My first ever attempt at stringing pearls!

[Karman]

I had a 50" freshwater strand from 2008/2009 that was falling apart... it was never strung well to begin with, and many of the pearls were sliding over the pathetic knots. Pearls started gathering together and I was prepared for it to break any minute. There is a specialty pearl vendor in town that advertised a $4/inch fee to restring pearls....so that would be $200! I probably paid $50 for this strand from China.

So, I decided to take a pearl knotting class on Thursday night at a local beading supply store. It was very fun and while I wasn't as disastrous at it as I'd anticipated, it was still harder than it looked! Here's the cheapo black freshwater strand that I made in class, along with a bracelet that I put together after I got home with the leftover pearls:



I went to Michael's yesterday, picked up some tools, silk thread, bead board, and got to work. I spent an hour taken apart the necklace. Here are some of the shards of what looks to be cotton sewing thread doubled.... no wonder the knots were useless. I did lose 3 pearls this way, the knots were too wedged in the drill hole, and I couldn't get them out with a needle, and I don't have a drill/reamer.



It took me about 4 hours, including time I spent trying to get the knots out of a few pearls and time I spent trying to undo a random knot that popped up mysteriously in the middle of my thread. I used bead tips at the ends because that's how we learned in class. I'll probably try using French wire once I get better (I also couldn't find the French wire at Michael's, not sure if I was looking in the wrong place), but this will do for now. About halfway through I improved a bit so half of the necklace looks better than the other I used #6 thread and in hindsight I probably could have used the #4 I had instead so that the knots were smaller. I don't mind seeing the knots on my pearl necklaces though.



And here is the finished product. I used the old clasp but will consider putting on a prettier clasp the next time I restring this , which probably won't be too far into the future since I think the silk will stretch out quickly because I didn't pre-stretch it and some of my knots are looser. I did thoroughly enjoy doing this and can't wait until I get better to design my own necklaces with loose strands and other beads!

 

[Lugana]

Karman, I like your knots! a little bit loose, but really very very good for the first try on silk)) my first knots were a lot worse, I mean A LOT worse)) and yes, knotting is addictive) as well as soldering what technique did they teach in class?)

 

[Karman]

Thanks Lugana! We used Griffin thread with the needle at the end, and did single knots. Instead of moving the entire strand of knotted pearls through the loop we threaded the needle through the loop. We tried just using our thumbnails, a needle, tweezers and the knotting tool.
I liked the needle method in class, but for this I used the tweezers...I felt like I had more control and could stretch the thread out a bit before tightening the knot (I figured this out halfway so the knots got tighter as I got to the other end of the necklace).

I was just reading Pearl Dream's amazing tutorial and I think for my next restringing project I will try using much thinner thread and doubling. Hopefully the knots will be easier to tighten and look better that way. I have a necklace longer than 50" that I want to restring so the typical 6.5 ft won't do... for this 50" strand I only had two inches of thread left before I finally stopped adding pearls. I had about 6" of pearls left over, probably due to the size of these knots and the fact that they're a bit loose.

 

[JerseyPearl]

Karman, I like your knots! a little bit loose, but really very very good for the first try on silk)) my first knots were a lot worse, I mean A LOT worse)) and yes, knotting is addictive) as well as soldering what technique did they teach in class?)

No truer words spoken....

 

[JerseyPearl]

Wonderful job on your first attempt.

 

[BWeaves]

You did a wonderful job for your first restringing!!! I always have to string a necklace 3 times in a row before I'm satisfied with my results, and I've been doing it for a while.

I highly recommend you check out Pattye's Etsy Shop "PatriciaSaabDesigns" and buy some Beader's Secret, instead of silk. I had a ton of special silk with attached needles especially for stringing pearls, and I threw it all out after I tried Beader's Secret for the first time. Silk would always knot on me when I didn't want it to, or break on me, or stretch on me. Beader's Secret is wonderfully easy to get the knot where you want it. Plus, Pattye has the best big eye needles, and she has several colors of gimp.

Speaking of Pattye, for some weird reason, her items show in SGD (Singapore Dollars). But if I sign into Etsy, the amounts change to USD (USA Dollars). She's in the USA.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Good for you, Karman! The first time is the hardest, and you took on a big job the first time.

When I first started knotting, I used to use Griffin silk on the attached needle but found that it twisted miserably and knots formed where I didn't want them. I always had gaps. (I do have a spool of green silk that I will have to try using someday, perhaps to restring my jade bead necklace. I think maybe it wouldn't twist the way the Griffin thread does.)

However, I have to say I prefer synthetic thread for pearls because I want to be able to wash my pearls periodically. Synthetic thread won't stretch when wet. Silk becomes weak when wet, absorbs skin oils and gets grimy, and the knots stretch out. I like Power Pro but the colors are so limited: white and moss green. Serafil or Beader's Secret is so easy to knot, and comes in a lot of colors.

I've never seen gimp / French wire at Michael's.

 

[Sanippy]

Wow you did an amazing job!! My first attempt was disasterous! I had massive gaps between pearls and kept tangling my string.

To avoid tangling I now string all my pearls on at once. To knot, I also thread the knotted necklace through the loop instead of the needle and thread. I leave a gap between the knotted section and loose pearls and move the loose pearls along one by one. Keeps my thread straight and tangle free!

