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The Tale of a Tool by Mary Harding

February 21, 2017
Free form Peyote Stitch necklace by Mary Harding

Earlier this winter when I was working on the above necklace, I was browsing pages on the Bello Mundo site and ended up on their blog looking at the blog post that teaches how to make a Mala necklace and wondering how I would ever make all those tiny knots between the beads.
My previous experience making knots was nothing to be proud of–see below

                                                          Picture of my not so good  irregular knotting

It turns out that far into the post on Making A Mala Necklace, after learning about its history and meaning, I came to the Materials Needed section (for the second necklace discusses, the Amethyst) and tucked in there as the last item was the AWL, a tool noted for being helpful for tying knots. (My experience with such a tool was for making divots in metal .) The word was clickable and I found myself  looking at the tool I will be extolling  the virtues of in this post:

The Tulip Awl
Close up of the Tulip Awl showing how fine the point is and its protective plastic cap

And better yet I had a coupon for 30% off.  ( Bello Modo has sales very often). This awl  has a cushioned grip which is very comfortable and enough heft to be well balanced when you are working with it.

When it arrived I tried it out instantly on the same beads as above (with a thicker piece of waxed linen) to see if my knotting would be improved.

Better but not yet perfect knotting using my Tulip Awl  Maple Leaf Pendant by Mary Harding

The rest of this tale is a list of what else this tool can do:

Undo knots in beading thread and fine wire
Remove stitching  mistakes in bead work i.e. pulling threads (stronger than a needle)
Clear holes in some beads like polymer clay or pearls
Break unwanted beads in seed beading projects
Tie tiny knots in fringe and other places

And

Some Art Beads to enjoy:

Handmade Ceramic Art Beads by Gaea
Handmade Porcelain Ceramic Beads with a crackle glaze  by Mary Harding

                      Handmade stoneware ceramic beads with sprigging by Natalie Pappas NKP Designs

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Please let us know if you have tried this tool in the comment section below. Perhaps you have found even more uses for it.

Mary



www.maryhardingjewelry.etsy.com
www. facebook.com/MaryHardingJewelry

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6 Comment

  1. Kathy Lindemer
    February 21, 2017 at 12:49 pm

    Sounds like a must have tool. I am going to check this out. Thanks Mary!

  2. Divya N
    February 21, 2017 at 3:28 pm

    An awl is a must have tool for me. Did you know that you can get them in various sizes/thickness too? I use them for everything from poking holes in cardboard to making coils (use the awl as a mandrel) to punch holes in thin metal sheets to finally knotting. I am glad that you discovered its uses

  3. Terri Del Signore
    February 22, 2017 at 5:31 am

    I need to get myself one of these!! Thank you Mary! I use a very fine tip tweezer when knotting but I like the idea of this tool!

  4. Kreativna radionica Monika
    February 22, 2017 at 10:21 pm

    These necklace are soo beautiful. Thank you Mary for sharring your beutiful works and tools. I also work with beads but I don't have this tool.

  5. Ann Schroeder
    February 25, 2017 at 8:32 am

    I have a tool very much like this. I use it for lots of stuff. It's great. Thanks for the post and the beads to drool over.

  6. Mary Harding
    March 3, 2017 at 3:14 pm

    Thank you all for your comments and interest in this post. I certainly appreciate your feedback.

Comments are closed.