I was thinking of getting into beadwork since I have some friends who do it.
Cool, it is the art or craft of string beads with a sewing needle or beading needle.
Does it have a long history?
I'm not sure but beads come in many different shapes and sizes as well as from different materials.
What kings of crafts can I make with beadwork?
Beadwork
Beadwork is the art or craft of attaching beads to one another by stringing them with a sewing needle or beading needle and thread or thin wire, or sewing them to cloth. Beads come in a variety of materials, shapes and sizes. Beads are used to create jewelry or other articles of personal adornment; they are also used in wall hangings and sculpture and many other artworks.
Beadwork techniques are broadly divided into loom and off-loom weaving, stringing, bead embroidery, bead crochet, bead knitting,
beadweaving.
Off-loom beadweaving is a family of beadwork techniques in which seed beads are woven together into a flat fabric, a tubular rope, or a three-dimensional object such as a ball, clasp, box, or a piece of jewelry. All off-loom techniques can be accomplished using a single needle and thread (no warp threads), but some have two-needle variations.
Different stitches produce pieces with distinct textures, shapes, and patterns. There are many different off-loom bead