How to make seed bead earrings

Inspired by the beauty of ancient Egyptian jewellery we make the most of simple seed beads with these beautiful seed bead earrings.

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Holly Spanner

Published: April 28, 2021 at 5:58 am

Seed beads are versatile, plentiful and cheap to buy. You can often find boxes of them in pound shops or dollar stores - so they make excellent jewellery making materials. They are easy to work with, and because you get so many in a pot, they go a long way! We've added some gold plated coin beads in this project, to really show off these seed bead earrings at their best.

These Egyptian inspired seed bead earrings are part of a three-part series, where we show you how to make a matching set of seed bead jewelry - seed bead earrings (this post), a seed bead necklace and seed bead bracelets. The turquoise, ivory and gold seed beads are ideal for sun-soaked summer months - but you can switch up the colours to suit season or recipient if you're giving them as a gift.

Looking to try your hand at more jewellery? Check out these beautiful peacock feather earrings, or why not upcycle some old lace, treat it with fabric stiffener and make this gorgeous lace necklace? We show you how with our free step-by-step tutorials.

We love seeing what you make, so don’t forget to share your craft projects with us on Facebook and Twitter, too!

To make these seed bead earrings you will need:

52 ivory seed beads (26 per earring)
50 gold seed beads (25 per earring)
48 turquoise seed beads (24 per earring)
6 x gold-plated 10mm coin charms (3 for each earring)
12 x 5cm (2") long, gold-plated headpins
- (6 for each earring - 5 for the drops, 1 for the top)
10cm of gold-plated rollo chain, 2.5mm links
2 x Gold-plated earring fittings
Jewellery making tools

How to make seed bead earrings

Size

2.5 x 6cm (1 x 2¼")

Step 1

How to make seed bead earrings – step 1

For these seed bead earrings, pick up four gold seed beads, seven ivory, then four more gold seed beads on a headpin. Bend over at 90 degrees and trim the tail to 7mm. Use round nose pliers to create a loop. Repeat to make one more seed bead drop.

Step 2

How to make seed bead earrings

Trim head off a headpin; form a loop on one end. Pick up four turquoise, ivory, gold, ivory, gold, ivory, gold, ivory and four turquoise beads. Bend headpin over at end of beads. Trim to 7mm and form a loop. Make two more. Attach a coin bead into the loop at one end of each bead bar.

You should now have five beaded drops – this is just for one seed bead earring, so you’ll need 10 in total.

Step 3

How to make seed bead earrings

Make a loop on the end of another headpin. Snip off the head. Pick up a turquoise bead, coin bead link, a turquoise bead then an ivory and gold seed bead drop. Continue adding turquoise beads and alternating the bars and drops. Bend the tail over at the end, trim and form a loop.

Step 4

How to make seed bead earrings

Cut a 3.5-4cm (1½") length or 23 links of chain (an odd number of links). Attach the end link into a loop at each side of the earring. Attach an earring fitment to the centre link in the chain.

Repeat to make a second seed bead earring in the same way. Congratulations – you now have a pair of seed bead earrings!

How to make seed bead earrings – on model

Once you’ve made your seed bead earrings be sure to tag us in a picture on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook – we love to see when you’ve made one of our projects!

Staff Writer, BBC Science Focus

Holly is the Staff Writer for BBC Science Focus and looks after the popular Q&A section. She holds an MSc (distinction) in Geoscience (Space and Climate Physics) from UCL, and specialises in astronomy and earth sciences. Before joining Our Media, she worked as a geoenvironmental consultant and engineer, informing on ground risk and remediation in the north of England, while hunting for exoplanets in her spare time. Alongside this, she was regional editor of a popular theatre website for nine years, and has a solid background in curating and developing content for the digital space. Holly is also an artist and illustrator, and regular contributor to the craft website, Gathered. She has previously worked with the RSPB, English Heritage, Disney, Pilot and Brother, as well as on BBC Good Food magazine, Home Style magazine, and Papercraft inspirations magazine. She enjoys photography and has a sustained interest in antiques.