Technique Tuesday - Using Large Hole Beads

I purchased these gorgeous lampworked beads from my teammate Deronda. While making a pair of earrings with them (for myself!) , I realized that my method would make a good Technique Tuesday post.

Lampwork beads most often have large holes, rendering them quite wobbly on a regular sized headpin or wire. This technique offers a solution to this problem.


Starting with flat end headpins, I add a small flat-ish glass spacer bead in a coordinating color. Without this, the bead would slide off the headpin because of the size of the hole.

Look at the spot where the headpin exits the top of the bead in the photo below and you can see that it is off center.

String some seed beads (I find that size 11 work well in most cases) onto the headpin to fill the hole in the lampwork bead. Fill to as close to the top as you can. Choose a color that matches the main bead. The quantity of seed beads required will vary depending on the size of the lampwork bead.


Look again at the spot where the headpin exits the bead. Now, with the seed beads in place, the headpin is centered and stable.


I finish by adding another spacer on top of the bead, followed by a butter colored amber bead.


Contributed by Vicki of Orion Designs, using beads from Deronda Designs.