This adorable beaded witches’ hat winds seed beads around a cone form to build the point and brim, then adds candy‑color dangles. We’ve adapted the original Preciosa Ornela instructions for bead size 8/0 (the sheet lists 7/0). The method is the same; you’ll simply add a touch more wire‑wound rows to hit your target size.
Materials & Tools
- PRECIOSA Rocailles 8/0 — black (≈ a single hank should be plenty)
- Assorted round beads in orange/yellow shades for brim dangles (10–15 pcs) — rounds or try these cool NEW magnasite pumpkins!
- Black shaping wire 0.81 mm (main winding)
- Black binding wire 0.24 mm (to reinforce rows & brim)
- Head pins & oval jump rings (for dangles)
- Tools: snipping pliers; needle‑nose pliers; flat‑nose pliers; a cone form (polystyrene or paper/card)
Difficulty: ●●○ Technique: wire stringing & linking Time: ~1–2 hours
Step‑by‑Step
- Make a cone (if needed). No polystyrene cone? Cut a 15 cm radius quarter‑circle from cardstock, roll into a cone with a ~20 cm base circumference, and tape.
- Prep a beaded wire. Cut 2 m of 0.80 mm wire. Form an eye at one end. About 30 cm from the start, twist the wire back 360° to lock. String a long section of 8/0 black rocailles, leaving the last ~10 cm bare. Form an end eye.
- Start the spiral. Begin winding the beaded wire around the cone starting ~3 cm below the tip. Keep rows snug and even.
- Reinforce the first rows. Use the 0.30 mm binding wire to lash the first six rows together. Leave a long tail—you’ll reuse it at the brim. Create a tiny loop around the main wire to anchor and keep tightening as you go.
- Add support wires. Affix two short support wires at roughly the 5th row using small double loops; twist to secure.
- Continue winding. Keep winding the beaded wire up the cone, giving a small twist every time you cross a support wire. Straighten and re‑bend sections if the wire stiffens.
- More supports. Add four additional support wires near the 14th row (which will become about the 16th once the point is complete). Wind two more rows past the point.
- Form the brim. Slide the hat off the cone. On the table, wind four more flat rows to make the brim (add one extra row with 8/0s if you want a wider brim).
- Make the dangles. Thread 14–15 orange/yellow beads on head pins, form loops, and hang each on an oval jump ring.
- Edge detail. Straighten the wire end, remove the end eye, string an oval + 6 seed beads, and continue this pattern around the brim’s edge. Close with a final loop.
- Finish the point. Cut the top eye, string more 8/0s, wind two tight rows around the point, reinforce with binding wire, and finish with a double eye.
- Lock the edges. Wrap the overlapping binding wire around the main wire twice at both edges of the brim and trim.
Variations
- Mini hat hair clip: scale the cone smaller and keep only 2–3 flat rows for the brim.
- Bead mix: swap some black 8/0s for matte or metallic for texture.
- Pendant size: downshift to 10/0s for a tiny charm; upshift back to 7/0s for a centerpiece.
Design credit: Preciosa Ornela / Helena Chmelíková. Instructions adapted and paraphrased for clarity for the Shipwreck Beads blog. The original sheet specifies 7/0 rocailles; this version uses 8/0 with minor row adjustments.
