Jewelry Making 101: Make a Sliding Knot Closure

Posted on June 17, 2008 by Christine

I recently received this question about making a sliding knot closure for a necklace from Mary, a I’m Making Jewelry in My Jam Jams newsletter subscriber:

My favorite jewelry comes on a cord that is continuous. That is to say that I don’t undo it to take it off or put it around my neck.

When it is on and hanging at the length that I want, it seems to be on strand - however, near the back of my neck it is 2 strands, each with some kind of slip knot or noose.

This allows me to lenghten and shorten the necklace - no clasp involved. I would like to learn how to make this type of closure.

Someone told me it is a hangman’s noose, but I’m not sure about that.

Any ideas? Thank you, Mary

I love this type of closure too. No clasp, no fiddling, a great way to finish a casual necklace. Here are some resources that will show you how to make one:

Simple sliding Knot Closure Instructions from Ruby’s Bead Work This tutorial will show you how to make the quickest, easiest sliding knot closure. I use this one on my 5 year old daughter’s bead projects.

Need more?

Here’s a video for those of you who need to see live action instructions.

And here’s my favorite…

Want to make more decorative knot? Here are some clear instructions for a more decorative sliding knot from satincord.com . This is called a "triple connection knot"