How to Make the Pumpkin Pie Spice Earrings with Knitted Leather Chain
Welcome to your cozy corner of creativity! This design is certain to spice up your jewelry collection with rich, warm hues of autumn. Grab a warm drink and join Nealay in the delightful world of bead weaving with a project that’s perfect for the Fall season. These earrings blend oranges, bronze, and fig tones in a strong and stylish base of SilverSilk Knitted Leather Chain, reminiscent of everyone’s favorite seasonal treat. This tutorial will guide you step-by-step to create your very own slice of beady goodness!
SilverSilk Knitted Leather Chain is a revolutionary knitted wire jewelry chain. It’s made by knitting 32-gauge wire over a 2.4mm leather cord. The result is a stunning 3mm knitted wire chain that feels sturdier and more structured than SilverSilk Capture Chain, making it a perfect cord to stitch on for bead weaving.
Before we dive into the magic, let's gather our tools and materials:
Tools:
Cutters (Lindström Tools): Flush cutters will be used to cut Knitted Leather Chain.
Chain Nose Pliers: These pliers will be needed to weed the chain ends and work jump rings.
Beading Needle: Use size #10, #11, or #12: Beading Needles for stitching your spicy beads onto the leather chain.
Loctite Glue: Needed to attach the ends of Knitted Leather Chain into the Cord Caps.
Optional: Micro Stitch Markers like the ones used for crochet, or, a sharpie or fabric marker, to help plan Row 3 of your design.
Materials:
2 • 4.5in-Lengths of SilverSilk Knitted Leather Chain, Sunset
2 • SilverSilk 6mm Cord Caps, Dark Rhodium
2 • SilverSilk 6mm Jump Rings, Dark Rhodium
2 grams • Size 8/0 Seed Beads, Sample Uses Fennel
1 gram • Size 11/0 Delica Beads, Sample Uses Silver-lined Orange
1 gram • Size 11/0 Delica Beads, Sample Uses Opaque Dark Red-Orange
1 gram • Size 11/0 Delica Beads, Sample Uses Metallic Bronze
36-45 • 4mm Fire Polish Beads, Sample Uses Matte Cactus Fig (Orange/Green Mix)
180in • Beading Thread, Sample Uses One • G Orange
Pumpkin Pie Spice Earrings Video Tutorial
Pumpkin Pie Spice Earrings, Written Step-By-Step Guide
Step 1: Create Bead-able Hoops with SilverSilk Knitted Leather Chain
Begin by measuring 4.5in lengths of Knitted Leather Chain. Cut two, matched lengths. Use chain nose pliers to remove any loose knits from the ends and press down the others. Join the ends of the chain side by side so the ends are flush next to each other and insert them into the 6mm Cord Cap. This will be a tight fit but you can also gently press the ends with your chain nose pliers to flatten the edges to help fit it inside the cap a little easier. Make sure all the wire knitting has made its way inside the cap. Try to keep the cords side-by-side in the cap and not staggered.
Once they are secured inside the cord end, use precision tip Loctite or jewelry glue to fill in the cap around the chain. In the sample, the gel glue was placed in front of and behind the cords within the cap. After applying the glue to both sides, gently tap the loop of the end cap against your work surface to encourage the glue to flow down into the cap and over the ends of your knitted chain.
Step 2: Attach Beading Thread to Your Knitted Leather Chain Hoop
Cut a 90in-length of beading thread. Thread a beading needle and slide it down to make the working length more manageable. Count 2mm below the cord cap, then pass the needle under the knit along Leather Knitted Chain loop. Your beading will begin along the outside of the leather chain loop.
Step 3: Double Knot to Secure the Thread to the Hoop
Pull the thread through until you have a 7in tail. Then, using the working and tail sides of the thread, tie a double knot (or surgeon’s knot).
Step 4: Use Brick Stitch Bead Weaving Technique to Create a Row of Seed Beads on the Knitted Leather Chain
String on one 8/0 seed bead and bring it to meet the chain. Feed the tail thread up through the bead, then pull the working and tail thread apart gently to secure the knot inside the bead. This will also tighten the bead down against the chain.
Pick up a second seed bead. Gently pass the needle under another knit along the leather chain, next to the previous seed bead.
Go back through the seed bead that you just strung. Pull to tighten and the bead should sit flat against the chain, next to the previous bead.
Step 5: Finish the Row of 8/0 Around the Knitted Leather Chain Hoop
Repeat this stitching method to add seed beads, staying on the outside of the chain, all the way around the hoop.
