Want to make your own fringe earrings for the holidays or any other occasion? Read on to learn how to make these beautiful statement earrings.
Needed supplies:
- Miyuki beading thread (in a matching color)
- Needle (You can choose to use a beading neelde for the upper part of the earring and use a big eye stainless steel needle to make the fringes.)
- Stud earrings
- Open rings
- Miyuki seed beads 11-4204 (duracoat galvanized champagne)
- Miyuki seed bead 11-401F (opaque matte black)
- Miyuki seed beads 8-4204 (duracoat galvanized champagne)
Instructions:
Take a piece of beading thread about 1 meter long. Then, roughly cover the entire top with brick stitching. Begin with a ladder stitch to create the base for the brick stitch triangle (top of the earring) where you’ll attach the fringes.
Once the ladder stitch is finished, you can continue with the brick stitch technique until your pattern is finished. Here’s an example of the technique:
This is the brick stitch pattern for the top of the earring:
You end up with 2 beads on top to which you can attach a wire protector.
The top is now finished, and we can continue with the fringes. You can thread the thread all the way from top to bottom, or you can start with a new thread, which is also an option. Pay close attention to your pattern and count carefully, as each fringe has a different number to create a beautiful pattern and height variation. String the beads as shown in the next image. You don’t need to tie them together; simply continue threading them through the next bead. Be careful not to pull them too tight, but definitely not too loose either.
This is the fringe pattern for the bottom of the earring:
Once your fringes are finished, you can attach a stud of your choice.
You can make the fringe earrings as large or as small as you like.
Despite their appearance, they’re very comfortable to wear because they’re so light.
TIPS, TRICKS & VARIATION:
- You can string these kinds of earrings with seed beads or with delica beads. Delica beads are a bit easier because you can pull them tightly together.
- For many techniques, it doesn’t matter whether you use fireline or basting thread, but for this technique, we definitely recommend basting with basting thread. Especially with the fringes, it’s important to use basting thread so the fringes hang down nicely. You can stretch the basting thread a bit before you start basting. Also, be careful not to pull the fringes too tight to ensure a smooth drape.
- Are you having trouble getting the fringe to hang straight down, and have you tried not pulling it too tight? You could try stringing a slightly heavier bead onto the fringe last, so the weight helps it hang straighter. You could also stretch the fringe for a day using elastic bands and something you can securely wrap the elastic around to keep the earring flat. If you leave it like this for a day, the thread will stretch properly, and the earring will hang more smoothly.
- Is your brick stitch threading not staying flat? Delicate beads are easier to flatten than seed beads. If it’s still not working, you can paint the back of your earring with something like diamond graze to help it stay flat. We don’t have any experience with this ourselves, but we saw this tip on a Facebook group about jewelry making.
Have fun making these beautiful earrings!