Re-stringing Bracelet

[DwightSchrute]

Hey everyone!

I bought my wife a Freshadama bracelet last year using nylon string for her medical alert plaque. She didn't listen to my advise to remove it before showering and now I'm left with a pile of pearls. Does anyone have suggestions on the cheapest solution for getting it restrung? I'm living in Connecticut and would rather not pay shipping fees/insurance just to re-string.

Thanks!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

PowerPro (20#)! It's easy to re-knot it, and if she showers with it again, it won't matter. (It's fishing line, it's meant to be strong when wet.)

I'm surprised the nylon came unknotted, though.

It could also be restrung using nylon-coated beading wire. I have done that with necklaces and bracelets I wished to swim and shower with.

Edit:
You don't have to mail it back to Pearl Paradise to get it restrung. Your local jeweler could get it restrung for you if you don't wish to venture into doing it yourselves.

 

[DwightSchrute]

Will the fishing line damage the pearls at all? What should I expect the jeweler's response to be when I ask to have my bracelet to be re-strung with fishing line?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

If you do a search here about PowerPro you will see a lot of us use it to restring our pearls. It is, simply, a strong synthetic thread, and is sold as beading thread. (Google Beadsmith PowerPro.)

I am about to sit down right now and restring my best, favorite exotic strand from PP on PowerPro. 'Nuff said!

 

[DwightSchrute]

How difficult would it be for me to re-string it myself?

 

[Bodecia]

Hello
DwightSchrute,

Power Pro is an excellent product and used by many pearl threader because of its beauty and strength. If you want to learn how to do re-stringing by yourself go to U-tube or what ever it is called and you will find many methods. Just choose the one you are most comfortable with.

Until recently my husband used only natural double silk but then I ran out and had some Power Pro in stock so he tried it and found it nearly as easy as silk and it looks the same and is so much stronger. It is worth giving it a few tries if you don't suceed on the first attempt. Before I was stuck on silk but now I am a Power Pro lover. Truly, do try it out. Stronger, looks just as good, and will last much longer.

I am a total pearl lover and especially a natural pearl lover. Try it out and do look at the U-Tube videos first. It might take you a few days to do the first necklace but it will get easier.


Dawn - Bodecia
http://www.ebay.com/sch/dawncee333/m.html
eBay Seller ID dawncee333 and natural pearl collector and all round pearl lover.

 

[DwightSchrute]

I just ordered myself some of the Power Pro 20. I figure it won't hurt to try it myself a few times...and if I'm unsuccessful, then I can just take the Power Pro to a jeweler instead.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Dwight-- how about this offer?
We are in the same state. You come to the public library in my town at a time we both find agreeable, I'll bring my beading board, my magnifier, pliers, thread-zapper etc, you bring the pearls (and clasp and the plaque) and the PowerPro (or we can use my PowerPro and you can save yours for the next restringing project), and I will teach you how to do it. You will be doing it, I'll be teaching. Message me if interested. Bring along your wife if she would also like to learn!

Plan on spending an hour and a half the first time. We are all thumbs when we first do it.

Here is my newly-restrung strand of exotics; my only concern was that the PowerPro wasn't pink, but it looks fine anyway.:

Now I'll ask Caitlin what she thinks: gimp or no gimp, for a bracelet one plans to shower with regularly?

 

[DwightSchrute]

Sounds good to me. I'll shoot your a PM!

 

[Caitlin]

I did it with a freshwater strand that I wore for a year and a half straight. If anything it improved the look of the pearls.

fw bracelets and necklaces are shower-good unless strung on wire which gets funky looking faster- not that it doesn't get funky looking, anyway. Pieces with glue may soften in hot water. earrings, pendants have glue. Best not to take a chance.

 

[Caitlin]

PD, what a kind offer! Be sure to get some photos of parts of the process, like at least your layout, if not a technically complete photo essay, which would be rather demanding on your attention unless you had a third person shooting. They would be priceless!

Phones are getting to have great cameras...

 

[Caitlin]

I just ordered myself some of the Power Pro 20. I figure it won't hurt to try it myself a few times...and if I'm unsuccessful, then I can just take the Power Pro to a jeweler instead.

You can always give it to a fisherman. It was fishing twine first, LOL. Most jewelry places do not do their own restringing. Only the avant garde beaders (such as us, but there are plenty of others shown in beading magazines!) know to use this thread. Some pearl knotters can be notoriously old fashioned about insisting on silk. Dirt catching, stretching, silk. ick They should use silk for embroidery and come into the 21st century re pearl knotting.

 

[pearl-man]

Good job. Sorry about silk this silk that but u can dye silk to any color you want with Rit dyes. Bit tedious but it works. Sewing stores have hundreds of thread colors. There are new needles that don't require threading through a hole at ns needle. As a side note the publisher of the bead magazines is in Milwaukee and sponsors a national bead show with world wide contestants,lessons and demos.
Norm

 

[pearl-man]

Humpf. .

 

[Pearl Dreams]

PD, what a kind offer! Be sure to get some photos of parts of the process, like at least your layout, if not a technically complete photo essay, which would be rather demanding on your attention unless you had a third person shooting. They would be priceless! ....

I will bring along my camera and we'll see what time allows. Meeting this Saturday!

 

[Marianne]

Ah, an East Coast Mini-Ruckus.... Love it!

 

[Amrita]

What a kind gesture, Pearl Dreams! BTW, I love your necklace - thanks for the neck shot! Looking forward to the pictures...

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I will be restringing my Freshadama necklace this weekend and plan to ask my daughter to take photos of key points, for a tutorial.

I'll post that in the Lowly Beaders forum.

 

[Caitlin]

Perfect! You dear, dear person! You are always so helpful!!!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I'm sure DwightSchrute will soon be along to add his thoughts.

It was a very pleasant meet-up! He restrung his wife's bracelet successfully. I only took a couple of photos:

Photos 1 and 2 show him making an overhand knot, and then using tweezers to grasp the thread just above the previous pearl so as to position the knot before tightening it.
Photos 3 and 4 show the finished bracelet.

It took a few tries as the holes were larger than on the past few necklaces I have restrung, and the knots slipped into the drill holes, even though we were using 20# PowerPro.

We did not have 30# PowerPro on hand, but I would definitely recommend that he try using it the next time he needs to restring this-- as well as thicker gimp, so that he can use the large-drilled pearls on the end where they are meant to be. (In fact, he will need to use them there as the 30# thread may not pass twice, doubled, through the smaller-hole pearls that we placed on the end today.)

Anyway, since we only had the 20# thread, he had to make two knots (on on top of the other) to prevent their slipping into the holes. Also, the gimp I brought was too slender for the large drill holes of the end pearls and was slipping into the drill holes, so he had to swap around a few smaller-hole pearls to use on the very ends near the clasp. Even though the knotted part of the bracelet was only about 6-6.5 inches long, it turned out that he needed to start with a 60 inch length of thread because of all the double knots! Of course, this was only discovered after running out of thread before the end of the bracelet and having to start over.

Suffice it to say that at this point DwightSchrute has made a great many knots and is very good at it!