Stringing Pearls - easy or ?

[bebe]

Can I string my own? How hard is it? Is it a skill that is learned after
much practice?

 

[strmrdr]

yes, med, yes very much so.

There are videos on youtube that show how.

 

[strmrdr]

I would recommend you practice on cheap plastic beads before doing the real thing.

 

[Elmorton]

I bought some cheapie baroques and had one HECK of a time. I finished a bracelet and it''s fine if you don''t start looking too closely. The biggest tip I think is to make sure you have the right thickness of thread. It was also a late night and I was trying to teach myself based off a couple of websites. But I agree 100% with Karl - if you have some patience and practice, it''s probably not all that difficult.

 

[jmtomaui]

Bebe, do you have any bead shops in town? I needed my pearls restrung also and found a local bead shop offering a class in knotting beads. I LOVED it! And have become a convert. I have been stringing pearls for the last several months for gifts and may start offering some on Etsy.

What I liked about the class is that they helped me with getting the clasp on tightly and showed my how to start and "finish" my strand so that it looks very professional. I practiced on a cheap set in class and felt good when the instructor could critique my work and watched me closely to see that I had all of the concepts down. The class was 2 hours long and $20. A very fun investment.

We learned how to knot a single strand of silk thread and I still like silk but have since started using double stranded PowerPro and think it is great for knotting. It looks as good as the silk does but it does not stretch so having to restring them less often. I just completed a 10 foot endless strand using the PowerPro because of the ease in tying the knots exactly where I want them to go.

I also found a forum called Pearl-Guide (you need the hyphen) that has great videos and contributors that are very helpful to new "knotters". If I can be of any further assistance, please let me know.

Have fun with it!

 

[bebe]

Date: 6/4/2009 8:53:27 PM
Author: jmtomaui
Bebe, do you have any bead shops in town? I needed my pearls restrung also and found a local bead shop offering a class in knotting beads. I LOVED it! And have become a convert. I have been stringing pearls for the last several months for gifts and may start offering some on Etsy.

What I liked about the class is that they helped me with getting the clasp on tightly and showed my how to start and ''finish'' my strand so that it looks very professional. I practiced on a cheap set in class and felt good when the instructor could critique my work and watched me closely to see that I had all of the concepts down. The class was 2 hours long and $20. A very fun investment.

We learned how to knot a single strand of silk thread and I still like silk but have since started using double stranded PowerPro and think it is great for knotting. It looks as good as the silk does but it does not stretch so having to restring them less often. I just completed a 10 foot endless strand using the PowerPro because of the ease in tying the knots exactly where I want them to go.

I also found a forum called Pearl-Guide (you need the hyphen) that has great videos and contributors that are very helpful to new ''knotters''. If I can be of any further assistance, please let me know.

Have fun with it!

Thanks so much! I''m not restringing, but just want to buy strands of pearls and string them myself, seems a lot cheaper! I do have lots of bead places around, good advice, I''ll check that out.

 

[Indylady]

Good luck!!

I''ve tried, and, personally, found it to be pretty hard. I have so much respect for beaders!

 

[bebe]

Date: 6/5/2009 3:38:37 PM
Author: szh07
Good luck!!

I''ve tried, and, personally, found it to be pretty hard. I have so much respect for beaders!

What did you struggle with? Just curious.