Bead Knotting AKA Pearl Knotting

Bead Knotting AKA Pearl Knotting

Cost: $25.00 plus materials 

Length of Class: 2 Hours

Class Description:

An ancient form of making jewelry that is still popular in modern times. Knots were used to create a barrier between fragile surfaces of pearls and so if the strand did break you would only lose a couple pearls not the whole piece. Pearls have been a sign of wealth worn by royalty and the wealthy as a sign of status. In traditional pearl knotting, originally a needle was used to guide the silk thread to form a knot right up against the pearl. Then they started to use fine point tweezers. Then came a hand held knotting tool and the latest a table top unit. I have found the tweezers method to be the best and the easiest to master.  

I will be totally honest, you will love pearl knotting or you will hate pearl knotting and you really don’t know until you try.

That being said, please hold off on purchasing the knotting tool, beading tweezers or knotting pliers until you figure out what camp you are in.

Also forget the supply list on the front. This is really a technique class and most likely you will end up redoing your piece.

Supplies Needed:

• Beads with a smallish hole- you can use pearls or normal beads but we are looking for ones with small holes, enough for a bracelet.
• Silk Thread on a card with a collapsible eye attached or a sturdy thread that fills the hole of your beads. (if you would like to wait until the class, we can figure out what kind of material will work best)
• Collapsible eye needle
• Beading mat or surface 
• Clam Shell crimps
• Beading Glue
• Clasp
• Fine detail scissors

This is the one class where I offer to put a kit together for the student where everything is provided in the kit. You have the option of not purchasing the tweezer but you must purchase the kit. Kits run from $5-$20 dollars it depends on if you pick glass over freshwater pearls.

Supply List

Student Gallery:

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