What on Earth Did I Do Wrong?

[danachit]

Well hello all!

I have been absent for years, that's right...YEARS! I went to ministry school, then graduate school, got a job teaching finance to the dept of defense, then took over the lives of both of my elderly parents.

Pearls became a lost thought. THEN!! Last night, I awoke at 2am and suddenly remembered I had a double choker strand I paid big bucks for, that I had knotted .... and the final last knot 3-4 pearls in came UNDONE! and I never reknotted it. (and I also wondered if they still made packaged lady fingers ) I just looked at it one day and there was this gap of string sitting there mocking me. What the heck!?

I have knotted a gazillion pearl necklaces. I use doubled stretched silk, a Tri cord knotter, G-S hypo cement on the final last bit to add security and I tighten down all the knots.

I'm sitting here with a pile of these gorgeous fat white pearls ready to redo it all, and I'm a little nervous because I don't know what went wrong the first time around.

Is there a wrong way to make an overhand knot?

Did the glue fail?

Have you ever had this happen and figured out what went wrong?

Taking a deep breath about to dive in. Ugh...

 

[BWeaves]

Give up on the silk and get Beader's Secret and some big eye needles from our own Pattye on Etsy. I've had silk knot in the wrong place, and also come undone when I don't want it to, and not come undone when I need it to.

I never have these problems with Beader's Secret. Also, I don't need a Tri-cord-knotter with Beader's Secret. Just use a doubled thread, and overhand knot, and pull the two threads apart to snug the knot up against the pearl.

Check out the Lowly Beader's Club forum threads for how to's on how to finish your strand so the knots don't come undone. Personally, I skip knotting the last 3 pearls, but go through them with the thread. I go around the clasp, and then back through each pearl and knot the last two knots over the running thread that's already there. Then I bury the end in the 3rd pearl and snip it off. No glue.

 

[danachit]

Thank you!
I've always used stretched, waxed silk. I'm willing to use something else even though it feels....wrong...LOL. Do you know how Beader's secret compares to STRINGTH bead cord? I have a good bit of that already and I want to get started.

 

[pearlescence]

If you can post a photo of the end we might be able to figure where it went wrong.

 

[BWeaves]

I don't know anything about Stringth.

I do know that I threw out all my silk and replaced it with Beader's Secret. At $3.50 for 20 yards, it's worth replacing something that doesn't work with something that does. I have had nothing but good experiences knotting pearls with Beader's Secret, whereas I used to swear up a storm with silk.

Disclaimer: Pattye is not paying me to say nice things. I truly believe it's the best product out there for stringing pearls. And I've NEVER had the ends come undone, ever.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I go through the last 4 pearls without knotting, back-knot through the last 3 and pass the needle through the 4th and then cut the thread, to hide the tail. I don't use glue.

I buy Serafil or Beaders Secret and highly recommend it for all the reasons BWeaves gave. I just bought Stringth from Rio just to try it so I could post about it on my stringing tutorial (which badly needs updating now that virtually no one uses Power Pro or tweezers), but have not used it yet. Someone on here (Narcissa?) said it is stiffer than Beaders Secret. Perhaps drapes less nicely.

You know what, I'll knot something up today just to try the Stringth so I can report back.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Okay, I made 3 mini strands with some junky large FWP using #3 Stringth, heavy Serafil and regular Serafil.

The Stringth was the middle size offered by Rio so I thought it would be an average thickness, but it is way too thick and stiff for even these large pearls. It is stiffer, rougher and a little thicker than 50# Power Pro! And not at all silky feeling like Serafil or Beaders Secret. And it comes in fewer colors (but more colors than the #1 size.) Serafil or Beader's Secret come in a wider array of colors, and more of the subtle colors we use with pearls. Serafil / BS are the winners when it comes to color.

Also, when I tried to seat knots by pulling threads apart, a knot formed where I didn't want it and would not budge. This does not happen with Serafil or BS.

