Halloween Spiderweb Earrings (Preciosa Ornela)
These delightfully spooky spiderweb earrings are adapted from a Preciosa Ornela project by designer Helena Chmelíková. The web is built on an 8‑spoke wire star, then wrapped with size 10/0 rocailles between the spokes to create the spiral—simple, graphic, and perfect for October markets.
Materials & Tools
- PRECIOSA Rocailles 8/0 — Orange (approx. 152 beads total)
- PRECIOSA Rocailles 10/0 — Orange (use from a 5 g bag)
- 8‑spoke wire star (snowflake form, 1 pair for earrings)
- 4 mm jump rings (2 pcs)
- Earring hooks (2 pcs)
- Nylon beading thread (Nymo, S‑Lon) — about 3 m
- Thin beading needle
- Tools: scissors; chain/flat pliers; round‑nose pliers or wire snips + round‑nose
Difficulty: ●●○ Technique: stringing & linking Time: ~1–2 hours
Step‑by‑Step
- Anchor the thread. Cut ~3 m of nylon thread. Tie the midpoint of the thread around the center intersection of the 8‑spoke star with three firm knots. If the thread is twisty, run it through your fingers first.
- Reinforce the center. Using one working end, make two tight wraps around the inner area of a sector, then jump to the opposite sector and wrap twice again. Work around the star so all eight sectors are reinforced; repeat with the other thread end and tie both tails securely.
- Bead the spokes. On each wire spoke, string about 4 cm of beads: start with 1× 10/0 then add ~19× 8/0. Trim the wire to an 8–10 mm tail and form a neat simple loop with round‑nose pliers so the beads can still move slightly.
- Begin the web spiral. Thread a needle onto one working end and tie a tiny knot right behind the eye so it won’t slip off. String 3× 10/0, then make two wraps between the 1st and 2nd 8/0 on your starting spoke. String 3× 10/0, hop to the next spoke, and wrap twice between the 2nd and 3rd 8/0. Then 4× 10/0 and wrap between the 3rd and 4th 8/0 on the next spoke. Continue around, increasing/decreasing the count to keep the spiral even.
- Keep it flowing. For speed, “scoop” 10/0s by running the needle through a small pile on your mat. Follow the recommended counts per gap as the spiral grows (see the diagram at the bottom of the PDF). Adjust 1–2 beads as needed so the lines sit snug but not tight.
- Dense spiral. Keep wrapping twice in each gap between 8/0s; as the spaces get smaller, you’ll load longer strings of 10/0s (10 cm or more at a time works well). Check tension—no buckling.
- Second pass. With the other thread end, weave through the “windows” formed by the spokes and web strands, making one wrap in each gap. Tie both thread ends with three knots and bury tails back through nearby 10/0s.
- Finish. Add a 4 mm jump ring to a spoke loop and hang on an ear hook. Repeat for the second earring.
Variations
- Color play: alternate orange and black 10/0s for a striped spiral, or make a gradient from the center out.
- Metal accent: swap every 4th 10/0 for a tiny metallic spacer for extra sparkle.
- Scale: try 6/0 spokes + 8/0 spiral for a bold pendant; or keep 8/0 spokes + 11/0 spiral for petite webs.
Design credit: Preciosa Ornela / Helena Chmelíková. Instructions adapted and paraphrased for clarity for the Shipwreck Beads blog.
