100 Inch Rope Challenge!!

[MsT]

I certainly wax nostalgic for my 30's! I hit 40 this year!!

 

[szh07]

Boo, I just love the torsade!

 

[szh07]

And Grace is just gorgeous!!! I can only imagine how great it must look in person.

 

[Caitlin]

Strictly lowly beader stuff, made from the commercial quality pearls I have lying around. big blacks are 12-13mm, rose overtone. Large whites are 11mm, with highly irridescent wrinkled surfaces. The other blacks have peacock overtones.

 

[la_corsetiere]

Very nice, Caitlin! I really like the way you arranged the contrasting size/color of the pearls.

Sheri

 

[pattye]

Great work as usual, Caitlin! I see some distinctly purple pearls in there!
What color and size thread did you knot with?

 

[Island Bound]

Caitlin, your rope is beautiful! I love the variety of the pearls and how they work so wonderfully together!

I'm starting to knot a rope for "practice" that I will post as soon as I finish it but it will seem very bland when compared to the gorgeous ropes that have been posted so far. Oh well, being new to this, I don't have much inventory to work with and any practice now will prepare me to create some beauties like these in the future... hahaha

 

[Nerida]

Great rope, Caitlin, with my favourite black and white combination... looks great worn, too!

 

[Caitlin]

Thanks everybody

Those are amethysts to bring our the purplish tones.

I laid out all the pearls in rows, then randomized them, put em on wire, tried em out, they passed because Kether wants them. Now the knotting. When I do knot it, it will be threaded on the needle so it's double, 20# moss green Powerpro with a ball clasp.

 

[pattye]

Oh that rascally faerie, Kether! She knows a great necklace when she sees it!

 

[Caitlin]

Yes, Pattye
Working from the bottom of the pile is still great.

 

[imanit]

Thanks everybody

When I do knot it, it will be threaded on the needle so it's double, 20# moss green Powerpro with a ball clasp.

Caitlin, I would really appreciate if you could explain what "knotting threaded on the needle" means. I want to learn new tricks...

I was also trying to find old post of yours ( I think yours..) where you were explaining how to transfer small beads from temporary string to the one that will be knotted. I couldn't find your explanations, I couldn't "invent" my own way of doing it.... so, please, if you could re-explain.... I make a lot of strands with 3.5-4mm pearls. Frankly, transferring them one-by-one on my thread takes almost as long as knotting them....

 

[Caitlin]

I just meant it wasn't a single thread on a needle. I struggled to explain that properly, but I guess I did not do a great job!

It was not me who explained the transfer from temporary to permanent thread, but I believe it was someone from Europe who has not posted much. Or maybe it was Bernadette.

Th technique is to take one of the temp threads (the temporary threads are often multiple) and knot it to the permanent thread and slide the beads from from one to the other. I don't know which knot is best, but it would be a tiny one.

I love those small pearls, they are my current favorite size (What??? No more klonks???) but I know what you mean. I like to take the thinnest threaded needle and run the length into as many pearls on the temp strand as I can and pull them over the needle onto the permanent thread.

Anyone else have a technique for that? It's a good thing to know a fast way to transfer.

 

[laurenb]

I've never done this, but I've noticed some temp strands are on multiple strands of thread. Perhaps one could pull all but one of the temp strand threads out of the pearls, then slide a long length of fine doubled wire acting like a needle for the permanent strand into the pearls. Then pull the last thread of the temp strand out.

 

[imanit]

I like to take the thinnest threaded needle and run the length into as many pearls as I can and pull them over needle onto the permanent thread.

....this is exactly what I do, still, it's a pain in an.... you know what....

And, yes, it was something about temporary strand being on double thread, you cut and take one out... and then..what ????

I was sitting once, trying to figure it out and finally did my usual 4-5 pearls at a time transfer...

 

[Caitlin]

I know what you mean, I just don't know where the instructions are on this site. They had a picture too, I think

 

[knotty panda]

You cut one of the temporary strands and pull it out so that the temporary strand is now only on one strand. Then, starting at the end of strand, run the needle up four or five pearls. Cut off the knot on the single thread of the temporary strand and gently pull the temporary strand away from the transferred pearls on the needle. You have to get the hang of holding onto the unknotted strand of pearls while holding onto the needle, but as the temporary strand tail gets longer, it gets easier. Just don't let go of the unknotted strand. As you get the hang of it, you can tilt the needle up which slides the pearls onto the needle while pulling them from the temporary strand at the same time. Try not to pierce the temporary strand with the needle. This technique works best with a rigid needle. The berry strand on my Mermaid's Romance necklace is 4-4.5MM button pearls. I strung 40 ft. (yeah, FEET) of those babies using this technique. Each necklace required two feet of the berry strand.

 

[Caitlin]

Imanit
I found the post

All the descibed ways to knot a pearl necklace seem awfully complicated to me. So here is how I do it.

First the stringing: I get the pearls delivered to me on a temporary double line of threath with a knot on both ends. On one end I pull hard on one of them, so it breaks near the knot. The other one I split and cut all parts exept for one.

Then I take a threath, about 3 x the length of my necklace.
I double it, so I have a loop on one end.
The very thin threath on my temporarely string I attach to my new threath, on the loopside.
So I can SLIDE the pearls from one threath to the other. Saves you a lot of stringingtime like this.

So with all my pearls on my new threath, I attach a clasp on one side.,the side I start knotting.
I make handover knots, don't use a tweezer but a strong nail, that I put in the knots to slide It against the pearl, and leave it there until my next pearl is snug against the former one and keeps the knot in place. Then I remove the nail, make my next knot etc. etc.

Quite difficult to describe, doing it goes faster. It takes me about 15 min. to knot an average necklace.
Hope it's of any help to you, if it's not clear, just ask.
Marjan

LINK Post # 9.
I am still not sure how she gets the findings on there though- maybe those clamshells that close tight with 1 piece folded over so the 2 tips can have holes to put the clasp trough.
Clamshell are "V" shaped with matching holes in the 2 ends.

 

[Caitlin]

Marjan's version has you separating the temp strand you keep, into its sub threads and use one of those.

 

[jshepherd]

You cut one of the temporary strands and pull it out so that the temporary strand is now only on one strand. Then, starting at the end of strand, run the needle up four or five pearls. Cut off the knot on the single thread of the temporary strand and gently pull the temporary strand away from the transferred pearls on the needle. You have to get the hang of holding onto the unknotted strand of pearls while holding onto the needle, but as the temporary strand tail gets longer, it gets easier. Just don't let go of the unknotted strand. As you get the hang of it, you can tilt the needle up which slides the pearls onto the needle while pulling them from the temporary strand at the same time. Try not to pierce the temporary strand with the needle. This technique works best with a rigid needle. The berry strand on my Mermaid's Romance necklace is 4-4.5MM button pearls. I strung 40 ft. (yeah, FEET) of those babies using this technique. Each necklace required two feet of the berry strand.

This is the best way to transfer pearls from a temp strand to a strand for knotting and saves so much time. It's possible, for a quick stringer, to complete a necklace in about 15 minutes with this method.