My past experience with pearls strung on silk is that silk stretches and beadalon does not. What do you do to the silk so it does not stretch.
Many of the folks who are professional pear stringers stretch the
silk prior to stringing.
This can be done by cutting a length of silk tying a weight on one
end& then suspending the silk from the other end. Letting it hang
over night will probably suffice.
Dave
The tutorial for Japanese bead knotting written by Fire Mountain Gems
shows how to use French coil to secure the clasp ends. I use this
technique all the time and find it very easy to do.
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/15h
Vera Meyer
galleryvera.com
Dave…to add to your comment about stretching the silk prior to
stringing:
I took a class years ago at Rio’s Tucson Show in Motion on Pearl
Stringing. We used the card that the silk was purchased on (the one
with the little wire threader needle). There are small slits on each
corner of the card.
The silk is unwound and completely let dangle from the card, leaving
the little end still in the card. With the silk thread still hanging,
pull the short end still in the card and place it at an angle across
the card into the slit. Pull the entire silk thread at this
angle…it may want to kink, but take it slowly until you pull all
the thread to the wire needle. You will then take the needle end (it
will be hanging free) and put the silk thread into a slit on the
opposite side of the card and gently pull the silk thread back
through the slit. Do this a couple more times pulling the thread
through the opposite slit on the card. There is some resistance to
the pull and this is what helps stretch the silk thread. This is an
almost fool proof way to get the silk stretched before tying the
pearls.
I also do this with the nylon thread on cards when I am stringing
regular beads and it almost stops the stretching when finished. I
only use thread on the cards with the little wire needle. You notice
I said “ALMOST” there is a little room for error!!!
Loving all the wonderful info I am absorbing from the experts!
Rose Marie Christison
And beadalon, now is that a fair comparison? It's steel cable, after all...You're not exactly producing a traditional knotted strand of pearls with that stuff.
Sorry, I do not have much to do with the pearl restringing at my
business. I made a mistake and got beadalon confused with Pearlsilk.
I mentioned this topic to my wife who has been restringing for over
30 years. She says silk absorbs oils, frays, and rots because it is
organic… She has not used silk for decades. I assume that some of
those responding have years of experience with repair customers and
have some history of working with pearl stringing threads and have
seen which materials last longer and look the best over time. I also
assume that silk sounds more romantic to the customer.
For pearlsilk it says “This white silk-substitute bead cord knots
well, won’t sag or stretch, and doesn’t tend to fray like silk can.
Pearlsilk doesn’t absorb moisture and is more economical to use than
silk.”
Richard Hart G.G.
Denver, Co.
Interesting how many different methods and approaches have been
shared. For the past 25 years, I have strung pearls on #69
upholstery thread. I can’t break a single thread with my hands it is
so strong. create a “sling” with nemo and a thin needle, slip the
thread through the sling doubled. I always use French wire around the
clasp. Because so many pearls are unevenly drilled, too small for the
silk sizes, I began working with the sewing thread. The finished hand
drapes well and lasts for years whereas fine pearls often times
require a yearly restringing with silk.
I never use any glues that are plastic in nature. Instead I have
always used Elmer’s glue, three knots at each clasp end and I have
never ever had one come apart or any complaints from customers. I
had a couple occasions to take necklaces apart and both ends were
impossible to undo. No one should go swimming with a pearl necklace
on anyway, so there’s no chance for the Elmer’s to dissolve. I often
use sterling beads at the clasp in order to insure a three knot
sequence whereas some pearls have such small holes there is no way
to come back through the bead for knotting. I always knot between
pearls and use my fingers. Sure, occasionally I have to unknot to
tighten but usually it’s no problem. Silk stretches and needs to be
hung for a week or so to insure an exact length. Never have length
problems with upholstery thread. In fairness to silk, however, I am
not working with $1,000 pearls. I don’t think the wire threading
materials are an answer for pearls as they don’t drape gracefully.
They’re great for other types of beading, especially lampwork beads.
Ruth Mary
When I first started restringing pearls, I wanted the new work to
last “forever” but after seeing some damaged pearls where the nacre
has been destroyed by dirt and oils, I realized that it is better for
the restringing job to last only a few years, that way the pearls get
a thorough cleaning.
I use silk most of the time and rarely have a strand returned for
restringing in less than two years. When I have bracelets that break
more frequently, I use Rio’s Stringth thread which is like Pearlsilk
and I let the patrons know that they may wash their pearls when
strung on this material.
Thank you for this very interesting thread as pearls and gemstone
stringing is an important part of jewelry making, maintenance and
repair.
jeanette