Opinions about these

[Gail5]

Thanks for all the advice and encouragement. It probably will take a while to assemble all the materials and find the time to work on it calmly.
The supplier I found for the little gold beads has them in 2.5 mm size with a hole of 1-1,2 mm. Is that hole too big? Will the knots go into the holes? The supplier has balls of 4 mm or larger with holes of 0.8-1.0 mm in diameter, but I think those beads might be too bug.

I thought I would take a before shot so you could see how it looks now and provide suggestions. Clearly the distance between the short and the middle strand is larger than the distance between the middle and the longest strand. I think I would like a distance in the middle between those two. What would that translate to in difference in length of the strands?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

It depends on the size of the thread and how large a tight knot 4 strands of it will make. (When back-knotting you are making a knot with doubled thread over the same doubled thread). If you have your thread you can test this and measure the resulting knot. Use calipers if you have them. This will tell you if the knot will slip into the hole.

If it will slip in, get your beads from another source. I think 4mm is going to look way too large if the end pearls are 2mm. (A spherical 4mm bead is 8x as large as a spherical 2mm bead.)

I tend to make successive strands 1" longer when making multi strand necklaces. Decide how long you want the shortest strand to be and make the next strand 1" longer than that, and the next strand 1" longer then the middle stand. String them temporarily and see if you like this size gap between strands before knotting it up.

 

[Gail5]

Thanks for this advice. I cut up the middle strand and put it on a temporary strand. I used a twisted wire needle that I made with 0.1mm copper wire I bought on Amazon. This needle worked very well going through the little pearls but it was still quite difficult to get it into the smallest pearls because it was so hard to see the holes. Trying to double back through those would definitely be beyond my skills.

The middle strand came out about 31 cm without knots with 83 pearls I washed it with demineralized water and Marseilles soap (similar to Castille soap). Then I tested knotting a few of the pearls from one end (the smallest ones) to see what thread would fit and how big the knots would be.
The thickest thread I could fit was a little tight getting through. I thought that would be ok since I won't be doubling back through the pearls (I'll use the gold balls for that). Is that right? The knots came out around 1 mm. They look pretty big next to the tiny pearls but should be good as the pearls get bigger, right? I see in the closeup that the thread looks very white compared to the pearls, but to the unaided eye the difference is not as noticeable.
I calculate that the length of the pearls knotted should be around 31 cm (pearls) + 83 x 1 mm (knots) = 39.3 cm.
If I put 4 2,5 cm balls on each end, that will make an additional 8x 2.5 (balls) + 8 x 1 mm (knots) = 2.8 cm
Plus the clasp is around 2cm
For a total of 44.1 cm for the middle strand.
Do these calculations seem right? If they are, I would need 24 balls. Maybe I'll get 30 just to be on the safe side if the necklace comes
out too short. It should come out about the same length as it is now only with less string showing and the little gold balls on the ends.

 

[Gail5]

I removed the bead tips from the middle of the clasps and tested whether the finest French wire that I have will go through the openings in the clasp.

Unfortunately not. The finest that I have is silver plated Griffin French wire marked outside diameter 0,8 mm and inside diameter 0,65 diameter, so it is pretty fine. Looks like I can get Beadalon sterling silver French wire in 0,6 mm. The package doesn't say if 0,6 is the inside or outside dimension. I am also not sure if the 0,6 will go through the opening in the clasp, but it might.

Or is it better to get jump rings? I have never used jump rings before. What size should I get and what material? The same place that sells the little balls has little rings in 18k gold that the site says are easy to open to attach other elements. The smallest are listed as 0.7 x 1.7 mm, which I think means the metal part is 0.7 mm wide and the opening is 1.7 mm.

 

[pattye]

Thank you so much for sharing the photo of you wearing the pearls! They will look more amazing after being restrung!

You are doing well and evaluating what needs to be done as you go along. I would recommend against jumprings unless they can be soldered closed.

The poly thread you/we are using (doubled) is more resistant to abrasion than silk, so because your pearls are quite lightweight, you have the option of not using gimp at all. Just use the thread directly over the clasp and finish as planned. (Not recommended for largeror heavier pearls, of course.)

The measurement estimations seem about as accurate as possible. You may not get quite 1mm added length from each knot; sometimes a drill hole may be a bit larger and the knot will pull partway into the hole.

Yes, order the additional gold beads. We're cheering you on!!

 

[Gail5]

Thanks for this encouragement. I ordered 30 2.5 mm 18k white gold balls with a pattern and also the 0.6 mm silver French wire, just to make a last attempt at getting French wire through the clasp openings. While waiting for those things to arrive, I will put the other two strands on temporary strings and clean everything up.

 

[BWeaves]

The closeup of the pearls, I couldn't even look at the knots. The pearls are luminous.

 

[SydK]

The pearls already look beautiful on you, even in their current state, and I’m looking forward to seeing the final product. Thanks for sharing the process with us.

 

[BeadersSecret]

Hi Gail, what a lovely gift from your Mother.

As I do this for a profession I am saddened to see what a fellow restringer has done to your pearls,especially if you told her they were natural .

