49 strand flexible wire. Beadalon 49 and Accuflex are similar alternatives from different companies.
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