Recent content by Pearl Dreams

Logging off to do laundry but will be back later. Meanwhile other members may weigh in. :)

No, the strand in the middle is the FW one. The ones on the left are baroque Tahitians from Rikitea. The ones on the far right are near-round Tahitians and not circlé.

Yes, they are. But not all dyed FWP look the same. Look-- if you didn't pay Tahitian prices for your necklace, there is nothing to be unhappy about. It's a pretty necklace.

My fw are definitely circlé as yours are.

Here is a photo of my dyed FWP necklace next to two real Tahitian strands; the FW are the ones in the middle:

No-- they are not Tahitians. No doubt about it. It is normal for even dyed pearls to differ in all those ways. Pearls evidently interest you-- would like to learn more about them? There is a great course by the Pearl Association of America called "Pearls As One" -- here is the link, and I...

Cultured dyed freshwaters from China. Tissue nucleated-- no bead inside.

They are cultured freshwater pearls from China and are solid nacre (no bead inside.) The dark ones are dyed. The clasp is sterling silver.

Yes, but if you are going to thread a needle, you will need thinner thread, as threading the needle doubles the thickness of the thread. ;) For the usual size pearls (neither tiny nor huge), I use size 30 (medium, 0.37mm) Serafil and Fine needles. There is also a Fine thread, size 40, 0.33mm.

Also...I've read that even Mikimoto is now using synthetic thread. It makes sense. Silk was THE thread to use before synthetics existed, but it isn't optimal, for various reasons. Also-- for long strands I have found this method easier than stringing on one pearl at a time-- you'll get fewer...

Do post again if anything isn't clear. Even if you don't use the Thread Zap, you can use the knotting / trimming technique I use.

I don't use silk but I know it used to be sold in spools as well. Can you find any of those? Or...try Serafil! I really love Serafil. It's strong, it's waterproof, it won't stretch. It comes in various sizes and colors. A card of it is more than long enough for your long strand. It's easy to...

I knot between the first few pearls (not visible in my photos) but I cut the tail off before making the next knot and continuing to string on pearls. This prevents cutting the knot off by accident. And also makes it easier to pass the needle through the next pearl-- no knot to have to maneuver...

@Diamondsareforever, Does this answer your question?

OK here we go. (Thanks to my husband for taking the photos!) I have also linked this post to my Stringing Tutorial on the Lowly Beaders' Club. Perhaps someone else reading that will find it useful. :) This is the Thread Zap II and a close up. It takes a single AA battery. The wire filament...