Pendant necklaces are often made from a simple pendant threaded on to some leather thong or cotton cord. This can be tied at the back, but for a professionl finish, read on.

Thong clamps are specially designed to take thong.. Their function is to grip the thong tightly, providing an elegant and professional looking end to the necklace, rather than a rough knot, but also, crucially, allowing the necklace to be opened and closed using a clasp, since they have a small ring at the end allowing them to be joined to the clasp.

1, First, you will probably need to fold over the thong a few times, to make sure there is enough material for the clamp to grip, since in fact the clamp is designed to take up to three or four thicknesses of thong.

2, Rest the thong inside the clamp, as pictured. You might want to add a dab of glue at this stage, to keep the thong in place while closing the clamp. Allow to dry.

3. Using strong narrow nosed pliers, close the left hand wing of the clamp over the thong, this should cover all the thong strands completely,

4. Close the right hand wing over the flattened left hand wing.

Sometimes, thong is used to make very effective side pieces in necklaces, adding colour and comfort to pendant charm necklace styles, chain-links,  and ropes, so that the centre is just a small section of strung beads or chain, or linked sections,  and the side is finished off with thong(see example left), This is where using a thong clamp really helps, as the thong side pieces often use two or three strands of different coloured thong. follow the products links for kits like this.

Also, if you are using a single strand, it is sometimes easier just to make a tight knot in the cord, and cover with a knot cover called a calotte, see the related article, below  for more details.

Adding a clasp

www.rockingrabbit.co.uk/node/1635

Using Calottes

www.rockingrabbit.co.uk/node/1633