Friday, March 18, 2016

Free Beading Pattern - Arabella Earrings


  • 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
  • DiamonDuo beads "Purple Iris"



This pattern is made with the new DiamonDuo beads which I blogged about HERE. This design might look a little familiar because I adapted it from our "Elinor Earrings" pattern which you can download from THIS post. I had to make a few changes to make it work with the larger DiamonDuo beads. I like both patterns but I think these are especially nice because they are a little larger than the Elinore Earrings. And, in spite of the Art Deco shape of the DiamonDuos, the overall look of the earrings is actually more Art Nouveau.

As I've noted in the pattern, you can make these with Toho seed beads. However, you'll get better results by using Miyuki seed beads because they're smaller and Miyuki's 15/0 seed beads make much neater netting. Toho beads give the earrings a slightly lumpy appearance because the beads are a little crowded. I did use Toho seed beads in two of the colorways posted here so you can see that they still make a nice pair of earrings.

I should warn you that you may run into a bit of a problem if you want to make this pattern. Unfortunately, the new DiamonDuo beads have become kind of scarce just as more bead sites are starting to carry them. That's because the distributor that the beads sites get them from had completely run out of them. Queen City Bead on Etsy still has some HERE. Red Panda is sold out but Betsy hopes to get more in soon. Keep an eye on THIS page at Red Panda to see if they're back in stock. Potomac Beads has a few colors HERE. A site called Bead Passion Studio has quite a few colors listed HERE but I don't know how many of them are actually in stock. You might find a few other places that have them by doing a Google search or by doing a search on Etsy.

Here are a couple of sample earrings that I made while testing the pattern. The first one has Miyuki seed beads and the second one has Toho beads.


  • 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
  • DiamonDuo beads "Pastel Burgundy"



  • 15/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Bronze" (223)
  • 11/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Bronze" (223)
  • 8/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Bronze" (223)
  • DiamonDuo beads "Chalk Lumi Purple"

Below are four more colorways to inspire you:


  • 15/0 seed beads Toho "Nickel Plated" (711)
  • 11/0 seed beads Toho "Nickel Plated" (711)
  • 8/0 seed beads Toho "Nickel Plated" (711)
  • DiamonDuo beads "Chalk Lumi Blue"




  • 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Galvanized Pewter" (4222)
  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Galvanized Pewter" (4222)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Galvanized Pewter" (4222)
  • DiamonDuo beads "Antique Chrome"




  • 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
  • 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
  • 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
  • DiamonDuo beads "Coral Bronze"



You can get all three sizes of the Metallic Chocolate seed beads either at Red Panda or Aura Crystals. The last time I checked Aura Crystals, they were out of the 11/0 and 8/0 in that color but Red Panda had all three sizes in stock.

Click HERE to download the free pattern.

If you like this pattern, please consider making a voluntary donation through PayPal using the DONATE button on the right.


NOTE: I don't mind if you sell the projects that you make with my patterns, but please mention that you got the pattern from Linda's Crafty Inspirations. Please contact me for information about teaching this or any of our other patterns in a class.





35 comments:

  1. I am almost inspired enough by these to start beading again. Fabulous. Thanks for sharing them, Linda.

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    1. Hello Linda, I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind if I use this pattern to make earrings to sell? I always ask. I'm not talking about selling more than 50, I'm not that popular..haha Thanks either way.

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    2. Hi Anonymous. Look in my post above just below the link where you download the pattern. There's a note about selling your beadwork.

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  3. What a lovely pattern! I must try and find these DiamondDuo beads. Many thanks for sharing!

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  4. Love these earrings and I'm loving the DiamondDuos. Thank you Linda :) Nelly

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  5. These look phenomenal, will certainly attempt them... Whether I manage is another questionxxx

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  6. Un grand merci pour le schéma.

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  7. Hi Linda,
    I wanted to make the Annabella earrings, but when I tried to download it, it says it's been put in the trash by you. Could you please help me?
    Thanks,
    Jeanne

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    Replies
    1. I don't know what's causing that message but I've gotten several emails lately saying the same thing about various patterns. The PDF files are still there and the links work for me. I wonder if something in your browser is blocking you from accessing the files on my Google Drive.

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    2. Jeanne, can you tell me exactly what the message says? I want to search Google Drive help and see if they mention that issue and say what to do about it. This is happening too much lately and I need to find a solution.

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  8. Linda, I carry these beads in my shop and just getting ready to re-stock. Wanted to let you know this!
    LouAnn Elwell (www.southpassbeads.etsy.com). Love this pattern!

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    Replies
    1. Hi LouAnn. I will add your shop to my DiamonDuo list.

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    2. Oops! Your shop is already on my list.

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  9. hi am trying to download earing pattern too but no luck.:

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    1. I just tested the link, Diane, and it's working. What happens when you click the link? Another option to try is to right-click on the link and choose "Save Link As...".

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  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Hi Janice. Please send me an email using the contact form on the right.

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  11. Thank you, Linda, email sent you this evening. :)

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  12. Hello the earrings are so beautiful.
    Are you using 4x6mm or 5x8mm diamon duo?
    Many thanks

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    Replies
    1. I used the original larger DiamonDuos to make these. The mini ones hadn't come out yet when I made the pattern.

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    2. This pattern was adapted from the "Elinor Earrings" pattern which calls for SuperDuos. Although I haven't tried making the Elinor ones with Mini DiamonDuos, I think there's a chance they might work with that pattern.

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  13. Love these earrings. Very generous of you willing to allow someone to make and sell. A donation is more than reasonable. God bless! Beautiful!!

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  14. Beautiful earrings. Thank you for the pattern.

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  15. I just love how you have the pattern so easy the instructions well written out with the pictures just great !!

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  16. Although I don't usually make "complicated" earrings because I tend to get frustrated easily, I just downloaded the pattern for these because they're absolutely EXQUISITE!

    I VERY much appreciate that you use proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling in your blog. It's very rare tyat I see that online!!!! Bless you!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. I hope that you are able to follow the pattern without any trouble.

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