Flat and Ruffle Spiral Earrings - A photo essay

This photo essay is for Amy, who wanted to recreate these earrings exactly. Turns out I'd taken process photos as I created the pieces, thinking to include them in my book, but never did.

These earrings were created by experiment, not pattern, as is quickly obvious by looking at the photos. But it is definitely possible to follow along, as I used these photos to recreate the earrings myself, just to make sure. I have since perfected and cleaned the pattern, and will include that in my upcoming ebook on creating freeform ruffles, but here's the original.

Supply List

• Size 11 seed beads in orange and orange-red (opaque)
• Size 15 seed beads in matching orange or yellow (opaque)
• Size 8 seed beads in orange and red (opaque)
• Size 6 seed beads in transparent purple
• Thread: red Silamide or Superlon AA
• Needle: John James sharp, size 12

Flat Spiral Earring

String orange beads: 18 size 11s, 1 size 8, 18 size 11s

Peyote stitch along the length with orange size 11s, leaving the three center beads single (see photo).

Using size 11 orange-red beads, work peyote stitch increases along the length as follows (starting from right):

• Add 1, four sets of 2, crossover through three orange beads to other side.
• Add two sets of 2, add 1, crossover through size 8 bead.
• Add 1, four sets of 2, crossover through three orange beads to other side.
• Add three sets of 2.

Starting to add red size 8s along outer curves

Also adding orange size 15s and decreases along the inside curves of the upper edge to cinch them tight.

Continuing to add red size 8s. There's are a couple spots along the top edge where I should have added beads, but didn't. Oops! Will catch that later

Also adding orange size 15s and decreases along inside curves of the lower edge to cinch them tight.

Adding the last red size 8s that were missing. Starting to add purple size 6s.

Finishing with the purple size 6s. What a nice flat spiral we have!

Removed the stop bead, strung 5 or 6 seed beads to attach the earring finding. Stitch through the loop several times before finishing off threads.

Ruffle Spiral Earring

String 36 size 11 orange beads.

Peyote stitch along the length with orange size 11s.

Working along the top edge: add pairs of orange-red beads to start the outer curves, alternate decreases and adding single orange size 15 beads to form the interior curves.

Repeat this along the bottom edge, following the curves from the previous row.

Peyote stich along the outside curves using red-orange size 11s, including between the bead pairs.

Stitch through the inside curves, but don't add any additional beads.

Starting to add red size 8s along outer curves.

Starting to add purple size 6s.

Add purple size 6s between the red size 8s. String 2-3 red size 8s to bridge between the ruffle sections, pulling them inward.

Stitch along the outer edge at least twice to attach the larger beads securely.

String a bridge of 5 red-orange size 11s & stitch through the ear wire.