Stringing Tutorial with photos: Stringing on Serafil, Beaders Secret & Power Pro

[Pearl Dreams]

Yes, it does go faster!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I did my Color-shifting gold-pink-peach drops from PP over using the Shell colored Serafil from Pattye's shop.

Although white Power-Pro was *okay* for these, I like the shell colored thread better; it is a more homogeneous look up close.

Additionally, some of these drops had larger drill holes on one side and needed a larger knot. (I had rearranged the pearls from their original order, with the result that some of the formerly-end pearls with larger drill holes were no longer on the ends.)
Initially I had the impression that this thread made slightly bigger knots than Power Pro, but I have revised my opinion.
Also, because it is slippery, I found it fairly easy to make a double knot (a.k.a. "jeweler's knot") wherever I needed a larger knot, which I had not been able to make with other threads without tangling. The double knot is an overhand knot made by simply passing the thread an additional time through the loop before tightening it. I did prefer to guide the knot close to the pearl with an awl when making the double knot, just to play it safe, to prevent a gap. It seated itself nicely when I pulled the 2 threads apart.

NOTE: If you expect to have to make many double knots, allow more thread! And be sure the knot is right next to the previous pearl before tightening it. I use an awl to drag it to the right spot, then tighten the knot around the awl and only then pull the two threads apart.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Today I restrung my favorite necklace from PP, the exotic 8-9mm FWP that I bought back in 2008.

I have a long history of restringing this necklace with various threads and even beading wire. I could not seem to get it to look exactly the way I wanted. Originally it came strung with rose colored silk, which I always felt was a bit too rosy for the colors of these pearls, a number of which are bluish. White Power Pro was quite okay, but since I had the chance to try a new colored thread I could not resist.

I strung them with Shell colored Serafil thread first, but had a few problems with my knots, including (gasp) breaking the thread when I tugged too hard.

Yes, this thread can break with too hard a tug! It is stronger than silk of the same size, but not as strong as Power Pro. It might be a good idea to actually try to break a piece on purpose to gauge how hard a tug is too hard, before you string a necklace with it.

Next time I switched to Baby Pink thread, and this seemed to suit the color of the strand better than Shell did. I'm afraid the pinky tone doesn't show very well in this photo, but in person, the pearls do look better than they did with the white thread.

 

[GemGeek]

Eye candy! They both look terrific.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Thanks, GemGeek!

All in all I think this is a useful new stringing product.

Time will tell how durable it is and whether the knots eventually stretch, but somehow I don't think they will. And as it's used to sew airbags and parachutes, then I would think durability won't be an issue either.


Edit 9/22/15: I'm editing to say that I have found Serafil or Beaders Secret to be durable.
2/18/19-- I still find the thread durable!

 

[pattye]

Pearl Dreams,

It was interesting to see what thread color you chose to go with each strand of gorgeous pearls! Your tutorials and remarks are truly helpful for others learning to restring, whether with or without tools. Thank you very much for sharing your experience with my Serafil thread.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

You're welcome, Pattye!

Yesterday I found a use for the Rose colored Serafil thread from your shop-- I combined a necklace and bracelet to make a single endless necklace.
These pearls range from about 10-13 mm so I decided to double knot (i.e. Jeweler's knot, passing the thread a second time through the loop before tightening it) each pearl for a more proportional look. I will probably double knot routinely now for larger pearls.

A couple of times the knot failed to slide completely into place-- a peril of double-knotting-- so I reverted to using tweezers to ensure accurate placement of the knot. [Edit 12/19/16: No more tweezers-- now I use an awl to guide the knot to the right spot, tighten the doubled knot against the awl, then withdraw the awl and pull the two threads apart to fully tighten the double/jeweler's knot.]

I find this thread cuts easily with a razor knife/ box cutter, but the ends tend to fray if merely cut, so I still prefer to use the Thread Zap, which melts the end of the thread and makes for a neater appearance.

 

[lisa c]

Wow! That is gorgeous!!! I also Thank you for the tutorials, and photos. Did you buy the pearls from anyone we know? Are they in your album? I'm going to peek.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Thanks, Lisa! I bought them years ago, not from any P-G vendors.

At the time I didn't have many 18" pearl necklaces so I enjoyed wearing them in their original length; recently I realized I had a lot of short necklaces and too few longer ones, so once I had the new thread, I decided to just restring them as one necklace.

I've discovered that each album can only hold 60 photos, so now I have to either start a new album for jewelry I've made, or delete some old photos to make room for the new ones. So far I've been deleting....

 

[lisa c]

Please Don't Delete!!!! They're too much fun to look at. Oh, dear.

 

[Rossweisse]

Dearest, Darling Pearl Dreams: Thank you for this thread! I'm still getting my courage up to restring my oldest and dearly loved necklace (and do not want to hose it up) so the technique and materials tips are timely and much appreciated. I'd stocked up on silk thread and twisty "needles" but now have ordered Beaders' Secret from Pattye as an alternative. Trying to deal with misplaced knots in silk is a Bear and it always seems to happen past the 3/4 point so something more forgiving has definite appeal. Ta muchly!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Oh, that makes me happy, Rossweisse! I hope you'll post a photo when it's all done!

 

[CharmedOne]

PD, They are all beautiful!! I have quite a few strands to restring and I decided to try to knot again with these. I still have some I'm going to get professionally restrung but these I think I can do. I haven't bought thread yet for these, So my question is do you think I can use 10lbs power pro on all these? Most of them are graduated akoyas with much smaller pearls in the back. Thanks so much ~d

 

[Pearl Dreams]

CharmedOne,

My graduated akoya strands ranged from 3 mm to 7+mm for one necklace, and 5mm to 8mm for the other-- and 10# Power Pro worked just fine for them. Unless your center pearls are considerably larger, you should be okay. (Not that the thread would be too weak-- 10# doubled is 20# and that is plenty strong! -- but the knots might look rather small, proportionately, if the center pearls are large.)

 

[CharmedOne]

Thank you so much PD!

 

[Ishta]

I have just read right through this thread Pearl Dreams. It is so informative! Thanks so much for posting it!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Great! Don't be afraid to give it a try!

 

[Hanaleimom]

Pearl Dreams,
Thank you for your contribution to P-G, especially this thread. The 2008 exotic strand looks fabulous on you. I like the 10-13mm baroque strand too.

 

[Ishta]

Pearl Dreams, believe it or not Mr. Ishta has read through the entire thread and sent it to his computer. He is the hobbyist and I am all thumbs. He wants to give it a try and practice on an old set!

Thanks again!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Cool! My husband makes jewelry as a hobby as well.