Bad Break

For quite a while, I've been prattling on how wonderful it is to string on silk and knot between the beads. I've insisted that so long as you plan your projects properly, such as using spacers to protect against rough stone and glass edges, you will have no problems completing your project creating a lovely, and long-wearing piece of jewelry.

Well, yesterday was certainly a come-uppance for me - in the midst of knotting the first strand of a tiered necklace, my thread broke. Just ask I was snugging down a knot, one of the threads snapped. I couldn't believe it, the impossible just occurred!

I was using Gudebrod "E" weight silk thread, none of the beads were particularly rough and I was careful when knotting, not to put too much tension repeatedly at any one point. There are two explanations - one is that there was a flaw in the thread, and the other is that the thread got wounded before the project got started. As I was prepping for the stringing, there was a little tussle between the loose silk and the strand of Monolithic Agates. The silk and Agate strand seemed to develop an unwholesome relationship with each other. First the silk got caught between the teardrops, then the teardrop strand wound itself around and around and around the silk. It took a few minutes to coax the silk out of the Agates, and I then had to struggle to keep the two apart. So, it's possible that the thread got damaged, and was doomed before the project got started.

Now the question is, how am I going to fix this? I hate the thought of redoing the strand, but I think it's inevitable, since I don’t thing that just continuing to knot (perfectly possible, giving the location of the break) will result in a stable strand.

Besides, I am not sure that I love the color and size of the rose quartz between the bead caps. It's too pale against the agate.

For the record:
Materials:
Graduated strand of irregular drop-shaped Monolithic Agate - North Africa
10mm rose quartz - India
8mm smoky quartz - India
4mm garnet - India
8mm x 12mm tear drop burnt orange pearls - China
10mm vermeil bead caps - Thailand
2mm vermeil spacers - Thailand
5mm x 15mm vermeil oval jump rings (2)
Vermeil "S" clasp
1.5" gold french wire
Tools:
#10 beading needles (2)
Tri-cord knotting tool
Materials Cost: $100
Project Difficulty: 3 out of 5 (if it ever gets finished)