Be Bold Jewelry REVIEWS

Instruction Quality: 3/4

Photo/Illustration Quality: 2/3

Organization / Ease of Navigation: 2.5/3

Techniques Covered: Beadweaving, Basics, Finishing techniques

Recommended for: Beginning beaders and experienced beaders looking to add a new stitch to their repertoire.

Comments: This is a nice site that provides tutorials for almost all most popular stitches: Herringbone, Peyote, Brick, Daisy, St. Petersburg, etc. It also provides basics and finishing information and a nice little glossary. One nice touch is that terms found in the Glossary appear in bold throughout the site – sort of like in a textbook. An improvement that I would love to see would be links from each of those terms to the Glossary term. I realize that process would be pretty time intensive, so I can’t complain about it!  Although the site does not have any particular projects to complete, it does have thorough instructions, so with a little imagination you can effectively design your own pieces. The site provides some nice tips, for instance suggesting beginners first try Peyote using Delicas or sliver lined Czech seed beads since they have less of the “round” shape, making them easier to stitch. (more…)

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Content Quality: 4.5/5

Organization / Ease of Navigation:  4.5/5

Regular Updates: Yes

Techniques Covered: Several beadweaving stitches, fringe, explains basic tools & supplies

Recommended For: Beginner beadweavers

Comments: The free online Guide to Beadwork is a nice resource for beginning beadweavers. Navigation of the site is pretty intuitive; there is always a button for returning to the table of contents and you can jump ahead to other sections of the same chapter without having to return to the main page. It did lose half a point for inconsistent labeling though. For instance the “next”  and “book” buttons appear in a few different places, forcing the user to hunt for it. (more…)

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Content Quality:  4/5

Organization / Ease of Navigation: 2/5

Regular Updates: Yes

Techniques Covered: Beadweaving and stringing

Recommended For: Beginner and intermediate beaders

Comments: There is a lot of content on this site. Patterns (free and for sale), graph papers, information on designers, beginner tips, a regular newsletter, an annual contest and more.  The patterns are sold by a variety of different designers which explains the varying levels of complexity and taste of the patterns. It also means that the quality of the instructions will vary significantly from pattern to pattern. To find the things that suit your own style, be prepared to wade through a lot of unwanted material. Bead-Patterns boasts 12,708 different items, but very few ways to browse. A few possible browse categories are: graph paper, free items only, jewelry, holiday/seasonal patterns, home decor and a few others. If you find a pattern you like, you can click on the designer’s name and will get a page that only shows that person’s designs. (more…)

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