Repair partially knotted beads string

Jewelry Discussion
1

Any tips on how to fix a string of partially knotted beads if the
string broke midway through?

Thanks!
Elle

2

Restring the entire length. Odds are it is ready to break in another
location.

Judy Shaw

3

Bonjour Elle,

Unfortunatly, the only safe way to repair a knotted string of bead
is to restring and reknot the entire piece.

Especially if the necklace is old and worn, unless you wish to see
your customer more than once for the same repair…

Make sure you choose the proper threads for the job and be patient
if you’re not familiar with knots. (it usually drives me crazy) Once,
I had to rethreads a very long and very heavy amethyst sautoir. First
attempt was with three lenght of silk and one knot every three
beads… customer came back unhappy, for it broke after a week.
After a couple of other attemps I eventually used a thin beading
cable for strenght plus two silk threads for the knots.

Since then, I send these jobs to a local specialized subcontractor.
Saves me time and make happier customers.

salut
Juliette Arda
Arstiste-Bijoutiere
Aix en Provence, France

4

You’re going to have to restring it, knotting between each bead
again. If the piece breaks again at the same point then that pearl
should be reamed to smooth out whatever rough spot is shredding the
threading material.

BBR - Sandi Graves
Stormcloud Trading Co (Beadstorm)
Saint Paul, Minnesota

5

Sure - easy - unstring the whole thing and restring it. No problem :wink:

Seriously, this is really the only way to fix this kind of problem.
When restringing you might consider whether it should be restrung on
a different type of material, depending on why it broke in the first
place.

If you use a bead board you can unstring it and keep it in correct
order without too much trouble.

Good luck!
Beth in SC

6 
Any tips on how to fix a string of partially knotted beads if the
string broke midway through?

I’ve never found a knot that would hold up to being spliced into a
knotted piece. And every attempt I’ve made to reknot just one
section of a necklace always looks awkward and noticeably different.
I would restring and reknot the entire piece.