How to Make and Use a Bead Spinner

Bead spinners are unheard of by many crafters, even ones who do beadwork, but they can assist you in stringing beads more quickly. Without a bead spinner the crafter must pick up each bead and put it on the wire or needle. With a bead spinner the work is practically done for you. The spinners sell for big bucks at a craft store but you can make your own for a few pennies.

Use a margarine tub that is clean and dry for the bead spinner. A medium size bowl will work best. Use a sharp knife to cut a very small “X” shape into the bottom of the bowl, while the bowl is upside-down. You’ll need a round, wooden dowel that is slightly taller than the bowl. Turn the bowl right-side-up and push the dowel through the “X”. Leave a half inch of the dowel sticking out of the bowl, making the bowl sit lopsided. With glue gun squirt glue around the dowel on the bottom of the bowl and use the glue gun nozzle to smooth the glue.

With the bowl sitting upright, however lopsided, squirt hot glue around the dowel on the inside. Use the nozzle of the gun to smooth the glue well over the “X” marks around the dowel. It works best if you use the glue, spread it around, let it cool, then do the procedure again. Make sure the “X”marks are completely covered with glue and that the glue is as flat and smooth as possible.

The bead spinner works best with round beads which are at least 2mm. It will work with some other beads but not well with tiny beads that have bitty holes. Ideally, the bowl will be at least a third of the way filled with beads. Set the bowl on a flat, level surface even though the bowl will sit learning. Hold the wire down in the beads, pointing to the left, while you hold the top portion of the dowel and spin to the left. Turn the dowel quickly, spinning it as fast as possible. This motion of spinning the bowl clockwise while pointing the wire counterclockwise forces the beads onto the wire.

At first it will seem as though the bead spinner isn’t working too well. Actually, you have to get a “feel” for the angle that you point the wire and the angle that you hold the bowl. Simply practice for awhile and you’ll get a feel for the angle you should the wire. To put beads on a string simply thread a needle and hold it into the bead spinner. Make several different spinners so that you can use different colors of beads on one project.