Making pearls more lovely

My friend Mary mentioned she had some pearls she was particularly fond of. A purchase from Saffron Walden market the string had broken. Could I re string them? Of course I could. Keen to practise my rekindled ability to knot pearls, I set to this task.

 Step one: Start with three pearls and work towards the clasp and return knotting as you go.

Step two: Create the knot and slide it into place. Tricky!

Step three: get all the pearls on the silk cord and knot as you go.

Step four: don't knot the final three pearls, attach the final spacer beads and loop then work back through the three pearls, knotting as you go.

Voila, the pearls are finished ready to wear!  You might ask why bother to knot pearls? The main reason is that knotted pearls simply drape much better than threaded straight on some silk thread. Also, the silk is protected by a fine wire near the clasp and it is less likely to wear. If by any chance the thread breaks, you don't have the pearls all over the place and possibly lose some.  These are freshwater pearls. They are cultivated in mussels and are quite affordable. Sometimes dyed different colours or left in their natural creamy white state, pearls seem to glow on the neckline and are really pretty.