The holes in natural pearls are usually miniscule* at least the ones that I have had the pleasure of working on over the years. I have even had to make my own needles using French wire.

Naturals where usually drilled by hand with an Archimedes drill (bow drill)

The lubricant that was mentioned is not relevant to stringing, Most manufactured threads have a lubricant on them, typically silicone based.
The reason being is that the thread can travel at fast speed through machinery without incurring issues.

Beaders Secret thread is also lubricated

 

[Gail5]

I have even had to make my own needles using French wire.
The lubricant that was mentioned is not relevant to stringing, Most manufactured threads have a lubricant on them, typically silicone based.

Thank you for this reassuring information about the thread lubricant. Based on her website, I thought the Italian stringer who highly recommended Coats Gral for stringing was experienced and knowledgeable about different kinds of threads. She thought the Coats Gral was superior to silk and also to the made in Italy thread sold on little cards. She probably didn't consider Beaders Secret because it is not an easily available or cost-effective choice in Italy.

Her website also suggests making needles out of French wire when a very fine needle is needed. Instead, I bought some small spools of 0.1 mm copper wire and have been making needles out of the wire to put the pearls on temporary strands. The needles are a little thicker than French wire needles but still fit easily through the holes in the pearls.

I do have a question about these super-fine needles though. How are you supposed to use them to double back? They are great when you just have to get them into a little hole that is empty, but they are too flimsy to overcome any resistance once the hole already has thread in it. I am going to have this issue when I have to double back through the little gold balls (now in transit).

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Good to know about the lubricant-- thanks for posting, Bernadette!

Gail5, I expect the holes in the gold beads will be large enough not to be a problem with doubling back.

 

[Gail5]

Gail5, I expect the holes in the gold beads will be large enough not to be a problem with doubling back.

I hope you are right about that.
So I got all three strands on temporary threads and cleaned them. I also removed the bead tips from the clasp.
I notice the following:
The short strand has 81 pearls and is 28 cm unknotted
The middle strand has 82 pearls (I took 2 very little pearls off because broken) and is 30.5 cm unknotted.
The long strand has 100 pearls and is 32 cm unknotted.

This means that the middle strand has bigger pearls than the other two strands. In fact, looking closely you can see the the pearls in the middle of the middle strand are bigger. Also the pearls in the short strand are bigger on average than the pearls in the long strand.

Is it right that the strands are graduated in this way, so that the middle strand has the biggest pearls, the short strand the next biggest, and the long strand the smallest? Or should each strand have and equal division of pearl sizes? I wouldn't have really noticed this if I hadn't counted and measured, but now that I have, it seems quite noticeable.

Assuming each knot is 1 mm, the short strand will be 36.1 cm knotted
The middle strand 38.7 cm knotted
The long strand 42 cm knotted.
(plus the additional length of around 5 cm per strand for the gold beads, bead knots, and clasp)

The difference between the short and the middle would be 2.6 cm, whereas the difference between the middle and the long would be 3.3 cm (since there are so many more pearls and hence knots on the long strand).

Do I need to move a little pearl from the long strand to the middle strand to even up the difference, or will the differences in the actual knots mean that this calculations are all imprecise anyway?

 

[BeadersSecret]

Hi Gail, I would balance the strands with the white gold beads and not move any of the pearls.

It may not sound complex to move around some pearls, however this type of pearl has inconsistent sizes/shapes. To add to the mix you are also working on someone else’s stringing we are all not the same, thread, tension and knotting.

In theory it may sound not so complex but in reality this type of work can take on a life of its own quickly.

It’s like the difference between theory and reality - in theory there is no difference. But in reality there certainly is.

 

[BWeaves]

What I would do, is start with a knot (and maybe a small clip of some sort) and leave a good length of thread and start knotting the pearls. Do not put the clasp or the gold beads on yet. After you have knotted the strands, slip the end threads through the clasp ends and tie in a slip knot or bow, so you can try on the necklace. Then you'll be able to tell how many gold beads to add to each strand. Repeat the trying on, until you like the length of all three strands. Then attach to the clasp.

 

[Gail5]

The little gold beads arrived but still waiting on the 0,6 French wire. In the meanwhile I am trying out knots with the gold beads. The holes are quite large so I made double knots. Those don't seem to slip into the holes. If I make single knots, the knots are invisible. Which option is better?

 

[BWeaves]

I like the gold beads without knots (or with the knots hidden inside the beads.

 

[Katbran]

Definitely without the knots showing .

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Agreed! The knots are disproportionately large. Better for them not to show.

 

[pattye]

I agree with the others, knots inside the beads look best. The beads complement the pearls and are a proportionate size with the clasp.

If you want to move a few pearls, well, they are your pearls, why not if you feel it will adjust the length more to your liking. True, the calculations are somewhat imprecise. It's just the nature of working with pearls. I commend you for being thorough!

Recommend working with the shortest strand first to make sure that length is just right.

 

[BeadersSecret]

Hi Gail congratulations on getting to the finishing off stage with your pearls.

As the thread is very fine and the white gold beads have bigger holes I would recommend the first finishing off knot to be double, this will give your finishing off more strength, then continue with the hidden knots.