PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.

Give your new belly dance costume an attractive finished look by making a pair of beaded earrings to match your bra and belt. Achieve the look of being in costume from head to toe. Delight the other members of your troupe by making earrings for them that match their troupe costumes.

All it takes is a few inexpensive bugle beads and seed or rocaille beads, strong beading thread, thin beading needle, and scissors.

These instructions describe how to make a pair of simple beaded earrings like the pair pictured here. Included is a brief explanation of the supplies used for such a project, plus some suggestions for variations you can try after finishing your first pair.

At the end of this article is a list of instruction books offering designs for other styles of beaded earrings. If you enjoyed making the ones here, you'll enjoy the many ideas that they offer for additional projects.

It takes someone who is experienced at making this type of earrings about 35 minutes per earring to make these. As a novice earring maker, you can expect to take a while longer, but after you've made a few pairs, you'll find that they go together quickly!

Step 1 (Begin Row 1)

Cut a piece of the nymo thread about 60 inches (152 centimeters) long. Thread it through the beading needle. Thread two of the bugle beads onto the needle. Leave a tail at the end of the thread about 4 inches (10 centimeters) long.

Click on the image to the right to see the illustration in more detail.

Step 2

Hold the two bugle beads side-by-side. Thread the needle back through the first bead that was threaded, entering at point 1 and exiting at point 2 as shown in this diagram.

Thread the needle again through the second bead that was strung, entering at point 3 and exiting and point 4. Pull the thread taut so that the two bugle beads are held in place snugly against each other.

Click on the image to the right to see the drawing in more detail.

Step 3

Thread a third bugle bead onto the needle.

Click on the image to the right to see the drawing in more detail.

Step 4

Thread the needle through the second bead you had added, entering again at point 3 as shown in the above diagram and exiting again at point 4.

Bring it a second time through the third bead, entering at point 5 and exiting at point 6 as shown in the diagram to the right.

Pull the thread taut so that the bugle beads are held snugly next to each other. Thread a fourth bead through the needle.

Click on the image to the right to see the drawing in more detail.

Step 5

Bring the needle through the third bead another time, entering again at point 5 and exiting again at point 6.

Thread it through the fourth bead, entering at point 7 and exiting at point 8. Pull the thread taut so that the bugle beads are held snugly against each other.

Continue like this until you have a row of 7 bugle beads snugly nestled against one another.

Click on the image to the right to see the illustration in more detail.

Step 6

To complete the foundation row, thread the needle back through each bugle bead once again as shown by the dotted line in the diagram, to give added strength and reinforcement to the row of beads. Go all the way to the beginning, until you have passed the needle through the starting bead a final time.

Pull the thread taut so the bugle beads are held snugly against each other.

Click on the image to the right to see the illustration in more detail.

Step 7 (Begin Row 2)

Thread two red rocaille beads onto the needle, and draw them down next to the foundation row. Place the needle so that it passes under the threads connecting the tops of beads 2 and 3, between the two beads. Draw it all the way through, and pull the thread taut.

Click on the image to the right to see the illustration in greater detail.

Step 8

Pass the needle upward through the bottom of the second red rocaille bead that was strung and pull the thread through. Note the close-up detail in the diagram to the right.

Click on the image to the right to see the diagram in greater detail.

Thread one gold rocaille bead onto the needle, and attach it under the thread that joins beads 3 and 4. Add one more gold rocaille, then two red rocailles. There will be a total of 6 beads on this row: 2 red on each end, and 2 gold in the middle.

Click on the image to the right to see the illustration in more detail.

Step 9

Thread one red, then one gold rocaille bead onto the needle, and attach the same way you attached the first two beads on row 1. Attach a red rocaille, followed by a gold rocaille, then one more red. You will end up with a total of 5 beads on this row, alternating between red and gold.

For Rows 3 Through 5, continue adding rows of rocaille beads, following the colors shown on the chart to the right.

Click on the image to the right to see the illustration in more detail.

Step 10 (Hanger)

String 4 red rocaille beads onto the needle. Bring the needle down through the other bead on row 5. For added strength, bring the needle back up again through the first bead on row 5, through all 4 "hanger" beads, and down through the second bead on row 5. Note the path that the dotted line takes in the diagram.

Click on the image to the right to see the illustration in more detail.

Step 11

You have completed the header. It's time to make the dangles, which are the fringe that hangs down from the foundation row. Run the needle down through the holes of the rocaille beads along the side of the header, and out through the bugle bead below them in the foundation row.

Click on the image to the right to see the illustration in more detail.

Step 12

String 3 red rocaille beads, then 1 size 2 gold bugle bead, then 3 more red rocaille beads, then 1 size 5 bugle bead, then 3 rocaille beads all onto the thread. Next, run the needle back through the size 5 bugle bead, then all the rocaille beads and bugle above it. Run it back through the bead at the top of the foundation row, then down through the adjacent bead on the foundation row.

