Bead Bell Christmas Tree Ornament Craft
Check out these beautiful beaded bell ornaments that will make any Christmas tree extra classy! Beads are fun to work with, and there are thousands of colors and styles available. You can go with traditional red, green, blue, white or silver – or get creative and add splashes of colors!
The instructions may seem a little daunting at first, but once you get the hang of it they’re really easy to make. My kids made them with their grandparents, and still cherish the time together and the pretty ornaments!
Repin it on Pinterest!
What You’ll Need:
- 14 – 8mm beads
- 18 – 6mm beads
- 18 – 5mm beads
- 48 – 3×6 oats beats
- 56 – 3mm beads
- Thread
Directions:
- Measure off about 6 feet of thread to start so that you can manage it. You’ll need more, but you can add it by tying it onto end, as needed
- String on 12 – 8mm beads and tie in a circle, leaving about two feet of thread in tail
- Using this tail thread, lace 5 – 3mm beads around every-other 8mm bead
- When coming through 8mm bead number 12, pick up the first 3mm bead you strung, add 3- 3mm beads and go through 3mm-8mm-3mm (Fig. 2.) After all 8mm are laced with 3mm, tie a knot.
- Using long remaining thread, add row as follows: go through 3mm – add 3×6 oat-6mm-3×6 oat and go thru second 8mm from needle. Continue around circle until every other 8mm is capped with triangle of oat-6mm-oat. Go up through oat, pick up 6mm beads adding another 6mm between each until you have a circle of 12 – 6mm beads. Repeat for row 3, using 6 – 6mm and adding 5mm between each until you have completed circle.
- Row 4 same as row 2, using 12 – 5mm beads
- For top of bell, make triangles of oat-3mm-oat around circle. Go up through last oat, pick up 3mms, adding another 3mm between each until you have a circle of 12 – 3mm beads. Pull snugly into bell shape.
- Make handle by adding four 3mm, go through 3mm bead in circle opposite needle. Back-track through two of the 3mm, add 8mm bead and add 25 – 3mm beads for handle. Go back through 8mm bead and add 14 – 3mm beads for bell clapper, add 1 – 8mm bead and 1 – 3mm bead, go around thin last bead and back track through 8mm clapper and 14 – 3mms. Pull snugly and push bell clapper down into middle of bell. Work your thread back down to original tail and tie off.
