Top Ten Boo-Boos LBers (and knotters) make.

I messed up with re-stringing my black Akoyas as one of the strand of a double, by tying the last knot too loose due to the awl slipping, so annoying when that happens! :rolleyes:

DK :rolleyes:
 
barbie biggs said:
13. making the last knot, passing the strand through the next three pearls, the gimp, and the clasp and having it all come out looking like the knots are spaced perfectly when it's done.
Three wearings later the knot by the 3rd pearl unties itself somehow and there is a space the size of a pearl in my necklace near the clasp.
aarghh!
This has happened twice! I can't figure out why. You'd think it would happen all the time because I tend to do things in a very methodical way. But noooo.
I can't figure it out.
Anybody else ever have this happen?
barbie
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Something similar has happened to me too. Everything looks all nicely knotted...did all the steps perfectly (or so I thought) and later...juuuust as I'm showing the necklace to the CLIENT a space between one of the last 3 pearls appears leaving a 1/16 inch gap. Can't for the life of me figure it out, but now I use a knotting tool and it hasn't happened since.

My worst mistake was restringing a family heirloom necklace (faux, oops) and having one of the pearls take a dive into my leather lazyboy chair and disappear. I had to replace one of the fake pearls with a real pearl. ;) I told her and she was fine but I felt bad.
 
I figured out that that gap appears when the final knot undoes. Now I always make sure it is tight and apply cement. It hasn't happened since.
Or it could be that one of the two doubled up threads had not pulled through the pearl properly leaving a knot and a tiny bunched up lump of silk which worked free so that slack appeared. that can happen when the silk is getting all twisty
I had a very tiny (prob 2 or 3mm) pearl pyuoingggg across a room once and I never found it. Had to explain. also felt bad. Luckily it was so tiny that it did not unbalance the necklace
 
lol, these are too funny. Make me feel better though. Try passing on a finished piece to a client and then noticing just then that you've missed a bead!! grrrrrr Now I have someone do quality control for me.
 
I messed up with re-stringing my black Akoyas as one of the strand of a double, by tying the last knot too loose due to the awl slipping
Click to expand...
DKan168. May I suggest you use a fine darning needle instead of an awl. The finer the better for tiny precisely placed knots.
cheers
Wendy
 
Danachit and Barbie - YES - I was showing someone a beautiful strand of off-round Tahitians today, just knotted the other night by me, and there, right near the clasp is a great big empty space.... it has happened to me before, too, and I swear that I have tried to be more careful with that final knot... but there it is again!
 
I just bought 50" (7mm) of beautiful pearls (to go with a lovely 14 k clasp I already have) to make a necklace for myself. I have done some knotting before but am really nervous about knotting all these little guys perfectly onto such a long rope. I wonder if I should buy one of those bead knotter tools? Anyone have any suggestions? Or should i just keep practicing on other beads? Your input would be useful.
 
The great thing about knotting is that it does not damage the pearls or the clasp so you can carry on doing it over and over until you are happy with the result (then in a year or so take it apart again when you cringe at the gaps!)
I have never used anything except a fine darning needle to control my knots and some people use nothing. Indeed there seem to be as many ways of assembling a knotted necklace as there are people doing it.
Mind you I saw a necklace which had been professionally and very expensively re-strung recently and the gaps were bigger than the gaps on the first necklace I had made years ago!
Find the way which seems to suit you and then practice will indeed perfect technique.
 
Thanks Wendy and Danachit for sharing their 'pearl space' stories. Good to know it happens to others although I am sorry for your frustration.
So maybe this happens because the silk gets twisted?
I had just about come to this conclusion myself as:
1) I prefer silk but this only happened to me when using silk.
2) After experimenting with a poly substitute (after reading Caitlin) I have a very reliable necklace which I have worn for a year done in silver-blue akoya, lavendar-purple freshadamas, and white akoya. This knots in this necklace have never moved a micron. True story. And what little of them you can see are still as white as can be.

Before I tried this 'silk substitute' I was a silk purist but now I'm thinking of switching over. It doesn't twist near as much. And it left no spaces.
No one has ever asked me, "Hey, is that real silk?"

barbie

How come those girls at PP never have this problem? When I get stuff from them, it stays strung!
 
Dear Nerida:
Arrgh! A space on Tahitians. How frustrating. Something like this happens with my classical guitar sometimes. I put it away at night and the next day when I take it out the 'D' string (usually) is sprung. Or "pyuoingggg" as Wendy says. What a perfect word for that! Why does it happen when we are not looking? Is it anthropomorphism to think it only occurs in secret on purpose? Nah.
 
Some things happen like that - just like smoke alarm batteries always fail at 3am. It is a convention or a charter or something
 
I wonder if I should buy one of those bead knotter tools?
Click to expand...

