Beaded Door Curtain

• 6mm Nylon or Cotton cord (200 yards of each color)
• Tension rod that fits the doorway to be decorated
• Seventeen 20mm Oval or Spindle Beads with 10mm holes
• 15mm beads for the fringe (8mm holes)
• Measuring Tape

Knots Used:

• Larks Head Knot
• Alternating Square Knots
• Overhand Knot
• Alternating V Patterns
• Barrel Knot
  
• Wrapped Knot
• Making Fringe

Cutting and Mounting Instructions:

Step 1: Cut 16 strands of Color A, each 11 yards long.  Cut 4 strands of Color A material, each 5 yards long. Cut 16 strands of Color B, each 11 yards long. Prepare the ends with glue or wax to prevent unraveling.  Cut 8 Color B cords, each 18 inches long.  There’s no need to prepare the ends of these particular strands.

Step 2:  Mount all the cords to the tension rod with Larks Head knots.  Fold the cords in half as you place them in the following order:

Creating the Top Section

Step 3:  As you make the top section of the Beaded Door Curtain, you will tie all the Square knots with 2 working cords and 2 fillers.  Start by tying 5 rows of Alternating Square Knots, using all the cords.

Step 4:  Go to the 8 Color A strands in the middle of the Beaded Door Curtain.  They are the 5-yard cords.  Tie 2 Square knots.  Slide one of the large beads onto cords 2 and 3.  Tie a Barrel Knot with cords 4 and 5 (below the bead) to hold it in place.

Step 5:  For the remaining rows, you will be creating an inverted V shape, sometimes called a Wing design. To do this, you will be dropping certain strands with each new row.  Mentally number the cords from left to right.

The following chart will tell you which cords to use for each half of the Beaded Door Curtain.

The cords in the center (Color A) will not be included in these rows.

Step 6:  The 16 large beads are to be placed along the diagonal edges of the V formation. Slide them onto sets of 2 Color B strands, so they rest against the ASK. Tie a Barrel Knot below each bead to secure it. 

Step 7:  Go to the Color A strands at the left edge of the Beaded Door Curtain, and divide the cords into 4 groups of four cords.  Use the 15-inch pieces of Color B material to make a Wrapped knot around each group.  The knot can be any size you want. Tighten it as much as you can, and cut off the excess from the cord used to make the knot.  Be careful not to cut the long cords, since they will be used for the fringe.

Repeat the process with the Color A cords at the right edge.

Making the Beaded Fringe

Step 8:  Hang the Beaded Door Curtain inside the doorway you will be decorating.  Apply the small beads to all the Color A strands at each edge of the curtain.  There should be no beads on the ends of the Color B strands at all.

Attach the beads along the length of each cord, with approximately 4 to 6 inches of space between them.  Don't try to match them up. It's better to arrange them in dfferent areas of each cord. To prevent them from sliding down, tie an Overhand knot just below each bead. 

Slide a bead onto the tips of each cord, followed by a Barrel Knot. Leave a small tail after the knot, and unravel the material. It will look like a Tassel.