Crocheted Jellyfish: Bead-Crochet Tassel Earrings in Terra Vista Greys

A bead-crochet cap over a long, three-tone fringe makes an earring that moves like a jellyfish. The cap is crocheted in rounds with a 10/0 seed bead in every stitch, so it comes out firm and dome-shaped. Under it, 24 strands of beads fade from charcoal through grey to almost white, and sway with every turn of your head.

Alexandra Lysenko designed the pair for Preciosa Ornela in three greys from the Terra Vista line, with a 6/0 at the top. If you can work a single crochet, you can make the cap. The fringe is plain stringing. Bead sizes are given in aught (10/0, 6/0). All other measurements are imperial with metric in parentheses.

Materials & Tools

How many beads: each fringe strand is 80 beads, and each earring has 24 strands. A pair takes about 1,200 Stone Grey, 1,450 Whispering Grey and 1,200 Stone Dust for the fringe, plus roughly 230 beads per cap.

The Palette

Three greys, dark to light, carry the gradient down the fringe. The 6/0 Stone Dust sits on top of the cap like a pearl. Terra Vista's soft, chalky surface keeps all three from glaring against each other, so the fade reads smooth instead of stripey.

• Opaque Stone Grey 10/0 - 25 Grams $3.75
• Opaque Whispering Grey 10/0 - 25 Grams $3.75
• Opaque Stone Dust 10/0 - 25 Grams $3.75
• Opaque Stone Dust 6/0 25 GM Loose $3.50

Stone Grey, Whispering Grey, and Stone Dust fade dark to light down the fringe, with a Stone Dust 6/0 on top of the cap.

Add all 4 to cart · $14.75

Open this palette in the Color Studio

In the Color Studio you can swap any of the three for another bead in stock, see the result woven in a loom preview, and add your version to the cart.

Pattern Notes

The cap is crocheted in joined rounds, starting at the top and widening to 24 stitches. Every bead for the cap is strung onto the yarn before you crochet, so the order matters: the chart shows exactly which color goes where.

Key	Bead	Preciosa no.
a	Stone Grey 10/0	06443
b	Whispering Grey 10/0	06444
c	Stone Dust 10/0	06441
d	Stone Dust 6/0	06441

Round	Beads in the round	How
1	0 (6 stitches)	Plain single crochet
2	6	One bead stitch in each stitch
3	12	Two bead stitches in each stitch
4	18	1 in the first stitch, 2 in the next; repeat
5	24	1, 1, then 2; repeat
6–12	24	One bead stitch in each stitch
Last	0	Plain single crochet to finish the edge

Each fringe strand is strung in five sections, dark to light, then the thread returns up through every bead except the last:

Section	String
1 (next to the ribbon)	20 a
2	b, a five times (10 beads)
3	20 b
4	c, b five times (10 beads)
5 (tip)	20 c

The alternating sections are what make the fade look gradual instead of banded.

Step-by-Step

1. String the cap. Use the big eye needle to load beads onto the crochet yarn in chart order: start at the top row and work left to right. Load only colors a, b and c; the white squares on the chart are gaps, not beads. Leave the strung beads on the spool side and start crocheting from the free end.

   

2. Start the top (round 1). Make a slip knot, then chain 2 without beads. Work 6 single crochets, no beads, into the first chain. This tiny ring is the top of the cap.

   

   

   

3. Round 2 and the join. Slide 6 beads up to the work. Insert the hook into the first stitch and work a single crochet, catching one bead in the stitch. Do the same in each stitch until one bead is left. Work that last bead stitch, then join the round: insert the hook into the first stitch of the round, yarn over, and pull through both loops on the hook. Join every round this way.

   

   

   

   

4. Round 3. Chain 1 without a bead. Slide 12 beads up. Work two bead stitches into each stitch of round 2, then join.

   

   

   

5. Rounds 4 and 5. Start every round from here on with a chain 1, no bead. In round 4, work one bead stitch into the first stitch and two into the next, and repeat around (18 beads, three to each point). In round 5, work one bead stitch into each of the next two stitches and two into the third, and repeat around (24 beads, four to each point).

   

   

6. Build the dome (rounds 6–12). Work one bead stitch into each stitch, 24 per round, without increasing. The sides now turn down and the cap takes shape. Finish with one round of plain single crochet, no beads, and leave a short tail.

   

7. Make the fringe. Cut a 4 in (10 cm) piece of ribbon and seal the ends with a quick pass of the lighter. Knot the end of a comfortable length of sewing thread, about 59 in (150 cm), and anchor it at one end of the ribbon's long edge. String one strand in the five sections from the table above. Skip the last bead, pass back up through all the others to the ribbon, and tie a knot. Repeat along the edge until you have 24 strands, adding thread as you need it.

   

   

   

   

8. Roll the tassel. Fold the ribbon in half lengthwise and stitch along it with the leftover thread. Slide a bead cap onto an eye pin. Roll the stitched ribbon tightly around the eye pin's wire, sewing through the layers as you go so the roll can't loosen.

   

   

   

   

9. Assemble. Slide the crocheted cap down the wire so it covers the rolled ribbon. Add the second bead cap and one Stone Dust 6/0. Trim the wire to about 3/8 in (1 cm), turn a loop with round-nose pliers, and hang it on an ear wire. Make the second earring the same way.

   

   

   

   

Tips

• Count before you crochet. The cap takes about 230 beads in a set order. Check each row of the chart as you load it. Unpicking a wrong bead from the middle of the yarn means undoing everything after it.
• Keep the beads on the outside. As you close each stitch, nudge the bead so it sits on the outside of the cap. If beads keep slipping inside, your tension is too loose.
• Watch the shape at round 6. A cap that keeps spreading flat after round 5 has extra stitches. Count to 24 and fix it before you go on.
• Strands drift; that's fine. A bead or two of difference between strands disappears once the tassel moves. A whole section out of order does not, so check each strand against the table.
• Seal the ribbon first. A quick pass of the flame along the cut ends stops fraying before you start sewing. Keep it brief so the ribbon doesn't shrink or darken.

Variations

• Deep water. Swap the greys for Deep Sea, Seafoam and Silent Blue, dark to light.
• Sage. Soft Thyme, Pale Eucalyptus and White Sage give a quieter, earthier fade.
• Shorter and lighter. Drop the two 20-bead solid sections at the top to 10 beads each for a fringe about a quarter shorter. Keep the alternating sections as written so the fade still blends.
• Gold-tone. Gold-tone ear wires, eye pins and caps warm up the greys and suit the sage version especially well.

Design credit: Preciosa Ornela / Alexandra Lysenko. Instructions and photos adapted for clarity for the Shipwreck Beads blog.