DIY | Pearl jewellery for celebrations

Make your own jewellery with popular pearls. You can create all kinds of jewellery ... earrings, necklaces or bracelets ... and choose beween pearls in many colours and shapes. There are the beautifully uneven baroque pearls, delicate freshwater pearls or the completely even shell pearls.

The pieces of pearl jewellery we present in the blog post are not hard to make - without much practise you can put together your own individual designs. Here we show you some inspirational examples.

Large hoops with baroque pearls

You need the following DIY materials to make these earrings:

• 1 pair of hoops, 50mm, gilded sterling silver
• 1 pair of earstuds with ball and pin, gilded sterling silver
• 2 baroque pearls, size 17-19x14mm
• 2 headpins with plate, gilded sterling silver
• 2 locking beads with rubber membrane, 4mm, gilded sterling silver
• jewellery glue
• chain-nose pliers

The pin comes in a set with earstuds with ball, but you will only need the pin.

First, you take the headpin with plate and cut a piece from the top and glue it into the hole at the bottom of the baroque pearl - in order to close and hide the hole. After that, you glue the pin into the hole at the top of the pearl. The holes in the baroque pearl are small, so check both pins before you glue them and make sure they have got the same length. Maybe you have to cut them to size so that both pearls come to hang at the desired hight. 

Straighten the hook on the hoop carefully with chain-nose pliers, just enough so that the locking bead can be pulled over it. Then you hang the pin with the pearl into the hoop and turn the hook back into its original position. Do it carefully so the hook won't break. 

When you wear the earrings, you pull the locking bead up to the pin.

Hoops with floating pearl

You need the following DIY materials to make these earrings:

• 1 pair of hoops with peg, 25mm, gilded sterling silver
• 2 half-drilled freshwater pearls, approx. 11x7mm
• jewellery glue
• cutting pliers

These earrings are easy to make. You simply glue the half-drilled pearl onto the peg. Check the length of the peg before you glue it and cut it to size if necessary. The pearl should sit directly on the hoop.

You can use all kinds of half-drilled beads for these earrings. Click here to browse our vast assortment of half-drilled beads and pearls.

Hoops wrapped with freshwater pearls

You need the following DIY materials to make these earrings:

• 1 pair of hoops, 25mm, gilded sterling silver
• 20 freshwater pearls, 4x3mm
• approx. 50cm wire (0.4mm), gilded sterling silver
• cutting pliers
• chain-nose pliers

First, you cut the wire into two pieces à approx. 25cm. Open the hoop and wind one piece of wire a few times around it. Thread the first pearl on the wire, position it outside the hoop and hold it in place while you wind the wire around the hoop. Then, you thread the next pearl, position it on the outside and hold it in place while you wind the wire around the hoop again. Continue like that until you have fastened the desired amount of pearls.

To round it off, you wind the the wire around the hoop again - as often as you did at the beginning. Cut the excess wire off and press the end of the wire to the hoop. See our earlier blog post on Wrapped earrings.

Hoops with large freshwater pearls

You need the following DIY materials to make these earrings:

• 1 pair og hoops, 40mm, gilded sterling silver
• 28 freshwater pearls, 9mm, with large hole
• chain-nose pliers

Straighten the hook on the hoop carefully, so the pearls can be pulled over it. Thread the desired amout of pearls and turn the hook back into its original position.

Earrings with large baroque pearls

You need the following DIY materials to make these earrings:

• 1 pair of earwires with peg and crystal, gilded sterling silver

       (also available in sterling silver, oxidised and rose gold-plated sterling silver)

• 2 headpins with plate, gilded sterling silver
• 2 baroque pearls, approx. 12-16x11mm
• jewellery glue
• cutting pliers

First, you cut the headpin with plate to size and glue it into the hole at the bottom of the baroque pearl. Then, you glue the peg of the earwire into the hole at the top of the pearl. Check the length of the cut headpin and the peg before you glue them and make sure they fit into the pearl together. Cut them to size if they are too long. 

Earthreads with baroque pearl

You need the following DIY materials to make these earrings:

• 1 pair of earthreads with a peg on each end, 10cm, gilded sterling silver
• 2 baroque pearls, approx. 12-16x11mm
• 2 apatite beads, 2mm
• 2 headpins with plate, gilded sterling silver
• 10cm wire (0.4mm), gilded sterling silver
• jewellery glue
• cutting pliers
• round-nose pliers
• chain-nose pliers
• flat nose-pliers

First, you cut the earthread in two, approx. 1cm away from the peg. Take 5cm of beading wire (diameter 0.4mm) and shape a loop, fasten it to the chain and make some windings. Thread the apatite bead onto the wire, shape a loop and fasten in to the other part of the earthread. Make some windings. For more detailed instructions on how to make a loop with wire, please read out DIY guide on How to make a loop over a pearl. 

Bracelet with pearls

You need the following DIY materials to make this bracelet:

• shell pearls 4mm
• freshwater pearls 5-6mm
• freshwater pearls 3mm
• 1 cowrie shell
• 1 cowrie shell, golden
• 1m Tigertail beading wire (0.30mm)
• lobster claw clasp, 10mm, gilded brass
• chain extender, gilded brass

Please read our earlier blog post DIY Bracelets with Delica beads for step-by-step instructions.

For this bracelet with a cowrie shell in the centre, you wind the the wire twice around one end of the shell. Do the same at the other end of the cowrie shell. You make the bracelet in the same way as explained in the DIY instructions - but with a double wire.