Soft Flex for strength and to prevent stretching; knotting to cushion the beads and prevent the ends from grinding on one another.

Whenever I use Soft Flex I use glass seed beads or small wooden beads as pivot points between the larger beads - dramatically increases the flexibility of the necklace, as large beads strung tightly can not only damage each others' ends, but can actually produce enough leverage to snap the wire if bent into a tight curve (as happens if the piece, heaven forfend, is dropped).