Attaching Silk Cord to Semi-Precious Stones by May (Tucson, AZ)

Question:

I want to attach small briolette pear shaped beads to a black silk cord. How do I do it??

Answer:

Briolettes are beautiful aren't they? They are a little tricky to work with though.

I'm assuming you mean the top drilled ones (hole is at the top of the bead)?

Here's what I would do:

To attach briolettes to silk cord, I would make a wrapped loop on the briolette, then I could string the cord through the loop.

Here's how to make a wrapped loop on a briolette like the gorgeous crystal briolettes pictured above.

First thread some wire through the bead, then using your fingers, fold the wire up so that the two ends cross each other.

Grasp one end of wire with your chain or flat nosed pliers at the point where the two wires cross. Bend it slightly so that it points straight up.

With the other end of the wire, carefully make a wire wrap. Trim.

Now make a loop with the remaining end, and wrap around your first wrap. Trim and tuck the end down using your chain-nosed pliers (or your crimp pliers if you have them - my secret tip for making nice neat wraps)

You should now have a briolette topped with a nice wrapped loop. You can string your briolette onto your cord now.

I'm not sure if that's what you had in mind - if it isn't, maybe you have a picture of what you'd like to achieve?

Christine
How-to-Make-Jewelry.com

(the photo above is by Jewelry Artist Helmetti , and is reprinted under creative commons license share and share alike.