What type of cord/wire would be best to re-string an old necklace?

High test polyethelene fishing line.

For pearls use jeweler’s cord, and knot it between the pearls. Monofilament will stretch.

It depends on what you are re-stringing. For the beads, wood needs a different treatment than glass, for instance. Get some tips from a professional beader and pearl restringer.

Pearls should be done on silk thread made for beads, knots between the pearls cushion the pearls. Glass beads and some stone beads need a metal cable centered beading cord usually has nylon or plastic coating. Ending and starting the string process can be tricky.

Nymo thread is great because it is virtually impossible to break. (It’s sort of like fishing line, except that it won’t cut into your skin.) It’s used for seed bead projects (brick + peyote stitch), but if your beads are heavier, you could double/triple strand it for strength. Also, it comes in a variety of colors, to match your beads.

I find that my favorite stringing material is actually (surprisingly) dental floss. Non-waxed, non-flavored floss is incredibly strong (stronger than fishing line in some cases) and is more flexible than other synthetic threads.

@ParaParaYukiko What a good idea! GA.

Silk in different weights/gauges is best because it’s very strong, comes in endless colors and knots well. Many hobby/craft/notions stores will carry books on knotting and stringing techniques. Silk should be changed out every few years since exposure to body oils and dry air will corrode it, the reason many strands break.

Wow…........thank you sooooooooooooooooooo much for all the suggestions!

I am doing pearls and then heavier beads as well…

I am going to check them all out!

Big hugs!

@DarlingRhadamanthus have fun