Making a Mala
A few years back I took a Mala making workshop with Wish Flower Studios, and then another one with them with mom and Bella, my youngest daughter, and then again with my friend Janet. After the third workshop I was hooked and started making them on my own with the help of a of You Tube video or two.
Last year I wanted to see if I could make a ‘mini’ mala with smaller beads so when the Gem and Mineral show came to Denver, I was on a mission to find the ideal strand of beads. I succeeded both in finding the beads an making the Mala! While at the show, I noticed these amazing vintage medallions carved in jade. I thought they were cool but couldn’t figure out what I’d do with them, so I didn’t buy them. These jade pieces haunted my thoughts for the rest of the year! So, when the Gem and Mineral show came around this year, I was on a mission to find the medallions and buy them!
Mission accomplished and I purchased three different discs, one is green jade with a dragon carving, another one, also green jade, has the Pisces zodiac sign carved into it (I happened to be a Pisces so that one was a no brainer). The third one is larger, also a dragon but it is made of yellow jade. I love all three! Of course, once I bought them, I still had the question of what to do with them? The answer came easily enough once I got them home and noticed that two out of the three hand small holes on the top and bottom of the disc. The solution… make a Mala, not one but two Malas!
After much contemplation, it was back to the Gem and Mineral show to find some beads, red coral beads for the yellow jade and smaller green jade beads to go with the green jade dragon. Sadly, the Pisces didn’t have a hole that went all the way through on one end. I will save that one for another idea yet to be conceived!
While at the show I picked up two other red coral beads that looked like small pieces of naturally shaped coral and a larger round red bead also coral. For the Guru bead and accent beads for the green jade dragon medallion I used Rose Quartz beads of which I had on hand.
With all the beads accounted for it was time to pick up the rest of the supplies to make the Mala. For those who might be interested in making your own Mala I’m including the full list of supplies here, this includes what I already had on hand:
Small jewelry pliers
Scissors
Bead stringing wire .012 in/.30 mm/31 m
Super Glue
Lon Cord size 18 twisted Nylon
Embroidery thread
108 beads
1 larger Guru bead
The bead stringing wire and the embroidery thread you can get at Hobby Lobby or Michaels (craft stores), the pliers and super glue can also be purchased at a craft store or a hardware store. I had to order the Lon Cord from Amazon because I couldn’t find the right size or color in the craft store. Depending on the quality of beads you want and the price you are willing to pay you can get your beads at a craft store, or a specialty bead shop or if you want to save money and you are patient you can wait for the annual Gem and Mineral show and get real stones and or semi-precious gems for your beads!
To make your Mala you need about 20 feet of Lon Cord of which you double so that you are working with ten feet when it comes time to string the beads. I learned the hard way that when the videos and other online tutorials talk about ten feet of cord, they are talking about cord that is ten feet when doubled, not ten feet total! Not to worry if you wind up short, one of the videos links I’ve included is on how to add string to your Mala. Once you’ve sized your cord, measure about 8 inches in and tie the first knot. Cut a piece of the Bead string wire about two inches in length and fold it over. This will act as your needle to thread the beads onto the string. Take your needle and place it on the loop end of the cord. I learned from the workshops that it is more time efficient if you thread all the beads at once. A true Mala contains 108 beads. When I count out my beads, I count twice just to make sure I have 108, I also learned the hard way that it is better to buy extra beads then to discover you come up short when it comes time to string and knot.
After you have all your beads on the cord, it’s time to start knotting. Push your first bead to the end of the cord flush with the first knot you’ve made. Make a second knot on the other side of the bead and pull tight. A well-made Mala does not have any space between the bead and the knot. your bead should now have a knot on either side of it. Pull your next bead down and make another knot. You continue this process, which will probably take you a couple of hours, until all the beads are knotted in place.
Now you are ready to thread your Guru bead. Start with the cut side of the string and thread both strands through the bead (you may have to use your needle and pull one at a time through if the bead hole is too small.) Once that side is threaded, use your needle, and pull the loop side of the cord through the Guru bead. Take both sides of the cord and knot them together thus tying your Guru bead in place. For a traditional Mala, the next step is to add the tassel. For the two Mala’s I made with the Jade medallions this is where I got creative! I added extra accent beads on either side of the disc and then it with the tassel.
To add the tassel, you take the wrapper off the embroidery thread and pull out each end slightly. Next you lay the Embroidery thread across the cord so that when you go to knot the cord around the Embroidery thread you tie it in the middle. Once knotted, squeeze out a small dot of super glue on the knot, this is to ensure the knot doesn’t slip and the tassel stays put.
Once the glue dries, fold the Embroidery thread over and take one of the ends and wrap it around the bundle about a quarter of an inch from the top. I usually wrap it around about 13 times, but you can do as many or as few loops as you like, just make sure it is tight! Next take the other end of the Embroidery thread and tie it together with the end you just looped around the top. Make sure you’ve tucked the Mala cord in so that it is hidden in the center of the tassel before you tie the Embroidery thread off. The final step is to cut the end of the tassel so that you create a kind of fringe which is what you see at the end of any type of tassel. With that, your Mala is complete!
YouTube Reference links:
https://youtu.be/H2VkENk3NJc
