i just noticed that the gemstone bead necklaces i have just finished
seem to have loosened up a bit, leaving spaces between stones…i’m
using stringth beading thread, frenchwire on the ends, knotting
through three beads on each end and glueing each knot with jewelers
cement from rio grande. any ideas on what i’m doing wrong would be
greatly appreciated.thanks in advance, loraine
i just noticed that gemstone bead necklaces seem to have loosened up a bit, leaving spaces between stones...i'm using stringth beading thread, frenchwire on the ends, knotting through three beads on each end and glueing each knot with jewelers cement from rio grande.
Loraine, I too use Stringth in almost exactly the same way you do
and I only once had a loosening problem which I think was due to a
sloppy knotting/gluing job at one end of the strand that caused
slippage. Stringth does not, in my experience (nor is it supposed
to), stretch so I don�t know what else could be the problem. Good luck
Hi Loraine, When i knot i always start with stringing all the beads
onto a single strand of thread leaving lots of extra thread. then I
gimp ( i think this is the English term for frenchwire) one end to a
clasp piece, but remember that you have to have the same amount of
thread as if you were making it a double thread before you gimp. I
then go through the first bead and take my piece of thread with the
needle on and tie a knot around the other latent piece of thread and
presto, you have a knot and they should not move if you just continue
all the way. I hope i have made myself understandable and helped??
Good luck. Tessa
Hi Loraine, You need to prep your thread before using it for
stringing. Some threads (such as nymo) need to be stretched a bit
before being used else the weight of the beads or tension on a weave
will stretch the thread later on and gaps will occur.
Personally I take a long length of thread and wrap it around two
fingers on each hand (kind of like flossing) and give it a pull. Not
too hard, else you may break your thread.
Repeat this untill all the thread length that you require has been
stretched. Another method is to wrap the thread around two
dowels/sticks and then just pull and that will also do the trick.
Cheers,
Julia White
Hello Loraine, Knotted lots of stone bead necklaces and being heavier
than pearls, they’ll stretch. Soooo, after stringing the beads and
BEFORE knotting, I wet the pearl cord (I use silk cord) with rubbing
alcohol, clip a clothes pin on each end of the cord, and hang one
clip over a door frame. The beads are kept from falling off the
other end by the other clip, and their weight stretches the cord just
a bit. I use rubbing alcohol because it is colorless and dries
quickly. I hang the strung beads overnight so stretching is complete
before knotting. See if this technique helps. Stringth cord may need
a bit more weight on the end since it is synthetic. Or it may not
submit to this at all! Best of luck, Judy in Kansas
Hmmm … since I’ve used Stringth for more than 8 years now, I
thought I should try to help.
First, it’s not a good idea to make the knots super-tight against the
bead, especially with a rather stiff string such as Stringth – your
necklace won’t drape attractively – it’ll look kinked in spots.
Over time, it should hang out, but your customers won’t want to wait
for that!
Second, although strings such as silk and Stringth aren’t supposed
to stretch, they will stretch somewhat over time (i.e. years),
stretching more quickly the more it’s worn/hung. However, I have a
couple of 8-year-old Stringth-strung gemstone necklaces, one with 8
mm onyx beads, the other with 4, 6, 8, and 10 mm red agate beads.
Both appear to have stretched just a tiny bit so that there are now
tiny spaces (larger beads appear to have larger spaces) but the
largest gap is less than 0.5 mm. In my opinion (and I’m known as
being very picky – often too picky, or so I’m told) these spaces are
not noticeable in the least and those two necklaces look wonderful
and drape beautifully.
Third, everyone knots differently: some people tend to knot tightly,
with the knots tight against the bead; some tend to knot loosely with
a space between the bead and the knot. That is, if they’re not
careful. Each type of string will behave differently, but with
careful and patient practice the knotting with each will eventually
become effortless and rapid. With Stringth, or with silk, I try to
knot right next to the bead, but not tightly against the bead. For
the sake of attractive drape, in my opinion it’s better to have a
tiny space from knotting too loosely than a kink from knotting to
tightly, but of course YMMV.
Fourth, it’s possible that your Stringth batch wasn’t made as well as
it should have been and so it’s stretching on you. If you’re able to
pre-stretch it at all (doing as you would with regular nylon,
pre-stretching it before you knot the beads onto it) then I’d say
that your batch isn’t performing “up-to-spec” and you might want to
talk to Rio (if that’s your supplier) about it.
Finally, in case you’re being too picky about your work: remember
that you’re creating a hand-made piece of jewelry and the extreme
uniformity of a machine-made piece is not really desirable. If you
hold it in your hand at a comfortable distance and it looks
reasonably good, then your customer will think it looks absolutely
wonderful.
– Constance
loraine gough asked why her just-stringed necklaces now have space
between the bead and the knot.
loraine, did you stretch your stringth? i’ve been taught to stretch
the beading thread. some people say to even stretch the threads that
claim they don’t stretch. i was taught to hang a weight from the
thread/cord overnight.
jean adkins
Some thread, Silk in particular will stretch. I’m not talking about
an elastic stretch like nylon where you can stretch it and when you
release the tension, it will return to its original length, but a
permanent change. To over come this somewhat, try pre-stretching
your cord by hanging it with a weight attached. We used to use a
thumb tack to attach the threat to the top of a door and use one of
those bulldog paper clips to hang something at the end of the cord.
A small pair of pliers is just about enough weight. Let is hand at
least over night but a couple days wouldn’t hurt. This won’t
eliminate the problem but will reduce it.
Don
Loraine after you cut the cord hang it over a clothes hanger with a
one oz. lead fishing sinker at the bottom - leave it hang 24 hrs. -
this stretches the cord and you won’t have any sagging
Aileen Geddes