Knots between pearls

This one was 2 threads of medium but 4 were used for the first 3 pearls and 4 were used going back through the last 4. I used knots like in that YouTube video and then an awl to place it as close to the pearls as possible before pulling the 2 strands apart and tugging it around 5 times like you suggested. So far the pearls don't seem to move but I'll check on them again tonight and wear it over the weekend. I definitely need to work on finishing off a strand but if the pearls don't move and the strands don't fray within 6 months I'll be really happy.
 
Has anyone else also tried wildfire? I wanted to give it a go because it can apparently get wet. Which size is the equivalent to serafil and beader's secret in the medium weight?
 
Just so you know, Serafil / Beader's Secret can also get wet!

I had not heard of Wildfire before, but googling it I see it is made by Beadalon. From what I see in ads for it online the 0.006 inch size is 0.15mm, and the 0.008 inch size is 0.20 mm.
It doesn't look like it matches the sizes for Serafil. The chart of sizes on Pattye's Etsy shop page shows the following sizes:
size 40 = 0.32mm
size 30 = 0.37mm
size 20 = 0.45mm
size 15 = 0.55 mm
size 10 = 0.67mm.
 
Pearl Dreams said:
Just so you know, Serafil / Beader's Secret can also get wet!

I had not heard of Wildfire before, but googling it I see it is made by Beadalon. From what I see in ads for it online the 0.006 inch size is 0.15mm, and the 0.008 inch size is 0.20 mm.
It doesn't look like it matches the sizes for Serafil. The chart of sizes on Pattye's Etsy shop page shows the following sizes:
size 40 = 0.32mm
size 30 = 0.37mm
size 20 = 0.45mm
size 15 = 0.55 mm
size 10 = 0.67mm.
Click to expand...
Hi,
Bernadette from Beader's secret told me it couldn't get wet. Now I;m really confused.
 
Is it possible you misunderstood?
I'm asking because I have washed my strands knotted with Beaders Secret without a problem.
Same for Serafil.

The thread is used to sew parachutes. It wouldn't be a safe thread for parachutes if it couldn't get wet!
 
Serafil / Beader's Secret are polyester thread. Polyester is a kind of plastic. It can be washed!
Just think how much polyester is used in clothing, which is routinely laundered.

Edited to add: If the concern is about color bleeding-- all I can say is I have never seen color bleed from the thread when wet. If you are using a colored thread you could test for color bleeding before stringing up your pearls.
 
I use synthetic thread (either polyester or nylon) when the pearls are heavy or the necklace long, to obviate stretching, or where the person intends to wear the piece a lot or is one of those people whose skin chemistry seems to destroy silk in days or weeks.
But normally I use silk.
 
Yes! I just restrung my DD's GSS necklace (actually she did the final 3/4 of it as she wanted to learn how) with Serafil.
The pearls are large and heavy. It was originally strung on silk and gaps appeared after not very many wearings.

Eventually, thanks to gravity, the weight of them will tighten the knots even more than we could do by hand, so eventually small gaps will appear, but it should be good for quite a while.
 
Pearl Dreams said:
Is it possible you misunderstood?
I'm asking because I have washed my strands knotted with Beaders Secret without a problem.
Same for Serafil.

The thread is used to sew parachutes. It wouldn't be a safe thread for parachutes if it couldn't get wet!i
Click to expand...
Hi,
I'm on my laptop so I can't post a screenshot, so I'm going to copy and paste my questiotn and answer that I received on etsy:

Me: can beader's secret thread get wet without it damaging the threads/knots and causing fraying?

Bernadette:
My general advice is to wear your pearls as the treasures that they are.
A big no to wearing in water, if your pearls were to get an actual soaking in the rain I would dry the pearls off with an absorbent soft cloth. (This is a good practice anyway after wearing pearls at any time)

I need to ak Pattye if serafil can get wet.
 
beck83 said:
Hi,
I'm on my laptop so I can't post a screenshot, so I'm going to copy and paste my questiotn and answer that I received on etsy:

Me: can beader's secret thread get wet without it damaging the threads/knots and causing fraying?

Bernadette:
My general advice is to wear your pearls as the treasures that they are.
A big no to wearing in water, if your pearls were to get an actual soaking in the rain I would dry the pearls off with an absorbent soft cloth. (This is a good practice anyway after wearing pearls at any time)

I need to ak Pattye if serafil can get wet.
Click to expand...
Her answer to you was not about the thread. Read it again!

