PEARL KNOTTING/STRINGING

[glitterata]

Oh, and when I finish the necklace and attach the second half of the clasp, I use tweezers to hold the thread near the clasp to get it tight.

Tweezers aren''t otherwise necssary with the Japanese knotting method because you''re knotting two threads together and pulling them both away from each other, which makes everything nice and tight.

 

[that_someone_special]

Ok I''m attempting this right now. I got 5 pearls on before I made a knot like a mile away from the pearl and had to cut them apart

So......... ok. Attempt no. 2 is underway...

 

[that_someone_special]

I DID IT! WOOHOO! IT WORKED!!!
I used a mixture of 2 methods and whatever worked. AND IT WORKED.

Ok if I can do this, anyone can do this.

 

[that_someone_special]

Quick pic! The strand is from pearl lunar- about 7mm and a lil full/ rice shaped. I am sooo excited!

 

[cellentani]

Looks terrific swedish bean - good for you!!

Um, I''d love to see a neck shot....

 

[glitterata]

Go Bean!!!

Looks great!!

 

[that_someone_special]

My neck isn''t pretty enough! Maybe. We''ll see.

 

[cellentani]

Awww pffft, swedish bean - I''m sure your neck is lovely! But if you don''t want to, I won''t pressure you......much.

 

[strawbearlyjamms]

I made up my own way of knotting... Can I have feedback on whether or not you think its "bad"?

I have two strings knotted on one end. Its open at both sides (not looped through the needle). I have a thin piece of wire that I fold in half and then fold the string into the elbow of the folded wire. I then push both ends of the wire (with the string in the crook of the wire) through the pearl and take the wire off the string.

Now here my knotting changes from what you all do. I tie it like a shoelace. I''ve tried just a single loop, and a double loop, and i''m not sure which is better. The single is almost too small and the double is almost too big.

Basically what is the purpose of the knot? Is it to keep the pearls from rubbing against another, or is it to keep them on the string if it happens to break (and not scatter everywhere).

Here''s the photo of all my equipment, the grey wire was too thick, so My dad cut wires from an old extension cord, and the copper ones are my "needles".

I also bought knot glue? How many of you use glue?

p.s. these were my "practice" pearls from Michael''s.

 

[strawbearlyjamms]

The knots on the far right are single "knots" and the knots toward the left are double knots.

Also, Doesnt the french wire "hurt" the pearl when you pull it tight?

 

[Nacre]

Hi There!

Very nice work! To answer your question, fresh pearls are not ''hurt'' by tight knots... But some cultured pearls with a thinner nacre can be damaged if they are handled roughly, especially if they are baroque cultures which end in a ''point''.

I would only use a single knot on your Freshies... I only use double if the drill holes are very large, otherwise it can give the strand a bulky look.

I don''t like using anything except multiple polyester threads...but I would NEVER use tiger tail to thread pearls...Remember that pearls are very soft and any metal wire is going to cut the drill hole of the pearl and damage them.

I do a lot of repairs on threads which have pulled and the pearls are loose. The thread is that thick white ropey one, so my recommendations are not based on what I use...but based on what I repair the most. But lots of other people here recommend it so it''s really a personal taste thing I guess!

 

[pearlie]

I''m curious about how you''re now going to attach a clasp?

Knots are to prevent the pearls from rubbing against each other and getting scratched - at least that was the original intent.

Back to the clasp - you need something to cover the thread before attaching a clasp, that''s why we use gimp (or french bullion, whatever you want to call it). It does not damage pearls, freshies, akoya, south sea, whatever shape. It is very pliable, and the worst thing you can do is pull it to tight and it bunches up at the ends, becomes unusable and you have to start over.

Sounds like you''re using a thin wire in place of a needle. If that works, fine, but we''re still back to the gimp and clasp issue. There are very thin, flexible needles made just for stringing pearls, and they work great.

I double my thread, secure the gimp, string all the pearls on, then start knotting using an overhand knot. I use an awl or something similar to pull the knot up close to the pearl, before tightening down on the thread.

And yes, I use a type of glue to secure the beginning and ending knots.

.julie.

 

[cushioncutnut]

Swedish Bean... those look like they were done by a true professional! Just lovely! If I ever need to have pearls knotted or strung.... I will send them to you! LOL!!

 

[that_someone_special]

CCN how sweet of you

I am still making strands. It''s very therapeutic to me! I am working really hard at making my knots tighter!

Knotting is so fun.. give it a try

 

[cushioncutnut]

Date: 12/10/2009 5:34:47 AM
Author: swedish bean
CCN how sweet of you

I am still making strands. It''s very therapeutic to me! I am working really hard at making my knots tighter!

