Sign up for our newsletter to get projects in your inbox!

Running With Sisters

You are here: Home / Craft How Tos / Jewelry / Earrings / How To Make Dangling Bead And Chain Earrings

How To Make Dangling Bead And Chain Earrings

Filed Under: Earrings, Jewelry, Jewelry Videos

Make a pair of Dangling Bead and Chain Earrings in just a few easy steps. In this jewelry tutorial, we’ll show you how to cut chain, how to add a bead to the end using a headpin, and how to make a wrapped loop.

Make these Dangling Bead and Chain Earrings in a few easy steps. In this jewelry tutorial, we'll show you how to cut chain and add a bead using a headpin. 

You can make these Dangling Bead And Chain Earrings with any beads. We made a pair with pearls that turned out gorgeous!

Make these Dangling Bead and Chain Earrings in a few easy steps. In this jewelry tutorial, we'll show you how to cut chain and add a bead using a headpin. 

We love making earrings with chain. It’s so easy to get a lot of movement, but still have a delicate and simple look. For these earrings we raided our stash of chain remnants. We always keep the ends of interesting chain when we cut it for a project. This gold loop chain has nice round links in it, so the chain itself adds interest.

Here’s a video we made showing how to cut the chain, how to make the bead into a dangle and attach it to the chain. It’s all really very simple! Watch the video to see how we did it, then use the steps below to make your own.

Video How-To: Dangling Bead And Chain Earrings

How To Make These Dangling Bead And Chain Earrings

Materials

2 Round beads, 8mm
2 Seed beads, gold
2 Headpins, gold
2 Earring wires, gold
2″ gold chain, 2mm link size

Tools

Round-nose pliers
Wire cutters

Steps

Make these Dangling Bead and Chain Earrings in a few easy steps. In this jewelry tutorial, we'll show you how to cut chain and add a bead using a headpin. 
1. To get started, cut a length of chain. We counted links instead of measuring the chain, but the length we ended up with is about one inch. To cut the chain, count out the links you want, then cut through the next link to break the chain. (You can just throw away the pieces of broken link.)

Make these Dangling Bead and Chain Earrings in a few easy steps. In this jewelry tutorial, we'll show you how to cut chain and add a bead using a headpin. 
2. Next feed your focal bead onto the the headpin. The hole in our pretty green bead was too big for our headpin and slipped right off. But no worries! We added a tiny gold seed bead to the headpin.

Make these Dangling Bead and Chain Earrings in a few easy steps. In this jewelry tutorial, we'll show you how to cut chain and add a bead using a headpin. 
3. Then we slid on the green bead. The little seed bead acts as a stopper bead to keep the pretty green bead from sliding off.

Make these Dangling Bead and Chain Earrings in a few easy steps. In this jewelry tutorial, we'll show you how to cut chain and add a bead using a headpin. 
4. The next step is to make a wrapped loop in the headpin just above the bead. To do this, grasp the headpin with the round-nose pliers just above the bead. Pull the tail of the headpin toward yourself to make a 90 degree bend in the wire.

Make these Dangling Bead and Chain Earrings in a few easy steps. In this jewelry tutorial, we'll show you how to cut chain and add a bead using a headpin. 
5. Move the round-nose pliers to the top of the bend.

Make these Dangling Bead and Chain Earrings in a few easy steps. In this jewelry tutorial, we'll show you how to cut chain and add a bead using a headpin. 
6. Pull the tail of wire away from you, up and over the top jaw of the round-nose pliers.

Make these Dangling Bead and Chain Earrings in a few easy steps. In this jewelry tutorial, we'll show you how to cut chain and add a bead using a headpin. 
7. Move the bottom jaw of the round-nose pliers into the loop so you can finish pulling the wire around to make the loop complete.

Make these Dangling Bead and Chain Earrings in a few easy steps. In this jewelry tutorial, we'll show you how to cut chain and add a bead using a headpin. 
8. Feed the last link of the chain into the loop.

Make these Dangling Bead and Chain Earrings in a few easy steps. In this jewelry tutorial, we'll show you how to cut chain and add a bead using a headpin. 
9. Grasp across the loop with the pliers and pull the tail of the headpin around the wire where it comes out of the bead. Pull the tail around two times to make two wraps.

Make these Dangling Bead and Chain Earrings in a few easy steps. In this jewelry tutorial, we'll show you how to cut chain and add a bead using a headpin. 
10. Use the wire cutters to trim the end.

Make these Dangling Bead and Chain Earrings in a few easy steps. In this jewelry tutorial, we'll show you how to cut chain and add a bead using a headpin. 
11. Open the loop on the earring wire. We recommend opening it sideways to keep the round shape.

Make these Dangling Bead and Chain Earrings in a few easy steps. In this jewelry tutorial, we'll show you how to cut chain and add a bead using a headpin. 
12. Slide the other end of the chain into the earring wire loop.

Make these Dangling Bead and Chain Earrings in a few easy steps. In this jewelry tutorial, we'll show you how to cut chain and add a bead using a headpin. 
13. Press the earring wire loop closed. Repeat to make the second earring.

Remember while you are working on these earrings or any project, we’re here to help. If you have any questions, leave us a comment below.
Happy Crafting,
Jennifer & Kitty

Make these Dangling Bead and Chain Earrings in a few easy steps. In this jewelry tutorial, we'll show you how to cut chain and add a bead using a headpin. 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Wendy McVay says

    Hi,
    I love your video and the earrings are beautiful.
    Please can you let me know where I can buy the chain you have used and your other supplies.
    Thank you,
    Wendy

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stay connected with our Projects Newsletter!