I might try ordering #1 Stringth with my next Rio order, just to know what it is like. I can't see using the #3 Stringth for anything other than making rustic station necklaces, or necklaces with other kinds of beads with large holes-- and it might be nice for that. It is certainly strong.

From top to bottom, #3 Stringth, then heavy Serafil, then regular Serafil.


Now for drape. Granted these are only a few pearls knotted, but I think you can see the difference between the threads.
#3 Stringth



Heavy Serafil



Regular Serafil

 

[BWeaves]

Beader's Secret for the win!!!

 

[lisa c]

You're a welcome sight for folks have missed you! You have been busy for sure.

 

[danachit]

Awww Lisa C.

Thank yall SO MUCH! Man, I wish I had some of that beader's secret! I have always used silk because I am a purist. What about the fancy folks? (Jeremy?) Are they still using stretched/waxed silk? Or have the big boys also sought out alternatives?

I starting knotting on #1 Stringth and so far so good. I'm making a double strand choker, base of my neck, necklace but not sure how many more pearls to put on the outer strand. Any takers on this one?

 

[pearlescence]

I usually put a dab of glue on that tail through the final pearl. We found that when the silk started to stretch the pearl would 'walk' up and down its section of silk and the loose end wiggle its way out. Since we guarantee for a year we were finding some well-worn strands were coming back. None since.
We use silk for most work. But synthetic for larger pearls which - again - would stretch.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

... I'm making a double strand choker, base of my neck, necklace but not sure how many more pearls to put on the outer strand. Any takers on this one?

Try making the outer strand 1" longer than the inner strand, however many pearls that requires. If the number isn't exact, go longer, not shorter.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I usually put a dab of glue on that tail through the final pearl. We found that when the silk started to stretch the pearl would 'walk' up and down its section of silk and the loose end wiggle its way out. Since we guarantee for a year we were finding some well-worn strands were coming back. None since.
We use silk for most work. But synthetic for larger pearls which - again - would stretch.

I haven't had the tail work its way out yet with Serafil or Beaders Secret, but time will tell.

 

[BWeaves]

I haven't had the tail work out of Beader's Secret, either. I haven't had Beader's Secret stretch on me, either.

 

[JerseyPearl]

I have yet to find a product as good as Beader's Secret!

 

[Katbran]

I agree about Beaders Secret - easy to knot and lots of colours. I'll use silk if someone really wants it for a smaller sized pearl strand but definitely the larger the pearls the better it is to use BS .

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

I love it too. It comes in several thicknesses and numerous colors. The knots don't get fuzzy like silk and doesn't stretch

 

[pattye]

WOW, Danachit, welcome back! So many interesting careers and wonderful that you can now help your parents. It's amazing what one thinks of when awake in the middle of the night, lol! When that happens to me, usually I find myself mentally "playing" with pearl/gemstone combos!

Please show us a photo of the double strand! How large are your pearls? We see few double strands compared to singles.

A purist too, luxurious silk was absolutely my choice when I started stringing! (I've a background in fabric, fibers and yarn.) Silk offered the range of colors I wanted, but without the consistent performance of my Serafil thread.

Lisa C, welcome back to the forum!

More comments in a separate post

 

[pattye]

My Serafil Thread vs Stringth

My Serafil Thread vs Stringth

Serafil thread for the win!!!

BWeaves, I'm doing the happy dance, too! I can't imagine you swearing over your pearls, lol!

PD, thank you so much for showing this comparison between the threads. It's definitely clear BS has the better drape in # 3; I've considered buying Stringth to try out, but now I won't have to! Sounds like #1 is actually a better size for most pearls. As biased as I am toward the Serafil thread I offer, it's always good to be curious about other products.

Many many thanks to ALL Serafil Thread fans for your ongoing feedback and photos ~ including Pearl Dreams, BWeaves, Pearlescence, Jersey Pearl, Katbran, Lilliefuzzysocks ~ plus many other fans who've posted all across this forum.

Within the famous PP vault is the pearl stringing desk. Did anyone check it out besides me?

 

[BWeaves]

Oh yes. I've watched the PP pearl stringers in awe.