 

[moneymeister]

Great Job. I also second the suggestion of Pattye's shop. I purchased Gimp there for the ends. Love her needles and beader's secret too.

 

[SunSeeker]

Karman, congrats on your first knotting project!! ..very ambitious to take on a 50" strand too! I agree with JP, BW, and MM--give Pattey's Beader's Secret a try. I find it's much easier to knot using the doubled technique with Beader's Secret, vs the single thread technique with Griffin pre-needled silk thread. Silk thread gets dirty and stretches over time. Beader's Secret has a beautiful drape, like silk, but won't stretch. Also there's no need to prep the thread-it's ready to use off the bobbin! I also use PowerPro for heavier projects as I haven't tried the new heavier version of Beader's Secret yet.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

...

To avoid tangling I now string all my pearls on at once. To knot, I also thread the knotted necklace through the loop instead of the needle and thread. I leave a gap between the knotted section and loose pearls and move the loose pearls along one by one. Keeps my thread straight and tangle free!

This is what I do also now.

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

Great job, and I buy beaders secret also. It comes in two thicknesses which does come in handy with very small holes.

 

[Karman]

Jersey, BW, Pearl Dreams, moneymeister, Sunseeker, lillie - Thank you!
I was itching to get started on this so picked up the first type of thread I could find. I still have a #2, two #4 and another #6 left. I'll definitely order some Beaders Secret now that I figured that I'm supposed to double the thread!

Good to know Michael's doesn't carry gimp--I was going crazy looking for it!

 

[baby nurse]

Great job, Karman! I recently learned how to string as well so I can appreciate how tricky a first attempt is. I've only strung two pieces and my first doesn't look nearly as nice as yours! Lots of unsightly gaps lol! I followed Pearl Dreams' tutorial which was super helpful and used Pattye's Beader's Secret (wonderful stuff).

 

[Pearly-Whites]

Fun isn't it?? Great job!

 

[Katbran]

Well done! And a rope as well ! I'm impressed! It's hard enough dealing with the thread length when you know what you are doing ! Pattye has gimp/French wire in different colours , I'd recommend three : the gold , light gold and silver to start.

 

[Luvglitz]

Really great job Karman especially on such a long rope. I, too, started out using bead tips. There is another stringing method on UTube that was mentioned on this forum that I have used successfully. It's by Jane Gordon. Apparently she is often on cruise ships giving lectures and demonstrating her stringing method. I have found it is almost foolproof. I only use Beaders Secret from Pattye. The only negative is that the string ends up being 4 ply when you finish, so how large the drill holes are on the pearls could be problematic. Most of my pearls are large pearls so that has not been aproblem. Beaders Secret does come in several thicknesses. I also use a bead board that has a plastic cover. I find that convenient if you have several projects going on. Just cover it up and keep the project intact while you work on something else or have to put it away.

 

[Katbran]

I just redrill the first and last three pearls so it's an easy fit.

 

[trulyviolet]

I had a 50" freshwater strand from 2008/2009 that was falling apart... it was never strung well to begin with, and many of the pearls were sliding over the pathetic knots. Pearls started gathering together and I was prepared for it to break any minute. There is a specialty pearl vendor in town that advertised a $4/inch fee to restring pearls....so that would be $200! I probably paid $50 for this strand from China.

So, I decided to take a pearl knotting class on Thursday night at a local beading supply store. It was very fun and while I wasn't as disastrous at it as I'd anticipated, it was still harder than it looked! Here's the cheapo black freshwater strand that I made in class, along with a bracelet that I put together after I got home with the leftover pearls:

View attachment 48898

I went to Michael's yesterday, picked up some tools, silk thread, bead board, and got to work. I spent an hour taken apart the necklace. Here are some of the shards of what looks to be cotton sewing thread doubled.... no wonder the knots were useless. I did lose 3 pearls this way, the knots were too wedged in the drill hole, and I couldn't get them out with a needle, and I don't have a drill/reamer.

View attachment 48899

It took me about 4 hours, including time I spent trying to get the knots out of a few pearls and time I spent trying to undo a random knot that popped up mysteriously in the middle of my thread. I used bead tips at the ends because that's how we learned in class. I'll probably try using French wire once I get better (I also couldn't find the French wire at Michael's, not sure if I was looking in the wrong place), but this will do for now. About halfway through I improved a bit so half of the necklace looks better than the other I used #6 thread and in hindsight I probably could have used the #4 I had instead so that the knots were smaller. I don't mind seeing the knots on my pearl necklaces though.

View attachment 48900

And here is the finished product. I used the old clasp but will consider putting on a prettier clasp the next time I restring this , which probably won't be too far into the future since I think the silk will stretch out quickly because I didn't pre-stretch it and some of my knots are looser. I did thoroughly enjoy doing this and can't wait until I get better to design my own necklaces with loose strands and other beads!

View attachment 48901

i think you did amazingly well , all the knots appear uniform for the most part.....
(warning, knotting pearls is addictive-- as everyone told me, and then boy did i find out)

 

[Karman]

Thanks baby nurse, Pearly Whites, Katbran, luvglitz, trulyviolet!

Kat - great tip, I was eyeing the gimp that Pattye's shop had!

I bought a few loose strands that I'd like to do wire jewelry projects with next (I'm planning 3-4 projects currently!) once I find some pearls I want to knot, I'll be ordering from her shop for thread, gimp and needles for sure!