Hand Knotting Gemstone Beads

I've always loved the look of hand knotted pearl necklaces, something so classy about them, and I decided it was time to give the technique a try.  But I wanted to do it with gemstone beads instead of pearls.

Here's my first attempt.  Of course when you're learning something new, it's going to take practise to be get the technique down, which is why this one's for me.



I learned a lot doing it.  For one thing, it's good to have the proper thickness of silk thread (what I used to string the beads), and it turns out that I should have used a thicker thread for these beads.  It was difficult to make the knots tight against the bead without the knot disappearing into the bead hole.  There are also tricks to snugging the knot right against the bead, and I wasn't using the right tool.  Most of the videos I watched recommended a pointy tipped tweezers, which I didn't have.  I decided to stop for the day.

Sometimes taking a break helps you work through a problem, and after a good night's sleep it occurred to me that I had a pointy tipped jewelry pliers with flat jaws.  They worked perfectly!  I also had two sizes of silk cord, and was able to use the proper size for the beads I used the next day, so my success was greater.  I am using french wire (a coiled metal tube) to protect the silk thread as it passes through the clasp end.  I prefer the way it looks rather than a bead cap.



I got a few more necklaces worth of knotting done, although I'm going to need to fix the last one.  I had difficulty with the french wire on it, and then the needle of the silk thread broke off as I was trying to finish it off.  SIGH!  I'm going to have to take it apart and redo it.  But that's part of the learning process, too.  And I really love the way the hand knotting looks with the gemstone beads.