Get into a festive mood with these adorable earrings!
"Oh, Christmas Tree" earrings 
Designed by Jennifer Ursillo
Pair of earrings approximately 1½ in. (3.8 cm)
Materials
-
76 4
x 7 mm long magatamas (Miyuki 146, transparent green)
-
2 8
mm crystal cubes (Swarovski, garnet)
-
2 8
mm crystal stars (Swarovski, crystal AB)
-
2
2-in. (5 cm) head pins
-
2
earring findings
-
Fireline 8 lb. test
-
beading needles, #11
-
chainnose pliers
-
roundnose pliers
-
wire cutters
A word about
magatamas:
The hole through each magatama is on an angle. On one side of the magatama,
the hole is near the center of the bead; on the other, it's closer to the end
of the bead. For the purpose of this project, place your beads on your work
surface so the side of the magatama with the hole near the center of the bead
is facing up. We will refer to this side of the bead as the top. With the beads positioned in
this manner, the end of the magatama will angle away from your work surface (see photo a). Also, cull your beads carefully to select
those that are most uniform in shape and size. For this project, you want to
choose the most angular in order to get the best tree-like shape for your
earrings.
Photo a
Magatama tree
Round 1
[1] On 1 yd. (.9 m) of Fireline, pick up one magatama from
the top and one magatama from the bottom, leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail, and sew
through the first magatama again away from the tail thread. Retrace the thread
path again to reinforce, and position the beads side by side, with the working thread
exiting the second magatama picked up in the same direction as the tail.
[2] Position your work so the tops of both magatamas are
facing up, and, working in ladder stitch, pick up a magatama from the top, sew up
through the magatama your thread exited at the start of this step, and sew down
through the magatama just picked up. Retrace the thread path.
[3] Pick up a magatama from the bottom, and sew down through
the magatama your thread exited at the start of this step and up through the
new magatama just picked up. Retrace the thread path.
[4] Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you have a total of 10 magatamas.
[5] Join the magatamas into a ring: With the thread exiting
the top of the last magatama picked up, sew down through the first magatama
added in step 1, and sew up through the last magatama. Retrace the thread path
several times to secure the join, and exit the top of the last magatama (photo b).
Photo b
Round 2
[1] Pick up one magatama from the bottom and one magatama
from the top. Working in brick stitch, skip the next thread bridge in the
previous round, sew under the following thread bridge, and sew up through the
last magatama just picked up.
[2] Pick up one magatama from the top, sew under the next
thread bridge, and sew back up through the magatama just added.
[3] Repeat step 2 to add a total of nine magatamas in this
round (photo c).
Photo c
Round 3
Repeat the steps for Round 2 to add a total of eight
magatamas in this round.
Round 4
Repeat the steps for Round 2 to add a total of seven magatamas
in this round.
Round 5
[1] Repeat steps 1 and 2 of Round 2.
[2] Skip the next thread bridge in the previous row and work
in brick stitch to add two more magatamas for a total of four magatamas. End
the threads.
Assembly
[1] On a 2-in. (5 cm) head pin, string an 8 mm cube, a
magatama tree, and an 8 mm crystal star. Make the first half of a wrapped loop,
and attach an earring finding. Complete the wraps.
[2] Make another earring, and enjoy!
Contact Jennifer at beadsontheave@gmail.com,
or visit her website at beadsontheave.com.