How to String or Restring an Amber Teething Necklace.

Here is something I have done several times but never posted instructions for. As I have written before, I love amber teething necklaces for my little ones. The necklaces need to be restrung every so often. You might think that would be a sign of poor quality, but it's actually very reassuring to me. When putting jewelry on your little ones, you want the necklace to give if there is real pressure put on it, so that the child will neither be choked, nor caught in machinery and dragged. That is why children's hoodies don't have laces, and the little sun hats you see these days have those terribly ineffective velcro closures. Safety first!
In the case of the teething necklaces, the knot at the clasp is the weakest spot on the necklace, and that is where it will break, but you don't need to buy a new necklace. Just get a new clasp and restring it!

Supplies:

• 8-10" length of sewing thread: Stiff quilting or buttonhole thread is great. 
• Plied nylon bead thread, 
• Fray Check or clear nail polish– I used a pale pink this time, 
• amber beads, 
• a NEW "plastic screw clasp"– search on eBay or Etsy, 
• scissors, 
• an Xacto knife or razor blade (not pictured),
• and jewelry glue or super glue. (Not pictured.)  

Directions:

1) Tie a knot in the nylon thread and cover it in nail polish to stop it from fraying. Clip the tail short, almost to the knot.

2) Cut a length of nylon thread more than twice as long as the original necklace. Be generous.

3) Your sewing thread will help you pull the fat, unruly nylon through the teeny tiny bead holes. Bring the ends of your sewing thread together and feed them through the concave side of one of the new screw clasps. You now have ends sticking through one side and a loop on the other. Feed 6" or so of the unknotted end of the nylon into the loop.

Tug on the free ends of the sewing thread to pull the loop and nylon through the hole in the clasp.
4) Tie a knot as close to the clasp as you can.

5) Pull each bead onto the new string the same way you pulled on the first clasp, and tie a knot snug and tight between each one. I find it fastest to pull a whole bunch of them on at a time and then tie all the knots afterward.
6) Pull on the second clasp piece convex side first. This is the part I just couldn't get a useful image for. You need to tie a knot close to the clasp now. As this is inside a tiny little opening it is not easy. I tend to jockey the knot down the string with a needle, but it's not easy and it always takes me quite a few tries! If you are craft-curser you might want to do this in a soundproof room, but you'll get it! Clip the nylon string.
7) The little screw barrel is entirely out at this point. Put a generous bead of your glue of convenience on the end of the barrel and screw it as far as you can into the clasp you just tied off. Let it dry.

8) The knot in the clasp makes the barrel stick out farther than it did before. Close the clasp to see how many extra thread lines you have. Unscrew and slice the end off with your blade.
9) Now all you have to do is tackle your sweetie to put the necklace on that cute little neck!

This is what "hold still" looks like in our house. I'm sure you can relate!