SoftFlex Trios Beading Wire for Stringing Your Polymer Clay Beads
"It's worth it to pay a little more or drive a little further for better quality beading wire." ~Cindy-L
Well I finally got myself some of that Trios Beading Wire that so many people seem to be talking about! And man is it beautiful! It's soft, drape-y and the colors are so yummy I have to keep a towel around, just to clean up the drool!
The way this lovely wire is bundled, is in packs of three coordinating colors inspired by precious stones. There are three 10 foot rolls for the price of one 30 ft roll, which is great cause sometimes you want more colors.
And more colors I did want, so I got 4 different sets to try.
Serenity which contains the colors Bone, Green Turquoise and Fluorite. Sophisticated which has Antique Brass, Onyx and Coral. Romance which has Quartz, Rhodocrosite and Garnet colored wire. And Tranquility with Tanzanite, Lapis and Blue Topaz.
I have been playing around a bit, trying to combine some of my polymer clay beads with this soft flexible wire. Will post about them when I get something to show you.
By the way, Trios Wire is made by the Soft Flex Company, which is known for making quality beading wire.
In a post awhile back, I talked about another brand of beading wire [Beadalon], and the importance of buying quality products. Cheap crappy beading wire is absolutely not worth the lower cost when your jewelry breaks and your customer has to watch their purchase spill across the floor! So make sure you get the good stuff.
I feel comfortable recommending Soft Flex Trios Wire. It is definitely a quality product that will help to make your jewelry projects extra special. You can find it in many retail locations or you can buy it online at the Softflex web site.
If you want to see some cool jewelry designs made with Trios wire, including a funky necklace by polymer clay artist Valerie Aharoni, you can go vote for your favorite one at the "Flex Your Creativity" Beading Contest [the link to vote is on the SoftFlex Home Page and the contest ends November 30, 2009 at midnight]. Valerie pops her head into this blog every once in awhile and I'm sure she would appreciate receiving your vote.
So have you guys tried this cool wire yet? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Or feel free to discuss other brands of wire that you like, and why you like them.
Filed Under: 03: Supplies by 
Leave a Comment
Comments on SoftFlex Trios Beading Wire for Stringing Your Polymer Clay Beads
Nice!
I normally use SoftTouch (the medium, .019 diameter, 49 strand version), which is made by the SoftFlex Company. It's really really flexible (more so than ordinary SoftFlex), kink-proof, stretch-proof, and really really strong (I also work with heavy beads). However, it doesn't exactly come in many colours: think grey, grey or grey (although the very fine version also comes in black and white).
I haven't used coloured beading wire in the past because the products I knew about didn't pass my (relatively extreme) stress tests. This is the first I've heard of these SoftFlex Trios, and from my past experience with this company's products I think I'll give them a go!
Thank you for the lovely review. I linked to it from my blog that posts later this morning, as well as on our twitter account. I'm so glad that you enjoyed our wire. I look forward to seeing what you create! :)
Dog Gone it, Cindy! I may have to quit coming to the site! I need to go out and buy something every time you recommend it! I've fought the temptation to buy the pretty wires for a while but now I feel the pull…must …go… buy… :)
I haven't heard of these. How thick or what is the diameter? I love the colors and I'm sure they would make nice bails, too. Can't wait to see what ya come up with.
I love SoftFlex wire as a general rule. You just can't beat it,IMHO.
For those itching to try this wire, Hobby Lobby has all beading wire on sale for half price this week.
I should have added that I saw it there in all colors.
Is it bad that I use fishing line???? … and all my craft boxes are actually tackle boxes?
Gotta admit though… that line is pretty… I wonder if the fish will like it? *wink*
I'll have to try it out!
Those would be some spoiled fish Melinda if you were to use this lovely wire for fishing! LOL You can use fishing line for beading if you like. This is just a lot prettier if the wire is to show. Plus it has such a wonderful drape to it!
Thank you everyone for your great comments! I really appreciate you all.
Catalina, you can get the specs on all the different wires that SoftFlex carries by clicking their link in the post above.
Thank you Sara for posting about this post on your your blog! That was really sweet of you. I'm glad you liked the review of the Trios. You are the SoftFlex Girl, so that means a lot coming from you!
Thanks for the kudos, everybody!
We recently introduced some Holiday Trios to make it easy to design for your favorite occasion. Lots of fun holiday themes and colors.
Happy Beading!
Hi- I am making necklaces with fine 0.14 soft flex wire and some of my beads are breaking or tearing by the holes due to the wire. What wire do you recommend for polymer clay beads? Or are my beads too thin?
Thanks,
Kelley
@Kelley Harrington: What kind of polymer clay are you using, and how long are you baking it for?
It could be that your beads aren't reaching the maximum hardness of your clay, particularly if you're only baking it for the time indicated on the packet. Cindy mostly uses Premo and recommends baking for an hour. I use Kato which bakes at a higher temperature for a shorter time, but I still usually bake my beads at that higher temperature for around 40 minutes depending on size.
Also, some brands of clay are stronger or get harder than others. Kato, Premo, Cernit and Fimo Classic are among the stronger clays. If you are using a weak clay like Sculpey 3 that could be part of the problem.
For what it's worth, I use SoftTouch medium 0.019 49-strand and haven't had problems with it damaging my polymer clay beads in any real world scenarios.
The only time I've had such damage was when I've deliberately been trying to inflict it, e.g. when doing strength testing. With that kind of exercise I feed two separate strands of SoftTouch through the bead hole, form them into loops with handles, and then pull them in opposite directions REALLY hard; like using my foot to hold down the lower loop and pulling up on the top loop with both hands. When I do that I can make the wire cut into my polymer clay beads, but it's totally unrealistic for normally jewellery usage. Or even rough jewellery usage, since I know I'm harder on things than many people! :D
Thanks for the tips! I use fimo classic and do bake for at least an hour. I reinforce with sculpey bake & bond too. I will try the medium wire with 49 strand. Mine might just be so thin (it acts like a razor blade)
@Kelley Harrington: Hi Kelley, that makes sense, the thin wire would cut through easier than a .19 or .21. It might also make a difference if the wire is extremely taught, expecially in a really short necklace or bracelet. A shorter length creates a smaller circle-shape, which puts the wire at a sharper angle as it enters the bead (even more if it's tight.) That adds extra pressure, making the finer wire try to cut right into the edges of the bead holes.