There are people who swear by those knotter tools. Personally I think they are useless. I got one free from a friend who hated it. I notice quite a few people bought them and the video, and never learned it either and leave them lying around in hopes of finding someone who will take it. It really interrupts the rhythm of knotting when you have to pick up a tool to deliver the knot-either a knotter or an awl or other instrument, then put it down, then pick it up, etc for each bead.

A double strand of stringing material, a needle and just your fingers make the best knots.

I don't think silk is necessarily the best stringing material for beginners- neither is any other kind of thread with a twist, like Griffon or Detulon. The latter especially, coils up into little tiny loops if you don't keep letting it unwind between knots.

About the gaps. The reason I go through 3 beads is to place two knots after the clasp, then "hide" the end of the string in the third bead.

A trick I use all through the knotting is to pull the knot tight. Tight. Then try to stretch it with a hard pull. Any kinks and knots will disclose themselves. The remedy is to separate the threads and pull tight again.

Sometimes the gimp slides down to the side that I pull with, then it won't let me tighten any more. Any gaps left by that are difficult to undo. The remedy is to keep the gimp down tight to the non-pull side with a thumb and pull all the thread through until it is tight. If it is not pulled tight enough, then stretched, there will be a gap.My only objection to Power Pro is the lack of color choices, though most dark pearls look fine on the moss green.

While I am at it, I don't like Dandyline as much as PowerPro because it is slippery and tangles easily without a light coat of wax. It does come in a silvery black as well as white and that is helpful. Knotting with four threads is especially hard with d-line.
 
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One last thing: if you make a third knot and cut the thread to the knot, be sure to melt it it slightly. They make a tool for that called "thread zap" and other brands, but all are the same tool. It has a tiny wire that heats up and melts just where you want it- though be sure to stay in the present and give it full attention when you use it.

According to knotty, it cauterizes silk too and prevents the final knot from coming undone.

Back before I discovered pearls, I often used a lighter to seal end knots. That is possible, but it takes finesse. Not recommended, but I like to try everything. It is possible to get the flame tip only to do the work. But that was before thread zaps were known to me- or invented.

I don't use glue to seal the ends and don't need to.
 
Thank you Caitlin and others.. I had completely forgotten that I started knotting by pulling the thread through the third pearl... of course that solves the problem! I know it's not because my knots aren't tight, or that the thread is twisted - I am always pedantic about that!
 
MistofCassiopeia said:
I just bought 50" (7mm) of beautiful pearls (to go with a lovely 14 k clasp I already have) to make a necklace for myself. I have done some knotting before but am really nervous about knotting all these little guys perfectly onto such a long rope. I wonder if I should buy one of those bead knotter tools? Anyone have any suggestions? Or should i just keep practicing on other beads? Your input would be useful.
Click to expand...


Hi MistofCassiopeia,
I have bought myself such a knotter tool but still only practicing long enough will make you certain to get nice knots. The thing I remember when using it is that the top of my thumb hurt abominibly after some time because you use it to push the knot as near as possible to the pearl... Once you master it, this tool works very fast. I got myself a video to see how it is done and I think it would be a good choice when doing a rope - but only if you really know how to use it. I still happened to get "spaces" between the pearls despite concentrating...:p

Perhaps it is better to practice the fingermethod a little while longer and knotting for a shorter peace of time only so you are rested while knotting.... Good luck and let us know how it goes.:)
 
jerin said:
Perhaps it is better to practice the fingermethod a little while longer and knotting for a shorter peace of time only so you are rested while knotting.... Good luck and let us know how it goes.:)
Click to expand...


Yes, good advice.
When I made my first long ropes, I'd do a few inches at a time, in spare moments.
That way, it didn't seem such a daunting task and the work was completed much faster and in a more relaxed mood than if I'd attempted the whole rope in one go. :)
 
Aaaargghh,
I've knocked the bead tray three times today, sending 3mm. - 4mm. pearls everywhere........
Didn't use blutac because I needed to move the tray around.
And then my specs. broke and I lost the tiny screw......
Gonna give up for today now - I can take a hint.....:mad:
 
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I'm taking a PG break after spending 2 hours cleaning my work table and "organizing my materials." I find myself getting nothing done these days because I get distracted by everything being out, and I also have too many things and projects. I feel like I'm running out of steam right at the holidays. I'm not even going to post a pic, because my neat desk is probably someone else's mess, but I discovered a few more boo-boos that come with disorganization and over-work -
-not keeping track of which are 14k and which are gold filled findings, in particutlar 2mm beads and other small items (bits of wire). so I have to assume gf to be fair.
-receiving a large order of findings only to realize you don't have enough of something, this time it's clasps and ear-nuts.
- losing your mind. I think it's somewhere with the bar part that is missing from one of my toggle clasps that I'm running out of.
Sueki, I agree - aaarggggghhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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