Cleopatra Beaded Earrings Tutorial

Recently I found some free beading patterns online and one of them was the Looplicity Brick Stitch Earrings pattern by Caravan Beads.

I really wanted to make these gorgeous loopy earrings but I didn’t have some of the suggested materials including 10 mm closed rings.

After some thought, I came up with the idea to try the pattern out using a 10mm bead in the place of the closed rings.

I made a few substitutions for the beads as well.

I didn’t realize until later, but I actually made a small mistake when adding the loops at the bottom.

But I like the way my earrings look so I left them as is.

If you decide to make my Cleopatra version, you can decide for yourself how to add the loops.

First, let’s compare the materials lists and then we will compare the techniques.

The Materials

Cleopatra Earrings

Looplicity Earrings

2 – 10 mm Round Crystals – Peridot
2 – 3 grams 11/0 Toho Triangles – Silver Lined Olivine
2 – 3 grams 1.5 mm Toho Cubes – Raspberry Gold Luster
4 – 5 grams 11/0 Toho Seed Beads – Gold Luster Transparent Pink
26 – 4 mm Fire Polish Beads – Light Topaz AB
3 Wingspans Beading Thread of your choice – divided in two
Size 11 or 12 Beading Needle
2 – Gold Filled Ear Wires with loops

Sterling Silver 10mm Soldered Ring 18ga. – 2 pieces
Miyuki 10/0 Triangle Matte Silverlined Orange – 1 tube
Miyuki 8/0 Triangle Matte Silverlined Chartreuse – 1 tube
11/0 Matte Silverlined Flame Red Miyuki Seed Bead – 1 tube
4mm Czech Fire Polished Opaque Dark Turquoise – 1 strand
Chartreuse C-Lon Beading Thread Size AA
Japanese Thin Beading Needles
Sterling Earwire with Loop – 2 pieces

The Techniques

Cleopatra Earrings

Looplicity Earrings

Brick Stitch on a Bead

This technique starts by added thread bridges on the outside of a Bead.
The seed beads are added using Brick Stitch by passing under the thread bridges as you work.

Brick Stitch on a Frame

This technique starts by tying the working thread onto a ring component.
The component acts as the thread bridge, by passing the thread through the center.

If you need help with Brick Stitch on a Bead or Brick Stitch on a Frame, head over to My Shop for these and other Technique Guides.

In all forms of Brick Stitch, you begin each new row by picking up 2 beads for the first stitch.

The remaining beads of the row are added one at a time.

Since the Looplicity Pattern is available online, the remainder of this article will focus on the Cleopatra Earrings version.

*Special Note – I am left handed so I begin sewing down the left side of the bead but the instructions are the same for righties.

Adding the Thread Bridges

With half the thread on your needle, pick up one 10 mm crystal and carry down.

Leave yourself a few inches of tail thread and pass back through the bead 4 more times.

Position two threads on each side of the larger bead.

Row 1

We are going to add a total of 17 beads in Row 1 of the bead work – 16 seed beads and 1 triangle bead at the top.

I chose not to straighten the first bead (triangle) until attach it to the last bead of this row.

Pick up a Triangle and 11/0 SB and drop them to the bead.
Pass the needle under the 2 thread bridges on the same side of the crystal as your dominant hand.
Pass back up through the 11/0 SB.

Position the two beads so that the triangle sits as close to the top hole of the 10 mm crystal as possible.

Add the next seven 11/0 SB’s as shown in the next two steps.

Pick up an 11/0 SB and pass the needle under the same two thread bridges as before.
Position the bead beside the previous 11/0 on the base.
Pass the needle back up through the new bead.

Pick up the 9th 11/0 SB and pass the needle under the two threads on the other side of the crystal.
Pass up through the new bead.
Repeat the steps to add the remaining 11/0SB’s.

To close the row we need to add top and bottom thread bridges between the first and last beads of the row. (The Triangle and the last 11/0 SB)

Note that my last 11/0 SB is on the right hand side of the first bead, the triangle.

Sew down through the triangle bead and pull snugly.

Sew back up through the 11/0 SB added and pull snug.

To get into position for the next row, sew down and up through the triangle and the next 3 SB’s until the working thread should be exiting the 3rd SB.

Note that I am in position to begin Row 2 on the same side of the crystal as I began Row 1.

Rows 2 and 3

The first stitches of the next two rows have are done in a non-traditional way.

I used 15 Triangle Beads on Row 2 and 19 Cube Beads on Row 3.

Do your best to have half of the beads of each row fall on either side of the center.

To accomplish this and to avoid noticeable gaps, you will have to use the same thread bridge occasionally. This is a normal in circular stitching such as brick stitch on a bead or a frame.

For the remaining rows, we will straighten the first bead of the row at the start.

Pick up 2 Triangles and pass the needle under the first thread bridge, between the the bead you are exiting and the next bead. (Traditionally, you would have passed under the second thread bridge.)

To straighten the first bead:

Pass up through the last bead added, for me it is the bead on the left, as I am left handed and beading down the left side of the base beads.

Pass down through the first bead added in this row and pass back up the second bead once more.

Add the remaining 13 beads one at a time.

Pick up a triangle and pass under the next thread bridge, sew up through the new bead.

Remember that you need 15 beads total, so you will need to use the same thread bridge of the previous stitch to add some of the beads.
Make sure to pass up through the new bead before adding the next.

The 8th bead should be added as close to the center hole of the large crystal as you can place it.

Add the last bead to the same thread bridge on this side of the bead work, the bridge between the third and fourth seed bead on the right side of your center triangle above the center hole of the large crystal

Begin Row 3 the same way only using 19 of the Cube Beads.

Pick up 2 beads and pass under the first thread bridge of the previous row.

Pass up the second bead, down the first cube and back up the second once more, to straighten the first bead of the row.

In this row, the 10th cube should fall under the center hole of the large bead.

Remember to re-use a few of your thread bridges to get 9 beads on either side of the center bead.

Reserve one of the cube beads to add at the end of the row, using the last thread bridge twice. ←

This gives you the same offset look to the last cube bead that you achieved at the beginning of the row, by using the first thread bridge instead of the traditional second one. →

Row 4

The Fire Polish row is done in the traditional way.

Pick up 2 fire polish and pass the needle under the second thread bridge of the previous row.

Pass up through the second bead.

Straighten the first bead as in the previous two rows.

Add the remaining 11 beads one at at time.

The fire polish are larger beads and they should line up naturally with the 7th bead falling under the center line of the larger crystal.

Do not worry about using a thread bridge more than once in this row.

At the end of the row, you should have 13 beads added in total.

After the final step up, the working thread is exiting the top of the last fire polis added.

The Loops

Now you can decide how you want to add your loops.

Feel free to use the original Looplicity Pattern if you like or you can do them like I did, which was totally the wrong way but they came out looking great despite the fact.

I used 20 11/0 Seed Beads per loop and I kept the new loops in front of each previous loop.

After each loop, remember to step up into the next fire polish bead before picking up the next set of seed beads.