The three rocaille beads at the bottom of the dangle will form a little triangular fleurette. Pull the thread taut so that there is no bare thread between the foundation row bugle bead and the first rocaille, but don't pull it too tight or the fringe won't dangle properly.

Click on the image to the right to see the illustration in more detail.

Step 13 (Finish Off Working Thread)

String the remaining fringe. For each column, come down through the foundation row bugle bead, string the rocailles and bugle beads, come back up through them, and back up through the foundation row.

The second column of fringe will have 4 red rocaille beads, then a gold size 2 bugle bead, then 4 more rocaille, a size 5 bugle bead, and 3 rocaille beads for the bottom fleurette.

Each column adds 2 more rocailles, one on each side of the size 2 bugle bead, until you reach the center column, which is the longest. From there, reduce by 2 rocaille beads, one on each side of the size 2 bugle bead, until you reach the other end.

Click on the image to the right to see the illustration in more detail.

Step 14 (Finish Off Starting Thread Tail)

After coming back up through the final foundation row bugle bead, run the needle up through three of the rocaille beads along the edge. Tie a knot around the thread that lies between rows 3 and 4 to anchor it, and finally run the thread back down through some of the other rocaille beads. Cut the thread off close to the beads so that the tail isn't visible.

Thread the starting tail of thread through the needle. Draw it up through the bugle bead on the foundation row next to it, and through some of the rocaille beads in the header. Cut the thread off close to the beads so that the tail isn't visible.

Click on the image to the right to see the illustration in more detail.

Experiment with varying the color placement, as shown in the diagram to the right. For example:

• All one color
• Reverse the red and the gold
• Make the "V" shape in the header upside-down
• Keep the original color scheme, except make the foundation row red

Click on the image to the right to see the illustration in more detail.

One variation is to make the earrings either larger or smaller. This illustration is based on the basic design described in the instructions above, but it shows a foundation row that uses 9 bugle beads instead of 7. The fringe is also longer, using about twice as many beads as the design above.

Of course, there are some disadvantages to making the earrings larger:

1. They're heavier and therefore more uncomfortable to wear
2. They use more beads and therefore have a slightly higher cost of materials
3. They take longer to make
4. They may overpower a petite dancer

If you're planning to make earrings to sell, then you'll want to charge more if you make the larger ones.

Click on the image to the right to see the illustration in more detail.

• Gold with almost anything
• Silver with almost anything
• Coppery brown with orange, peach, green, blue, or red
• Black with either red or white
• "Autumn Leaf" colors (brown, red, gold, and orange together)
• The colors of your country's flag
• "Christmas" colors (red, green, and gold together)
• Fuschia with turquoise
• Fuschia with lavender
• Turquoise with lavender
• Emerald green with royal blue
• "Halloween" colors (black and orange)
• The entire earring made out of only one color
• Two different shades (one light, one dark) of the same color, as shown in this example of blue earrings

Slanted Dangles

To the right, is another very simple variation on the basic pattern. Instead of forming a "V" shape, the fringe is slanted, and the slant is echoed in the arrangement of colors in the header.

This earring is made entirely with rocaille (or seed) beads and size 2 bugle beads. You can make it slightly larger by making a foundation row of 9 beads. The foundation row is 7 bugle beads.

This is a good design to use if you want to incorporate three colors in your finished earring. The design to the right uses red, green, and gold, which would suit a Christmas performance. You could also combine red, blue, and silver for an appealing look. Or, try the autumn colors of red, gold, and coppery brown.

To the right are two more designs for variations on the beaded earrings.

Large Bugle Beads in the Dangles

In the design on the left side of this diagram, size 2 bugle beads are used for the foundation row, but the fringe uses bugle beads that are 1 inch (or 25 mm) in length. For added pizzazz, look for a bead shop that sells the 1-inch or 25-mm bugle beads that have a twist to them.

The design to the right shows how size 2 bugle beads can be used for the entire header (except, of course, the hanger). This gives an elongated look to the header which makes for an interesting variation. Use a heavier beading thread for this pair, because the sharp edges of bugle beads can cut a lightweight beading thread when making the header. The fringe for this pair uses an inverted "V" shape, and is composed primarily of bugle beads with just a small number of rocaille beads for contrast. For a Christmas tree look, make the header out of green bugle beads, the hanger out of gold, and omit the fringe.

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Contact:

The Beaded Bear
P.O. Box 110894
Campbell, CA 95011
U.S.A.

Contact the publisher:

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Phone: (+1) (619) 443-7982

or contact the distributor:

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Phone: (+1) (714) 830-3156

Contact:

Eagle's View Publishing
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Liberty, UT 84310
U.S.A.

Contact:

Eagle's View Publishing
6756 North Fork Road
Liberty, UT 84310
U.S.A.

Contact:

Eagle's View Publishing
6756 North Fork Road
Liberty, UT 84310
U.S.A.