How to Make Prom Jewelry

Choose beads to complement your dress color.

Even with the perfect dress, no prom get-up is complete without the right jewelry. Instead of purchasing jewelry from a store, design and make prom jewelry to match your dress. Not only will you save money, you will also have the creative freedom to make accessories that match your personal style and your particular dress perfectly. With a few basic jewelry-making tools and techniques, you can design and create a wide range of prom accessories for you and your friends.

Things You'll Need

• Bead board
• Beading wire
• Crimp beads
• Crimping pliers
• Clasp
• Assorted beads
• 2 headpins
• Round-nose pliers
• Chain-nose pliers
• 2 ear wires

Instructions

Necklace

1. Design your necklace on your bead board. Choose a length for your necklace that will complement the neckline of your prom dress. Off-the-shoulder dresses work well with short, collar necklaces (12 to 13 inches) while a dress with a plunging neckline needs a longer necklace (17 to 19 inches).

2. Cut a length of beading wire approximately 5 inches longer than your finished necklace length. Attach one end of the wire to the clasp by threading it through a crimp bead and the small hole on one side of the clasp. Bring the wire back through the crimp bead and pull the resulting loop tight. Crimp in place.

3. String your beads onto the wire in the order you designed them on the bead board. You should have a length of beads measuring a half-inch shorter than the finished necklace length. Alternately, crimp one to three larger focal beads in the center of the wire for a simple necklace.

4. Attach the other end of the necklace to the clasp as you did in Step 2. Run any excess wire through a few beads on the necklace or trim close to the crimp bead.

Earrings

1. Choose one to three beads for each earring and string them onto your head pins. Bend the wire coming out of the top bead to a 90-degree angle.

2. Grip the bend in the head pin with your round-nose pliers. Roll the wire around the tip of your pliers to form a loop. Center the loop above the beads and hold in place with your chain-nose pliers. Wrap any excess wire around the base of the loop.

3. Attach the loop at the top of each head pin to the small loop at the bottom of each ear wire. Open and close the loop on the ear wire with a twisting motion of your round-nose pliers.

Tips & Warnings

• Experiment with different colors and patterns during the design phase. Take your time to ensure you are happy with the finished product.

• Beads are a choking hazard for young children.

References

• JS Beads: Necklace Lengths
• Art Beads: How to Make a Wrapped Loop
• Fusion Beads: Attaching an Ear Wire

Resources

• Fusion Beads: Inspiration
• Etsy