Lesson 4
Beading with Foxtail
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Figure 1
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Foxtail can be soldered to finish. You can also crimp it using crimp ends. Or you can
simply add jump rings to the ends. In order to add jump rings, do the following:
You want to make an opening in the foxtail to insert the jump ring. Using a chain nose
pliers (found here),
remove the already cut loops at the end of the foxtail. (figure 1)
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Figure 2
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Look carefully for the 2nd set of links in the chain and push a scribe through at that
point to create a loop large enough to fit your jump ring
(found here).
Make sure you go straight through the foxtail to get maximum metal thickness in your
loop. (figure 2)
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Figure 3
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Slide your jump ring through the foxtail loop and close it. One end is done! (figure 3)
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Figure 4
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String your beads to satisfaction. If you want, you can stiffen the stringing end of foxtail
to make it easier for threading. With a flat nose pliers (found here)
squeeze down with moderate pressure on the first inch of the end you’ll be threading (the
opposite end of the foxtail from the jump ring). If you look closely, you will notice that
foxtail chainlinks form a square. Rotate the foxtail a half turn and squeeze the other sides
of the square with the pliers again. This will stiffen that section of foxtail to make
it easy to push it through the bead holes. When you are done beading, cut off the stiff
section of foxtail and repeat the jump ring steps above for the 2nd end of your strand.
Adding cones (found here)
to your ends is a nice way of hiding the foxtail on your strand. (figure 4)
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