Comments on: Using a Polymer Clay Bead Instead of a Standard Jewelry Slip Knot

By: Carolyn Good

Carolyn Good — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 01:54:25 +0000

I’ve been doing much the same thing for a bit now but I also sometimes thread the cords the same direction (instead of opposite) through the bead at the back of the neck and then the bead cinches up or down in the back of the neck.

By: Cindy Lietz@Rock Tumbler Polymer Clay Beads

Cindy Lietz@Rock Tumbler Polymer Clay Beads — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 01:29:10 +0000

@Arlene: That’s so funny, was going to add another comment with your exact info, but you beat me to it! Thanks! Can’t always get here fast enough. It’s great when you can help out like that!

@Catalina: You don’t have to use power to drill your beads. Just bake a handle onto the drill bits and do it by hand. Way less scary that way!

@PLaneFancies: That totally makes sense. Good idea!

@Freda: Some types of cord slip easier than others. Real leather, faux suede, rubber etc work pretty good. Silk may be too slippery in some cases.

@Robin in Las Vegas: Hi! Welcome to the blog! There is lots of cool clay info here. Click the Home link at the top of the page and scroll through the photos to see all the polymer clay articles. There’s a “Next Page” link at the bottom of the blog home page (and at bottom of each successive page) to see more and more and more photos :) Ask questions in the posts and interact with the others here. Everyone is very supportive!

@Polyanya: Thanks for popping by!

By: Polyanya

Polyanya — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 10:57:05 +0000

Great idea, thank you!

By: Robin

Robin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 01:50:26 +0000

What a wonderful blog, how did I miss this one? Great idea on the bead slip knot Cindy, it would have been prefect for a domino necklace I made a few months back. Great stuff, you have a new subscriber.

Robin in Las Vegas

By: Arlene Harrison

Arlene Harrison — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 01:04:54 +0000

Freda – One way to solve the problem of it not staying at the length you want is just to do half of a square knot at the bead on the back. It creates just enough tension to hold it in place unless your hole is way too big. I do this with my id badge reel covers when I need to adjust the length.

By: Freda

Freda — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:40:42 +0000

I think this is a great idea, but when I tried it, I made the hole small so the cord wouldn’t slip. I had a very difficult time getting both cords through because the hole was so small. When I wore it, however, they slipped to the ends instead of staying short like I wanted the necklace. I haven’t tried a flat cord yet, so maybe that will work.

By: PLaneFancies

PLaneFancies — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:59:27 +0000

I was lucky enough to find some cord that was almost exactly the size of a bamboo skewer, so I used the skewer to make holes before I baked the beads. I made 2 beads with 2 holes in each. Then I ran the ends of of the cord through both beads. I knotted one end on one bead and the other end on the opposite bead. Then I could pull the beads in opposite directions to shorten the necklace or pull them back toward each other to lengthen it. Does that make any sense? It’s hard to envision without pictures, but I gave the necklace to my daughter and don’t have a photo.

By: Catalina

Catalina — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:52:54 +0000

Arlene said what I was thinking! I haven’t been brave enough to try to drill a hole but the knitting needle idea sounds safer. (Yes, I’m a chicken!!)

By: Arlene Harrison

Arlene Harrison — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:38:32 +0000

I’ve been using this type of closure on my id badge reel cover sets for a couple of years now and LOVE it. I do have a method worked out that is perfect for what I do using a set of incrementally increasing drill bits. I bake either on a bead piercing needle or a small knitting needle, then start with the smallest drill bit and work my way up to the one that I know works perfectly for the 2mm silk cord that I use for these id badge covers.

To make it easier to thread the silk cord through the holes, I dip the ends in white glue and let it dry then cut at a sharp diagonal to make a point.
.

By: Cindy Lietz@Textured Polymer Clay Beads

Cindy Lietz@Textured Polymer Clay Beads — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:02:18 +0000

Thanks guys for the comments!

@Silverleaf: Using a flat cord or lacing like I did in the photo can help. It’s wide enough to grab and not slip, but because it is flat, the two ends can bypass each other easier. Also having a set of drill bits in lots of sizes help. You can just drill out the hole bigger if you need it.