Knotting is so fun.. give it a try

I should....but my problem is that I lack such patience!!

 

[that_someone_special]

This is the strand I just finished... I believe they are 9-10mm

 

[that_someone_special]

And here is the clasp.. it''s sterling silver.

 

[strawbearlyjamms]

Hey all, I wanted to share my method for knotting pearls, I thought it wouldnt hurt to include more photos.

SwedishBean - I'd love to hear more about your method, as I think your set turned out better than mine...

step 1 - single knot - over, around, through

 

[strawbearlyjamms]

step 2 - put tweezers through hole and close up to the last pearl, clamp down

 

[strawbearlyjamms]

Step 3 - slide string down until it comes off the tweezers, but your still holding the string/knot

 

[strawbearlyjamms]

this is where my method differs from Cellentani''s. I have no fingernails, so I cant use my thumb to nudge the knot tight against the pearl, so I improvise, and use the next pearl to do it.

Step 4 - Push up the next pearl in line tight against the tweezers. Note that the knot is not yet tight. while pushing the pearl tight up against the knot-in-progress, pull the string through the hole of the most recent pearl, so that the only place for the knot to go is tight against the older pearl.

 

[strawbearlyjamms]

and here's a halfway finished photo --oops forgot to attach, cant edit to add. sorry

 

[strawbearlyjamms]

halfway through my set of pearls...

 

[cellentani]

Great job strawbearlyjamms, and your photos are awesome! You know, it doesn''t really matter how you get the knot there, as long as it''s tight and secure, and it looks like your are. Can''t wait to see your finished strand!

And swedish bean - those pearls are gorgeous! I think I need to know where you got them.

I''ve got a few strands from the last Intergem show that are waiting to be knotted, but I''m waiting on some clasps I ordered.

Hopefully they''ll be here soon, because it''s a shame to have them just sitting in my supplies box.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

thats awesome! great job ladies, you may be inspiring me to start knowtting my own pearls...

 

[that_someone_special]

I just saw this thread- a little late too! I just finished a necklace tonight- one of the ones for one of my bridesmaids.. but I have another one to do, so I will try to take pictures of that when I get to it (I'm super sick right now, so it might be awhile, but we'll see!)

I think everyone has their own method. I was looking at strawbearlyjamms (I at first wrote hamms! hehe) and could not figure out how to do that! It looks like that method must take a lot of patience

I also believe that the more strands you do, the better you get, and the tighter your knots get- at least mine have!

And celletani- it is a pearllunar strand.. I love it! (Which, by the way, it looks like they have switched to the name pearlluna instead of pearllunar ... anyone know what's going on with that??)


I really love opening this thread and seeing what people are making.. I find it very relaxing to string pearls

 

[strawbearlyjamms]

Swedish Bean - I''m practicing now for making my bridesmaids pearls, too! I''d love to see pics of your finished set, or when your wedding comes around to see your bridesmaids with their pearls! Where did you buy your clasp? its really perfect and exactly what I''m looking for. Hope you feel better, too!


I am working on a long strand right now, and I used one whole beadalon 4mm pre-threaded silk. I want to start my second one, but don''t know how to tie them together. Can I do a second string indpendently and then tie them together at the middle? Or is that a bad idea? Do I tie it together first and then keep stringing and knotting along? I''d like to use 2 whole strings, it may be about 75 inches when i''m done.

 

[cellentani]

Date: 1/14/2010 10:01:35 AM
Author: strawbearlyjamms
I am working on a long strand right now, and I used one whole beadalon 4mm pre-threaded silk. I want to start my second one, but don''t know how to tie them together. Can I do a second string indpendently and then tie them together at the middle? Or is that a bad idea? Do I tie it together first and then keep stringing and knotting along? I''d like to use 2 whole strings, it may be about 75 inches when i''m done.

strawbearlyjamms: wow, you''re way ahead of me - I have yet to try such a long strand! You know, I don''t have any experience in tying two strands of silk together to make one continuous strand, but I would be worried that it wouldn''t be as strong. If you''re going to do a lot of knotting, I''d probably recommend investing in a spool of silk so you can customize the length. 75-inches of pearls sounds so luxurious!

 

[kas baby]

started and finished two strands today:

6mm round multicolor strand, 18 inches long
8mm button/round lavender strand, 17 inches long

loving that I finally got around to doing this. I couldn''t find french wire for the longest time

 

[that_someone_special]

Kas!! Post pictures!!

I''ve been doing a lot too.. I need to take pics...