Boo hoo-my lovely bracelet fell apart!

[twinkle_77]

Help please

i started making some elasticated bracelets on saturday with matching earrings and they looked absolutely beautiful but this morning one of my lovely aqua blue bracelet fell apart.

I did the knot as it said on my little packaging. The thing is the knot looked pretty bulky by the end of it all! Maybe i should get the next size smaller elastic. I intended to buy some memory wire when i bought the elastic but the shop had sold out.

Do u peeps glue on top of the knot afterwards. I also realised (after) that i should try to "hide" the knot in between 2 biggish beads.

All I keep thinking is that i will sell all my lovely bracelets and people will wear them only for them to fall apart (

Any help most appreciated, thank you so much.

twinkle

[janetdc]

You definitely need to use glue on the knot to secure it. I always give elasticated bracelets a good pull to make sure they don't come apart. It took me a while to get it right.

[Sparklez]

definitely a little bit of glue on the knot. problem with elastic is it's too 'slippy' to hold without something to secure it. I've also been known to put a crimp over the knot if it's hidden in a bead.

[twinkle_77]

Thanks janetdc & sparklez

I guess i may need lots of practice first.

Prob silly question but what glue do u use? Do u tie the knot then glue knot and then wait for it to dry and then cut off the excess elastic?

This morning I was thinking about putting a crimp over the knot. Great idea ;o)

[Glitter Queen]

Sorry to hear about the bracelet, but i would also definately out glue on the knot to secure it, elastic is hard to keep as a knot as it's 'slippery' it can undo itself! never thought about putting a crimp over it, but might try it now!
Also i also hide the knot in a biggish bead...just slide it over the knot and its hidden!
Don't worry...practice makes perfect..i've found that out enough times!!

[twinkle_77]

Great idea

Well early this morning an idea popped into my head. I took out the several bracelets i had made and sat down and thought and thought what i could do to solve my dilemma.....here goes...

On all my bracelets i left a couple of inches of elastic when i cut the ends of the knot. I thought maybe if i fed the remaining elastic back through the beads and made more knots that would do the trick. i did this bead after bead but only few times so i did small knots in between 2-3 beads. Does anyone make sense of this??!! I guess this may do the trick as there is prob no way the elastic could come undone. Fingers crossed we have found a solution.

[Aunty Al]

I use super glue to secure my knots. Games Workshop sell little bottles of it with a brush included which I find helps to prevent the glue blobbing or going in the wrong place

[BeadsbyLili]

Dont worry - we all have a few things like this happen when starting out! I'd agree with the try a dab of glue method.

[Endeva]

Dont worry - we all have a few things like this happen when starting out! I'd agree with the try a dab of glue method.

Lili, I watched your YouTube vid for the elasticated Boho bracelet, and I remember you putting a dab of glue on the knot you'd tied. Definately makes sense to me to use glue

I've also heard of people using clear nail varnish instead of glue.

[BeadsbyLili]

Lili, I watched your YouTube vid for the elasticated Boho bracelet, and I remember you putting a dab of glue on the knot you'd tied. Definately makes sense to me to use glue

I've also heard of people using clear nail varnish instead of glue.

I've heard of that too so worth a try as well . Really happy you have watched the video

[Louise77]

What kind of elastic should one use? I was thinking of doing this but was unsure how to tie the knots without it looking naff!
Louise

[*karen*]

Great idea

Well early this morning an idea popped into my head. I took out the several bracelets i had made and sat down and thought and thought what i could do to solve my dilemma.....here goes...

On all my bracelets i left a couple of inches of elastic when i cut the ends of the knot. I thought maybe if i fed the remaining elastic back through the beads and made more knots that would do the trick. i did this bead after bead but only few times so i did small knots in between 2-3 beads. Does anyone make sense of this??!! I guess this may do the trick as there is prob no way the elastic could come undone. Fingers crossed we have found a solution.

that's how I do mine, I take the elastic back through each bead and knot on each side. It makes the bracelets much stronger but is time consuming and uses more elastic.

If i'm making children's bracelets I just pop a blob of super glue on but if i'm making adult bracelts with heavier glass beads then I knot through.

[garletongems]

I crimp and don't knot at all. I use a solid ie not floss or fibre, thread type of elastic and crimping works quite well. I use clear nail varnish when pearl knotting.

I don't use superglue at all for anything jewellery related - it can react with threading material and eat it away. Also it turns brittle over time and beads etc break away.

Cement type glues work well, they usually work well on any surface, they are gap filling so if a surface is uneven it will fill the gap and give a better hold.

[twinkle_77]

Thanks soooo much everyone. I think i may be ok to sell my first bracelet very soon now, they are soo gorgeous if i say so myself. I really need to learn how to upload pics on here. Could i use a scanner as i don't have a digital camera (yet)!!

Wish me luck!!

twinkle

[beadbox]

Hi, I've avoided stringing on elastic for years because of it's breakability. I got endless people wanting me to restring broken elastic bracelets. But people are insistent they want it!! So finally.... I've succumbed. Best stringing advice I can give is:
Use beads that aren't too heavy in the first place!!
Use two strands of fine instead of one thick strand if possible - it seems to hold knot better.
Use 2 or three knots on top of each other and pull tight (being careful not to pull out the slack/stretch required IN the bracelet)
Use clear nail varnish there seems to be something in the chemical compound that almost fuses the knot.
Hide the knot whilst still wet in a bead hole if poss. Don't test it until it's dry
(someone suggested that I try to melt the knot to fuse it with a match or lighter. Let me save you some time.... It doesn't work and will end in tears)
Good luck with the knotting and glueing though.
Carol