When crafting with beads, it is always helpful to be familiar with the basic jewelry making knots that complete different pieces, hold them together, and make them seem friendly and tidy. However, jewelry is all about aesthetics, neatness, balance, and completeness, so it will always boil down to technique.

Some knots comprise most of your work, such as macramé and pearl knotting. Before beginning any job, ensure that you know which thread or cord will work best with the techniques you’ll be employing, and consider the cord’s strength if you’ll be working with heavier elements.

Beading techniques with a long history include knotting between beads. The primary purpose of tying knots between beads is to keep them from rubbing against one another. This applies to all kinds of beads, from gold-filled beads to sterling silver beads. Knots also secure a variety of findings, including copper headpins, connectors and clasps, sterling silver bead caps, and wire guards.

This method is particularly crucial for pearls and jewels, which are susceptible to wear and tear. Additionally, knotting between beads prevents loss. If a strand breaks, just the beads on either side of a broken knot will fall out.

The beauty of knotting is that it may be performed with any beads and any rope that fits their holes. Any form of knotting between beads can be accomplished using a single, double, or many strands of cord. The bead hole size dictates the number of cord strands that may be utilized.

How to Pre-stretch Silk Cord Before Making Jewelry Making Knots?

Before using either spooled or carded silk cord, it must be stretched. Pre-stretching prevents the cable from stretching over time. If you fail to do so, the completed piece of knotted jewelry will likely lose tension and develop ugly gaps between the beads and knots. Additionally, pre-stretching reduces kinks from carded silk.

To estimate the amount of cord required for a project, multiply the completed length by four and round to the closest yard.

The parts of the cord used for pre-stretching with weight (for connecting the weight and the hanger) will not stretch and should not be included in the total length of cord required for your knotting project.

Hand-Stretching Carded or Spooled Silk

This is the best way for stretching carded silk with an attached needle and the quickest approach for stretching spooled silk.

• In a pitcher of cool water, saturate the length of the silk cord used. Then, gently wring off extra water until the cable is no longer leaking.
• Using a clean white towel, uncolored paper towels, or your clean hands, gently stretch the silk cord by squeezing and pushing it.
• Hang the silk until it is scorched. It may be displayed on a bulletin board with pushpins or draped over a plastic hanger, rust-resistant shower rod, or closet rod.

Please do not twist the silk cord; merely squeeze it. The act of wringing silk cord can result in unnatural stretching and breakage of the organic strands. Neither heat nor a blow dryer should be used to hasten the procedure. The delicate inherent characteristics of silk are often compromised by heat.

Weight-Stretching Spooled Silk Before Starting Jewelry Making Knots

This process is more time-consuming but yields the most outstanding results for extending spooled silk.

• Soak the length of the silk cord to be knotted in a basin of cold water. Remove extra water from the cord so that it is not leaking.
• Attach a weight, such as a butter knife or pair of scissors, to one end of the wet string with two square knots.
• Tie another pair of square knots onto a plastic hanger using the other end of the wet rope. Do not use a metal hanger, as this might cause rust stains to run down the length of your silk cord.
• Allow the silk to dry overnight while hanging on a doorframe or other high point.
• After the silk cord has dried, remove it from the hanger and remove the weight. Throw away the un-stretched ends. Place the stretched silk thread on a bobbin for future use.

Suspend the silk cord so the weight does not contact the floor, and there is sufficient space for the cord to stretch. Typically, silk cord will only stretch about an inch when strung.

Simple, Jewelry Making Knots

Two fundamental knots are used for knotting between beads: overhand and square. The overhand knot is the most crucial to master since it is frequently employed. The square knot is equally significant, albeit it is utilized less frequently. These knots can be created by hand or with any available knotting equipment. Each approach outlines the optimal use of these knots.

Overhand Knot

The overhand knot is the most popular knot used for knotting between beads, regardless of the instrument employed.

The cord can be held in many ways to create overhand knots, but the finished knot will always be the same.

Create your own strategy for gripping your rope to tie uniform and consistent knots every time.

• Create a loop with the cable.
• Slip one cord end under the loop and around it.
• Pull-on both cord ends to tighten the knot.

Square Knot

Generally, square knots tie a knot in specific bead points. Also utilized for producing adjustable closures are square knots.

• The left cord is crossed across the right chord.
• Wrap the left cord around and below the right chord. This is comparable to the initial step in tying a shoelace.
• Cross the cord in the right hand over the cord in the left hand.
• Bring the right cord around and below the left chord.
• Pull the cords snugly.

Remember “right over left, left over right” while tying a square knot.

Cord End Techniques

On small-diameter cords, bead tips are utilized at the beginning and finish of knotted jewelry designs. Bead tips serve to secure and preserve the first and final knots. Additionally, they provide a professional touch to knotted jewelry. Many metals, designs, and sizes are available for bead tips.

Remember “right over left, left over right” while tying a square knot.

Putting on a Basket Bead Tip

The usual choice for connecting a clasp to a knotted string of pearls is basket bead tips. They are necessary for working with a small cord. When in position, they resemble little baskets that contain the knots. The clasp is attached to the bead tip’s “handle” or hook.

Whether using a single, double, or many strands of cord, thread the needle and make an overhand knot with the cord ends.

• Thread your first bead tip such that the knot rests in the basket of the tip.
• Gently draw the knot into the basket and fix it with a touch of super glue.
• String all your beads, tying knots between each one.
• Once you’ve completed knotting your item, thread the second basket bead tip so the last knot will rest in the basket of this bead tip.
• Tie this last knot using one of the following alternatives.
• Tie a loose overhand knot, leaving the knot’s loop uncovered. Employing an awl or tweezers, carefully insert the knot into the basket of the bead tip. Add a drop of superglue, then let it dry. This technique applies to single, double, and numerous cables.
• You can tie a loose overhand knot with double or many cords, exposing the knot’s loop. Utilize an awl or tweezers to insert this knot into the bead tip’s basket. Holding one-half of the strands in each hand, separate the cords to secure the knot within the basket of the bead tip. Add a drop of superglue.
• When knotting with double or triple cords, it is also possible to divide the cords in half and tie a square knot that lies securely in the basket of the bead tip. Superglue and let dry.
• To attach the clasp, put one side of the clasp onto the bead tip’s hook. Next, roll the hook closed with round-nosed pliers, so it lies within the cup of the bead tip. The hook should now resemble a basket handle, with the clasp end firmly placed within the newly produced closed loop.

• Slide the opposite side of the clasp onto the hook of the second bead tip and repeat the procedure from step seven.

If the initial knot is insufficient to keep the rope from passing through the hole in the bead tip, tie additional knots around the initial knot to extend its circle. Do not tie a knot between the first bead tip and first bead or between the last and second bead tip.