Sacred Heart of Jesus Rosary Makers at 130 Lombardy Road, Winter Springs, FL 32708 US - The Rosary-Makers Corner

Do you have a question about making rosaries? Have you been trying to make rosaries but just can't seem to get it right? Do you have a great idea you want to share with others? Well, this is the place to do it. On this page, we will feature your ideas, questions and comments. If you have a question or would like to share an idea, please email us at rosaryquestion@catholicweb.com, or use our convenient Contact Form. Mission Rosaries: * Make sure your knots are tight, especially those that have the cut ends. Always treat them with clear nail polish or a fray-preventitive such as Fray-Check® to keep the knots from coming undone. Broken rosaries are sad! * Treat the ends of your bonded cord with clear nail polish or a fray-preventitive such as Fray-Check® to keep them from fraying while stringing beads. * Cut and treat the ends of non-bonded #9 cord by burning them! Measure your cord and twist the area you would cut over an open flame. The heat will cut the cord and seal the ends at the same time. You may need to twist the cord ends a little while still warm to get a nice, smooth point - BE CAREFUL! This cord can get very hot! * Cut #36 cord the same as above, twisting the ends together while cord is still warm. Again - BE CAREFUL! This will eliminate the need for tape on the ends. * Use left-over or too-short pieces of #36 cord for stringing pony bead rosaries. Five to six feet of cord will make a full rosary; about 1.5-2 feet are needed for a one-decade rosary. Wrap the cord twice for knots around the Our Father beads, or use a 5-wrap knot for the Our Father beads instead. * Do your children love to make rosaries, but have difficulty making knots? Have them string rosaries with larger Our Father beads (8mm rounds or shaped pony beads work great here), and no knots between decades. Make the first knot for them, have them string all the decade and Our Father beads, then make the last knot about one inch from the end to allow "slide room." Make the double knot for them, have them add the next 5 beads, then add the crucifix for them. This still makes a nice, useable mission rosary, with less frustration for you and them. * Use a 7-day pill-sorter for organizing beads for children. Put 10 beads into each compartment for each decade, remaining 3 into the next compartment, and "Our Father" beads into the last one. Good also for those who like to talk at Rosary Guild meetings instead of counting beads! * Can't find your cord tool? Try bending in one side of a plastic drinking straw. It makes a great, temporary cord tool, also useful for making a last knot with #36 cord if your finger is just too big! Wire Rosaries: * To help keep wire rosaries from kinking, put all your beads on your eyepins the same way - i.e., open side up or down - and connect your beads the same way as well. Also, make sure the eyes are perfectly perpendicular and not bent - gently bend them back in place, if needed. * Toothpaste makes a great gentle cleaner for all types of chain rosaries, metal centers and crucifixes. * Eyepins or wire? Which is better to use? Both! Using eyepins lets you make your rosaries faster as you have to make only one loop. However, making eyepins from wire is a good skill to have. Occasionally, you might get a rosary with beads larger or smaller than the eyepins you have available. You'll need to know how to make your own eyepins for these times. * Oh those bows! This is one of the hardest skills to learn in rosary-making. The most frequent mistake we've seen is making the first bend too long and the loops too small. Our suggestion - get some cheap wire from a craft store and practice, practice, practice! You may want to start on a lighter guage wire (22 or 24) that is easier to bend, and then try the heavier 19 or 20 guage that is used on rosaries. Crafts & Misc. Ideas: * Knotted one-decade rosary. These are a great way to use leftover #36 cord! Here's how to make the rosary show here: Click here for picture 1) Use 3-4 feet of cord if you are using a crucifix; 5-6 feet of cord if you are making a knotted cross. 2) Start at one end and either make a 5-loop Our Father knot or add a shaped pony bead. If you use a pony bead, thread the cord through the bead and make a 3-loop Hail Mary knot. This will be the first Hail Mary of the chaplet. Try to make the first knot or add the bead as close to the end as possible - no more than about 2-2.5 inches from the end. 3) Continue making 3-loop Hail Mary knots until you have 9 total if you are using a crucifix, 10 total if you are using a knotted cross. 4) If you are adding a crucifix to your chaplet, thread the cord through the crucifix and make your last Hail Mary knot to secure it. If you are making a knotted cross, make a 5-loop Our Father knot, leave a small space, then two more 5-loop Our Father knots. Burn off the remaining cord from the end to use as your cross piece. Finish the cross in the usual fashion. 5) For chaplets with beads, carefully cut and burn the excess cord away from the bead. Do the same for the knot holding a crucifix. 6) For chaplets with tassles, cut off the sealed end of the cord hanging from the Our Father knot. It should be about 1-2 inches long. Take a clean, fine-tooth comb to gently brush apart the fibers to make the tassle.

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