How to make Native American Inspired earrings - Earrings with beaded tassels tutorial
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How to make Native American Inspired earrings - Earrings with beaded tassels tutorial
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Information about project:
How to make Native American Inspired earrings - Earrings with beaded tassels tutorial
Designed by: Paula Ziemska
Difficulty: Intermediate
Earrings with tassels don’t go out of fashion and that’s not surprising – they look beautiful. In this jewellery making tutorial Paula Ziemska shows how to make native American style earrings from TOHO beads. You can have lots of fun with the colours, because these earrings look pretty in both subdued, pastel colours and intensive, bold colours. This is one of them projects that calls for experimenting. Let’s stitch!
Materials Needed;
- TOHO beads - 11/0 (I used 4 colours)
- Dagger beads - 22 pieces
- Firepolish beads - 3mm or 4mm or other beads with a diameter of 3 to 4 - we will need 22 pieces
- Jewellery thread - for beading e.g. Beadsmith s-lon aa tex 35
- Jewellery needle - John James 10/13
- Earwires - 19mm
- Jewellery tools - scissors and pliers
Please note that the colours of the items listed in the products used list above may not match the illustrated image.
Step 1
Prepare a long piece of thread – about 1.5m long.
Step 2
String 11 TOHO beads and slide them down leaving about a 50cm tail.
Step 3
Stitch using the basis of the brick stitch – pass down through the first bead so that we have a loop on one side of the bead.
Step 4
Take the second bead and pass down through it. Repeat with the rest of the beads.
Step 5
Half of the most difficult part done.
Step 6
Thread the shorter part of the thread (the tail thread).
Step 7
String 1 TOHO bead.
Step 8
Pass under the threads that connect the first bead with the second one.
Step 9
As you pass under the threads, snug the bead down.
Step 10
Pass the thread up through the new bead, so that the thread comes out of the top of the bead.
Step 11
The first bead of the second row added.
Step 12
String 1 TOHO bead and pass under the threads between the beads in the first row.
Step 13
Pass down through the bead.
Step 14
Continue until you have 10 beads added in this row.
Step 15
The second row should look like this.
Step 16
Nothing changes in the next rows except for the number of the beads added in each row. So that there are 9 beads in the 3rd row.
Step 17
Add one bead less in each of the following rows.
The 4th row.
Step 18
The 5th row
Step 19
The 6th row.
Step 20
The 7th row.
Step 21
The 8th row.
Step 22
The 9th row.
Step 23
The 10th row.
Step 24
Now, add the beads that help you attach the earring. String 4 TOHO beads. Pass down through the top bead (the one without the thread).
Step 25
Without adding any beads pass through to the very first bead (the one the shorter thread comes out of). Don’t pull this thread too tight – this may cause the rhombus roll to the middle (though, it looks pretty good as well).
Step 26
Now, continue making the rhombus. As we did it before, add 10 TOHO according to the beginning of the tutorial.
Step 27
The 2nd row.
Step 28
The 3rd row.
Step 29
The 4th row.
Step 30
The 5th row.
Step 31
The 6th row.
Step 32
The 7th row.
Step 33
The 8th row.
Step 34
The 9th row.
Step 35
The 10th row.
Step 36
The 11th row. Add 1 TOHO bead. To make this bead “stable” pass through the bead in the previous row.
Step 37
Without adding any beads pass through 3 sides of the rhombus (don’t pull the thread too tight). This makes our work and the place for the earring more solid. The thread should come out of the other side of the work (opposite the side with the shorter thread).
Step 38
Now it’s time to make our 'feathers'.
String 2 x TOHO → 1 x Firepolish → 4 x TOHO → 1 x Dagger → 3 x TOHO
Step 39
Then go through with the needle into the bead that was right behind the FP bead. Pass the thread back through the bead right behind the Firepolish bead.
Step 40
Pass down through the nearest TOHO bead and the very next one – so pass through two nearest TOHO beads.
Step 41
The first feather is done!
Step 42
Repeat the steps to make 4 more feathers.
Step 43
While adding the top feather (the middle one) pass through the bead which the thread comes out of and the nearest TOHO bead.
Step 44
Add another feather the same way as you added the first five ones (make a feather and pass through two nearest TOHO beads).
Step 45
Nearly finished. While adding the last feather pass the thread down through two sides of the rhombus. Secure the working thread and trim.
Step 46
Repeat that with the shorter thread.
Step 47
Now, you just need to add the ear wire, make the second earring and enjoy your new jewellery.
Step 48
Here you can see how the earrings may look if you pull the side threads tight.
Let us know if you like the native American style earrings. If the tutorial inspires you to work, make sure you share your version on our Facebook Group!
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