Braided Earings (Jhumkas)
Intro: Braided Earings (Jhumkas)
Braided earrings are rage now a days! These are commonly known as Jhumkas in India. Traditionally made out of precious metals, now-a-days they are commonly available to match the modern fashion.
Ever thought how to make those fancy, braided silk earrings?
Here we show you how to make them.
STEP 1: Tools
Tools:
- Nose pliers
- Wire cutters
- Paper knife
- Scissors
- C-clamp
- White PVA glue (not shown in the photos)
- Cutting mat. A3 size.
STEP 2: Material
STEP 3: Bunching the Silk Threads
To make the braid you need to choose 3 colors of silk threads.
Begin by pressing one end of each thread on the center of the cutting mat.
Then wind each thread 12 times along the short length of the cutting board.
Once you are done, stick the ends of the threads with other threads.
STEP 4: Separating the Threads
Once you have wound all the three coloured threads, separate them by cutting them at the center.
To prevent the loose ends of threads from running away, hold them between fingers as shown in the photo, and then cut using scissors.
Apply some PVA glue to one end of the threads, and let the bunch dry.
STEP 5: Securing the Threads
Fix the C-clamp on the table, and secure the pasted end of the threads under it.
Now start braiding the threads of 3 colors together.
STEP 6: Braiding!
Start braiding the three color threads bunches. If you dont know how to braid, Becky has covered it nicely in this 'ible
STEP 7: Finishing the Braid
Once the braid is complete, remove it from the c-clamp and glue the loose end.
Trim any extra lengths of loose threads from the braid.
STEP 8: Winding Around the Base
Apply a small amount of PVA glue to the Jhumka base and start winding the braid around it.
Its easy if you apply about 2 cm line of glue, paste the braid, then repeat. This way, you will have a good control on winding and the glue also wont dry out till you reach the top.
STEP 9: Continue Winding
Progress with the winding, and stop when you are about one winding short.
Leave a small clear area around the hold in the base.
Repeat this procedure for both the bases and let the dry.
It takes about half an hour to set, and another one hour to dry completely placed in sunlight.
STEP 10: Pasting the Space Bead
On the small clear area you had left in the previous step, apply some PVA glue, and paste the metallic bead spacer on it.
It takes about couple of hours to dry completely, so be patient :)
STEP 11: Insert the Eye Pin
Once the assembly is dry, pick up the eye pin, insert it through the hole in metallic bead.
On the other side (the side which does NOT have the eye) insert the 6 mm plastic bead.
This bead is for locking, normally deep inside the jhumka, and stays hidden from the sight.
STEP 12: Lock the Eye Pin
Leave about ½ inch wire inside the jhumka, and trim the rest of the length using wire cutters.
Carefully hold this left out ½ inch piece and bend it away by 180 degrees using nose pliers to form a small loop.
This loop will keep the small bead in place, and prevent the eye pin from coming out!
Give a light pull to the loop on the top to make sure that the eye pin does not come out :)
If it does, insert a new eye pin and follow the procedure told above.
STEP 13: Paste the Stone Chain
Apply small quantity, a line of about ½ inch, near the base of the braid winding.
Paste the stone chain onto it, a small portion at a time.
Repeat. ½ inch glue, then ½ inch chain, till you are done!
STEP 14: Trming Away the Chain
Once you have covered the complete circle of the stone chain, trim away the extra chain using wire cutters.
Let it dry.
STEP 15: More Chain
Apply some PVA glue right below the metal bead spacer, and stick the stone chain.
Follow the same procedure as described in the earlier steps.
Once stuck, the jhumkas will look like shown in the photo.
STEP 16: Hooping the Hook!
Split the hoop open with the nose pliers.
insert the earring hook and the loop of the eye pin in this open hoop.
You will get a nice eye pin to hoop to earring hook connection.
STEP 17: Closing the Hoop
Once you are done inserting the two parts in the open hoop, use nose pliers to close it.
Its really simple. Press the two ends of the hoop ring till they are right in front of each other. then close any gap thats left, so that the ends meet each other :)
STEP 18: Admire and Wear!
You are done!
Admire your handiwork and wear it with any outfit you like :)
STEP 19: More Ideas
You can use the same technique to make lots of different combinations
The one shown in the photo uses red, green and yellow threads. There is a red wooden bead at the top, and a ball chain is used to decorate :)
You can also play around with smaller jhumka bases, different colors, add golden threads for richer effect or go for different decorations. Sky is the limit :)
5 Comments
EmmieM5 7 years ago
This tutorial is particularly well-done! Nice!
mrsmerwin 7 years ago
These are really pretty. I will have to find something else to glue around--I live in Michigan and well...
Maybe I can slice up a wooden bead to get the hemisphere shape.
Pra_ga 7 years ago
Hey, Thanks for the encouraging comment!
There are 4 work around I can think of...
1. Like you suggested, cut a spherical wooden (or even plastic bead) in half.
2. Use a small (about 3/4 inch diameter) ball, pierce a hole through it and cut
3. Quill one out :) How? Roll sufficient quilling strip, then pull the centre up, so you have a small dome
4. Cast one out from resin, using an hemispherical mould.
If I get time, I will sure post an 'ible how to make those.
I did not realise that it might be difficult to get the material needed there. Sorry about that.
mrsmerwin 7 years ago
No need to apologize. I love having to think creatively to find alternatives. Sometimes it leads to whole new ideas. That is what this site is all about. I have some wooden beads that I was using for doll heads and that made me think of cutting them in half. I even planned it all out. I will be putting one bead on a skewer, rolling the bead in something (what???) to mark the widest part of the sphere, and using the skewer to hold onto while I saw the bead in half. I also thought I may attach something dangly from the hole on the flat side of the earing.
Pra_ga 7 years ago
Hey,
This looks like a nice idea! It is indeed gives a wring to your creativity, when you dont find the right material :)
Its not very difficult to mark the center (Equator?) of the bead. It wont really affect the results even if you mess it up a bit, later on you can cover it up while wrapping.
Would love to see your idea when you are done :