How to Tie an Overhand Knot In Between Beads

Knotting between beads is a traditional technique, which is useful when stringing pearls or other semi-precious gems. By placing a knot between beads, it ensures that if your cord breaks, only one bead will fall off. It can also be a very effective way of adding decoration to your jewelry!

You can use any type of cord for this technique, including leather and hemp cord, as long as it’s quite thin or flexible. We’ve used a silk cord here to demonstrate how knotting between beads should be done. It all starts with an overhand knot!

In case you’re not sure what an overhand knot is, it’s just your basic knot that you probably do a few times per day anyway! To make an overhand knot, cross the two ends of the cord over each other, pass one end through the loop and pull.

Step 1

To begin, tie an an overhand knot and thread on your first bead. Then start to make another overhand knot as shown in the picture above – but don’t pull the cord just yet – otherwise your knot won’t end up sitting right next to the bead!

Step 2

Use tweezers to grip the cord right above the first bead. Place your tweezers through the loop to do this.

Step 3

Pull the cord tight and you’ll find that the knot slides down the cord until it reaches the tweezers.

Step 4

Carefully slide the tweezers out of the loop and use them again to push the knot even closer to the bead. Then simply repeat until you have enough beads threaded on with knots in between to make your desired project!

This article forms part of our Beading Basics section. Take a look around for more tutorials like this.