What she said to you is not to wear your pearls in water-- i.e. don't go swimming with them, don't wear them in a tub or shower, don't go walking in the rain in them without an umbrella etc. And if they do get wet, dry them with a soft absorbent cloth.

This is exactly the advice I would give. I would never go swimming with pearls on.
That is a far cry from not being able to give your pearls a brief bath if they get very grimy. Any synthetic thread can handle that. Then you lay them on a soft towel until the thread is completely dry.

But really if you keep up with wiping them off with a soft cloth after wearing they should not get so very grimy.
 
Pearl Dreams said:
Her answer to you was not about the thread. Read it again!

What she said to you is not to wear your pearls in water-- i.e. don't go swimming with them, don't wear them in a tub or shower, don't go walking in the rain in them without an umbrella etc. And if they do get wet, dry them with a soft absorbent cloth.

This is exactly the advice I would give. I would never go swimming with pearls on.
That is a far cry from not being able to give your pearls a brief bath if they get very grimy. Any synthetic thread can handle that. Then you lay them on a soft towel until the thread is completely dry.

But really if you keep up with wiping them off with a soft cloth after wearing they should not get so very grimy.
Click to expand...
I just assumed since my question was specific about the thread, then so was her answer. I don't wear pearls in the shower etc but I was curious in case say I washed my hands and got water on my bracelets or I got caught in a downpour and didn't have an umbrella. I know that the pearls themselves can get wet, it was the thread I was worried about.
 
The thread will be ok from such a brief exposure. Even a longer exposure...it will dry. So will the pearls.
I don't think you have to worry about the pearls or the thread in the examples you gave.

But it actually is the pearls one has to think about; if one wears pearls in a chlorinated pool, or bathes or showers in chlorinated water, the pearls are being exposed to chlorine, which isn't good for them.

If one wears the pearls while swimming in a pond or the ocean, the necklace may absorb funky odors. If one doesn't rinse off salty sea water after a swim, salt could dry on the pearls or on the thread inside the drill holes.

And then there is the clasp metal to consider. Chlorine damages gold alloys. White gold is more vulnerable than yellow gold. Before my daughter was born, part of my workday as a physical therapist was spent at a therapeutic pool. I was newly engaged and wore my white gold engagement ring while working in the pool. After 6 months of that I had to get the prongs repaired! The chlorine just ate them away. I could have lost my diamond.
Basically one should not wear jewelry while swimming. Pearls or any other jewelry.
I wonder how many people have lost jewelry while swimming.

(I realize some folks wear Tahitian pearls on leather while swimming or surfing in the ocean.)
 
Last edited:
Pearl Dreams said:
The thread will be ok from such a brief exposure. Even a longer exposure...it will dry. So will the pearls.
I don't think you have to worry about the pearls or the thread in the examples you gave.

But it actually is the pearls one has to think about; if one wears pearls in a chlorinated pool, or bathes or showers in chlorinated water, the pearls are being exposed to chlorine, which isn't good for them.

If one wears the pearls while swimming in a pond or the ocean, the necklace may absorb funky odors. If one doesn't rinse off salty sea water after a swim, salt could dry on the pearls or on the thread inside the drill holes.

And then there is the clasp metal to consider. Chlorine damages gold alloys. White gold is more vulnerable than yellow gold. Before my daughter was born, part of my workday as a physical therapist was spent at a therapeutic pool. I was newly engaged and wore my white gold engagement ring while working in the pool. After 6 months of that I had to get the prongs repaired! The chlorine just ate them away. I could have lost my diamond.
Basically one should not wear jewelry while swimming. Pearls or any other jewelry.
I wonder how many people have lost jewelry while swimming.

(I realize some folks wear Tahitian pearls on leather while swimming or surfing in the ocean.)
Click to expand...
Now I understand what you meant. I actually can't swim at all. Being on the spectrum I dislike the smell of chlorine, so I won't go in a pool, unless I have to for therapeutic purposes. I'm also blonde so the chlorine if I went in it regularly, and wasn't careful, would turn my hair green. Even though the beach isn't a long drive away, I can't stand the feeling of sand lol. I think it's my autism, but I seriously hate the feeling of it.
 
Yes! Grit and itch. I have to bring a water bottle to rinse my feet off thoroughly before getting in the car and even then I can't wait to clean them at home. :ROFLMAO:

I also don't like the smell of chlorine.
 
The last time we went as a family, my daughter got stung by jellyfish!

I don't go to the beach to swim any more but when she goes (on her own), she takes along a spray bottle of vinegar to neutralize the stingers, in case she gets stung again! (How is that fun??)
 
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