For hundreds of years, people havebeen stringing pearls and semi-precious stone beads on silk with

knots between each bead. The knotsprotect the beads by keeping them fromrubbing against each other. If a necklacebreaks, one bead might slip away, butthe knots will hold the rest together.Knots also enhance the design by spacing beads slightly so their shape andcolor show to best advantage. Silk isideal because it drapes better than anyother kind of cord; for stones and otherbeads that may have sharp holes, nylonbeading cord is a good alternative.

stepbystepBefore you launch into your first knotting project, make a sample piece to practice the technique. Knotting isn’tdifficult; untying knots is. So be sureyou can land that knot in the right placeevery time.

Determine the finished length of thenecklace. Cut the beading cord 5 timesthe finished length and use it doubled.

String the beads and move them toabout 10 in. (25cm) from the tail end.Knot the tails temporarily around theend bead to keep the beads on the cord.If you are working with graduated beadsor have a centered design, set asideabout 11⁄2 in. (3.8cm) of beads at eachend so you can adjust the length beforefinishing the necklace.

Working about 10 in. from theneedle end of the cord, make an over-hand knot (see “Basics,” p. 136). Slide abead tightly against the knot. Youshould have at least 12 in. (30cm) ofcord between this bead and the others.

Hold the bead in your left hand andloop the cord around the middle threefingers of your left hand. Drop the beadthrough the loop from back to front. Tokeep the knots slanted in the samedirection, make every knot exactly thesame (photo a).

With the knotting tweezers in yourright hand, reach through the loop andgrab the cord right next to the bead withthe tweezers’ tip (photo b). Keep thetweezers perpendicular to the cord oryou’ll damage it on the tweezers’ edges.

Once you have a secure grip on thecord, let the loop slide off your fingers.

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Knot hardUse tweezers to perfect your bead knotting skills

by Sarah K. Young

With your left hand, pull the cord slowly so the knot slides toward thebead. Use your thumbnail to push theknot into place next to the bead (photoc). Remove the tweezers and pull on thecord to tighten the knot. Grab the individual cords and pull them apartgently to tighten the knot and push itagainst the bead (photo d).

Slide the next bead against the knotand repeat steps 4-6. Don’t change yourlooping technique as the knotted strandgrows, even though you’ll be droppingmore than a foot of beads through theloop. Continue until you have knotsbetween all but the last few beads.Check the necklace’s length and makeany adjustments by removing beads oradding back the reserved beads fromstep 2 before you finish knotting. Besure to make an overhand knot aftereach end bead.

String a bead tip onto the needle andcut the needle off the cord. Tie the tailswith several surgeon’s knots (see“Basics”), dab with nail polish, and trimthe ends. Attach the hook on the beadtip to the clasp loop. Repeat on theother end of the necklace.

knotting tipsSilk sizes are usually designated by a

letter—from O or A (thinnest) to FFF(thickest), with F (medium) the mostcommonly used size. Nylon beadingcord is designated in numbers—from 0(thinnest) to 6 (thickest).

The size of the holes in pearls andsemi-precious stones varies greatly, butit’s crucial to know what you’re workingwith before you purchase your cord. Ifthe silk or beading cord is too thin, theknots will slip uselessly into the beads. Ifit’s too thick, you can’t string beads.Always string on doubled cord.

Start with a longer piece of silk orcord than you think you’ll need. Knotstake up a surprising amount of material,so work with 5 times the length of thefinished necklace. If you run short, theonly solution is to start over.

Choose a cord color slightly deeperin tone than the predominant beadcolor, unless the thread color is part ofthe design. White or light-colored pearlsare usually strung on white or ivory silk.

If stones have been drilled from

opposite sides, the hole will be muchnarrower in the center. Use a thinthread, but tie double knots so theywon’t slip into the bead hole. To make adouble knot, pass the bead twicethrough the overhand loop before grip-ping the cord with tweezers (photo e).

For stones that have larger holes onone side, string them all small-side first.The knot will be swallowed if two largeholes are adjacent.

If your design incorporates metalbeads, don’t knot next to them becausethe metal will quickly fray the cords. Toprotect the cord, put a seed beadbetween the metal bead and the knot.

To extend the life of a silk knottednecklace: don’t let it get wet; don’t storeit hanging; and don’t apply perfume orhairspray while wearing it.

Periodically inspect the knots with amagnifying glass. If you see a bit of silksticking out between beads, one of thestrands has probably broken. Wear usually shows first near bead tips ormetal beads. Restring the necklace.

Silk is strong and comes in manybeautiful colors, but don’t use it tostring glass or ceramic beads. Theirsharp edges will fray this natural fiberrapidly. String these beads on nylonbeading cord.

about tweezersTweezers designed to remove splintershave rough gripping surfaces and willshred your silk. Buy proper ones frombead stores, jewelry supply catalogs, ormedical supply houses. Use a fine sharp-ening stone to smooth the tweezers’edges, and you’ll never break throughthe silk again. w

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materials• 1 16-18 in. (41-45cm) Strand semi-precious

stones or pearls• Silk thread or nylon beading cord, size to fit

bead hole• 2 Bead tips• Clasp (this one comes from Eclectica,

262-641-0910)• Clear nail polish• Twisted wire beading needles• Tools: Knotting tweezers with long, tapered

points and smooth jaws, round- or chainnosepliers, bead design board (optional)

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