Tip: counts for the beads are not an essential part of the design. The goal is to secure the beads without gaps along the outside edge of the hoop.
Step 6: Creating the Second Layer of Brick Stitched 11/0 Delica Beads
String one 11/0 delica bead. In the sample, a silver-lined orange was used. Pass your needle under the thread that runs up from the seed bead you’re exiting in Row 1, into the second seed bead of Row 1. Go under that thread. In bead weaving, that thread is called a thread bridge.
After needling under the thread bridge, come up through the delica bead that you just strung. When you tighten your thread, the bead will sit above the thread bridge. Repeat this step, picking up a delica bead, passing your needle under the next thread bridge, and coming back up through the delica bead. Do this to reach the last thread bridge on the other side of the hoop. At this spot, if desired, you can thread a needle onto the tail thread and bring it up through the Row 2 bead above it. This is optional, but handy to help tighten the last bead of Row 2.
Tip: For this row, every third seed bead you add may fit better if you use the same thread bridge as used for the one just before it. The smaller bead size will fit better if you double up some of them on the same thread bridge. In brick stitch bead weaving, designers must sort of feel this out. It is okay to change your mind about which thread bridge to use. If you need to remove a bead from a thread bridge, gently lift the bead using the eye side of your needle. This will expose the thread beneath it, allowing you to loosen and free the bead. Feel free to reposition ant beads as needed. The goal is for them to sit adjacent in a configuration that doesn’t have large gaps, but also isn’t bunching and wavy from the view on the side.
Tip 2: Bead counts are also non-essential for this Row. Just make a layer to cover Row 1.
Step 7: Creating the Third Layer of Brick Stitched 4mm Fire Polish and Delica Beads
For this row, lay the hoop on your work surface and spend a moment planning your design. This row will feature a delica beaded start, then it will switch to 4mm fire polish beads that run along the bottom edge of the hoop. You can add as many or as few of the fire polish beads as desired. I used a ruler and laid it across the hoop, to mark the spot on each side where my fire polish beads would start and finish. You can mark the spot with a fabric marker on the thread, or by hooking a tiny stitch-marker under the thread bridge. Or, you could be brave and just eyeball it 😉
Begin the row with your third color of delica beads. In the sample, metallic bronze was used. Brick stitch in the same fashion as Row 2 until you reach your first marked spot. For this section, the bead spacing will work out easier, working one bead per thread bridge.
When you reach the spot where you’d like to introduce the fire polish beads, string one fire polish bead and pass your needle under the thread bridge. Then, come up through the fire polish bead. It should sit next to the last delica bead, hole-side up. You’ll see a pronounced thread bridge jump from the delica bead to the fire polish bead, which is correct. As you add each fire polish bead, you may need to skip a thread bridge to accommodate for the size of the fire polish beads so that they sit next to each other without over-crowding.
Step 8: Finish the Fire Polish Beaded Section
Finish the section of fire polish beads, then switch back to the delica beads to finish the row.
Step 9: Brick Stitch a Fourth Row of Delica Beads for the Final Layer
Pour yourself a happy little pile of delica beads, but this time we will use a new color. In the sample, an opaque, dark red orange color was used. Brick stitch, just as you learned earlier how to do, until you reach the point where the fire polish beads from Row 3 begin. Stitch two delica beads where the delica to fire polish thread bridge gap is. From here, more than one delica bead will be needed to cover the thread bridges over the fire polish beads.
Step 10: Resume Stitching 1 Bead Per Thread Bridge to Finish the Row
After stitching the two delicas at the next major thread bridge gap, resume stitching one delica bead between each thread bridge to finish the row.
Step 11: Weave in the Remaining Thread to Complete the Earring
After brick stitching the last bead in Row 4, bring the tail thread up through it. Pull those threads apart to tighten the last bead.
Separately weave in the remaining working and tail thread. To do this, follow the existing thread path through a few beads, making a couple of turns. You can make turns using thread bridges. Even though they are covered by other beads, if you insert you needle in between the two beads below and pull up, you’ll capture the thread bridge over those beads, enabling thread bridge secured turns. Those make the best weave in. Trim the remaining working thread with tension to avoid loose ends.
Conclusion:
We hope you enjoyed this tutorial and feel inspired to make try beading on Knitted Leather Chain! Don't forget to check out the full video tutorial on YouTube. If you enjoyed it, give us a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel for more exciting tutorials.
Follow us on social media for updates, behind-the-scenes, and more:
Youtube • Instagram • Facebook. • The SilverSilk Virtual Community
Get text notifications:
Text “hello” to +1 (918) 233-6387
