Hemp Jewelry Designs

To continue on with how much cord you will need for a project, I have a few more tips on how to determine length of cords.

The question:

“Are these lengths like so if you used one cord for -both- strings? Like two strings this length and four strings to knot with, if that makes sense? I would imagine it’s like this, but that’s a lot of wasted chord and work if I’m thinking wrong.”

If I am understanding the question, you are asking if the tips I posted about determining cord lengths are for both sets of cords…the bearers and the knotters.

The answer:

It depends. Depending on what style of knotting you are going to use, your cord lengths for the knotters and the bearers can either be the same or they can be different.

I know if I am going to make a bracelet that will not be using the knot bearers as knotting cords (such as the switch knot) I will not need as much cord for the knot bearers. Hence, I can cut those cords shorter than the knotting cords. Usually, I measure the finished length of the piece of jewelry and then add about 6 inches to that to make sure I have enough left over cord for tie ends. (assuming that is the closure I am going to use)

If I am going to use the knot bearers somehow as knotting cords within the piece, I am going to cut the same amount of length for both the knot bearers AND knotting cords.

Is it a waste of hemp? Sometimes. But I will tell you, I would rather have TOO much hemp than NOT enough. Nothing sucks more than being in the middle of a piece of jewelry and realizing that I will not have enough cord to finish the project.

The more you work with different knotting styles, the more you will automatically know how much cord you will need for the bearers and for the knotters. At first it will be almost trial and error. But if you stick to some guidelines in the beginning that will help you along the way.

Does this make sense? If not, let me know any questions you have. IF you don’t ask questions, then I can’t help

Happy Knotting

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To add to how much cord do I need post, here are a couple more tips to help you determine cord length.

I have been asked by a faithful reader a couple of good questions to help with deciding on cord length.

“Is there a way to know how -much- more or less chord I should get depending on the knot?”

The answer is yes and no For me, it just took practice and lots of trial and error to get it down to where I was not wasting alot of cord or not having enough cord. I just kept to some guidelines, and went from there.

If you are using a knot that is very ’small’–meaning, there is less cord to use to complete one knot, like the half hitch or the half knot, then you are going to use more cord to finish the piece. Does that make sense?

If you are using a knot that is ‘larger’–meaning, there is more cord needed to complete one knot, then you might not need as much cord to finish the piece of jewelry.

Let me do a for example to see if I can explain it a little bit better.

If you are making a piece of jewelry using ..oh lets say the pretzel knot, we KNOW that it will take a lot of cord to make the actually knot itself, and the knot will also take up a larger space in the design, which means less knots need to create it, meaning probably less cord will be needed. Hmmm, maybe that is confusing or not a good example.

On the other hand, if we are going to use the half hitch knot to make a necklace, we KNOW this is a simple knot and one knot is finished using very little cord, so it is going to take a lot of knots to finish the piece. Therefore, we will need more cord for this knot.

Try this experiment to see if it will help you see what I mean.

Let’s make two pieces of jewelry. One with just half knots, and one with the switch knot. We want the jewelry size to be the same size when finished, so you can see how much cord you used with both experiments. I am just pulling numbers out, hopefully this will work.

1. Cut 4 cords, 2 for knotters and 2 for knot bearers
2. Length of all cords cut at 25 inches.
3. Tie overhand knot but leave about 2 inches on the ends before you start your knotting

Ok, work with the first piece of jewelry and just make half knots for about 4 inches.  Make the ending overhand knot and set this aside.

Do the second piece of jewelry and just use the switch knot, and knot until you get 4 inches done, the end with a overhand knot.

Compare your two pieces of jewelry. See how much more cord was needed for the first one? How much cord do you have left over at the end? Compare it to the second one.

Did this experiment even work for you? lol.  Maybe I was just too long winded to say that there really isn’t a magic formula to know how much more or less cord to use depending on the knot, I wish there was, and if there is I don’t know it.

I will have to wait on the second question and answer as I over ‘talked’ in this one!

Any questions? comments? Let me know. If I confused you all to heck, well…I apologize lol.

Happy Knotting

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There are several different ways to do closures for hemp jewelry.

1. Tied ends (the most popular)
2. Clasps
3. Adjustable closures
4. Bead and Loop

Tied Ends

The most common and most simple to do is the tie ends. This is a good closure for hemp ankle bracelets, hemp chokers and hemp necklaces. When finished with your jewelry, make and overhand knot and cut the excess hemp to about 3-4 inches which will be used to tie together for a closure. I leave at least that much so that I can test and make sure it is enough. It is easier to cut cords than to not have enough!

Using Clasps for Closure

I use clasps when the hemp necklaces has heavy or breakable beads in the design. There are several different types of clasps out there, you just need to search until you find ones that you like!

Start with Walmart , Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, and of course search the net, google is your friend.

It can be a bit tricky when trying to fasten clasps to the hemp, as it is not the same as with chain jewelry. I have found that when I have 3 or 4 pieces of hemp at the end of my piece, stringing the clasp onto one of them and then tying an overhand knot works pretty well. You can do the same for the jump ring on the other end of the jewelry piece.

The Adjustable Closure

The adjustable closure is pretty cool, and easy to do. When finished with your piece, make sure you have a lot of cord left over.

Take the leftover cord and make a wrap knot around them with a new smaller piece of cord and your done! I will put up specific instructions soon with pictures to show how it is done.

Bead and Loop

With this closure you will want to start your hemp piece by making a loop and then start to knot your jewelry. When finished you can add a bead, tie an overhand knot and your done.

Make sure that your loop is big enough for the bead to fit through but small enough so that the bead doesn’t come back out easily.

If there are any other closure types you know about let me know! These are just the 4 that I have seen or used. Thanks for coming by!

Happy Knotting

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