Go to Beadaholique.com for all of your beading supplies needs!
Today I'm going to a demonstrate pearl knotting using a pair of tweezers.
Now this is a very traditional way to string pearls.
The reason for this is because
pearls used to be so valuable that
if per chance a strand should break
and all of your pearls were
to tumble on the floor
they're very delicate so they would might get cracked or
damaged or lost.
So if you put a little knot in between each pearl, if the strand breaks only one pearl would fall
to the floor.
Also since pearls are so delicate
it keeps them just separated just a little bit and keeps them from rubbing against one
another.
So to begin
what I have here is silk beading cord and this is number four silk beading cord. Very handy
thing about this stuff is that it comes with a needle already attached to it.
And this is very handy
because pearls often have smaller holes then most beads.
You can see that there are kinks in this cord.
So what i'm gonna do is I'm going to make sure my hands are very clean
and then go ahead
straighten out this cord and kind of tug on it a little bit
to help
get rid of some of the kinks. They're not all going to be gone right away but
it'll help to stretch the silk a little bit
so that your knots don't stretch as much.
I'm going to
find the end
and without the needle
and i'm gonna make
just a simple overhand knot.
Now if you're using a two or a four, that's pretty thin silk.
So in order for it not to go through a clamshell or bead tip, which i'll get to a second,
I'm going to make at double
overhand knot.
Now traditionally
what is used at the end of a knotted silk strand
is either at clamshell like this
or a bead tip.
And you can kind of see the difference. The clamshell folds over, hiding the knot and the bead
tip
the knot just sits in a
little cup.
And they all come in a variety of finishes. And I'm gonna use
a gold plated clamshell
knot cover.
So now I have my silk
double knotted at the end,
I'm going to once again find my needle end.
I'm going to thread
my needle
through the inside
of the clamshell.
Bring it all the way down so that the knot rests
in between the two halves.
What you're gonna do to secure this, this probably won't
go through especially if you tie a double or triple knot right there
going to put dab GS Hypo Cement on the knot.
And gently close
the clamshell cover.
And you carefully trim off the excess.
I'm using scissors but really it'd be
easier to use your flush cutters probably.
So now that you your clamshell knot cover on there,
you're going to make another knot to secure it into place.
This is the beginning of knotting your strand.
So with your non-dominant hand, i'm right handed, so I'm going to grab this with my left hand.
I'm going to make a simple knot.
Keep it loose and open
like this.
I'm going to take my tweezers, insert them into the knot
and grab the silk
right above
the knot cover.
This is where I want my knot to go.
I'm going to take
the silk and I'm going to tightening my knot all the while holding on with my tweezers.
Very carefully tighten
the knot
and remove the tweezers.
So now you have a fairly loose knot.
To tighten it you could use your thumbnail
or you can use your tweezers, which i prefer.
Pull down on the knot until it's very tight.
Now I use each pearl that I string to tighten the previous knot by pressing down on it a little bit.
So now that your first pearl on there,
once again you're gonna grab
with your non-dominant hand
you're gonna make simple
knot.
Insert your tweezer into the knot
right above the previous pearl cause that's where you want your next knot to go.
Tighten the knot.
Very carefully remove the tweezers.
And push down on the knot with your tweezers once again.
Now I like I said, this is the
tweezer method. This is what I'm most comfortable with
sometimes people also use an awl
and kind of with the same principle where you insert awl through the loop
and then use it as a guide for your knot
to fall into place where it's supposed to.
Or you can use the knotter tool which we also have a video on.
So that's it. That's pearl knotting
and you know the more you practice the better you'll get at it. At first I'm sure you'll have some
loose knots but just make sure you keep on practicing and I think you'll find that it's
pretty handy and kind of fun to do.
So enjoy. Go to Beadaholique.com for all of your beading supplies needs!