Introduction: Teardrop Earrings

These cute earrings can be created as short or as long as you want and in any color combination imaginable!
Materials:
6 lb. Fireline (a type of fishing line used for beading that is similar to floss, can be found at certain fishing supply shops or bead shops)
Beading Needles
11/0 Seed beads
4 mm Beads (e.g. Crystals, pearls, etc.)
                        ( Most seed beads come in a tube and you will hardly make a dent in it. The amount of 4mm's depends on the length.)
Beading Mat (Optional)
2 Earring Wires

Step 1:

Cut your piece of Fireline. For the length of earrings I made in this tutorial, I cut it the length of one of my arms plus three or four inches. Use more or less for longer or shorter earrings. Thread your needle and thread one of the 11/0 seed beads. Pull the bead near the end of the string. Bring the needle through the bottom of the bead and pull so the bead stays in place. This will create a stop bead that can easily be pulled off once the earring is formed. 

Step 2:

Thread 6 of the 11/0 seed beads and one of the 4mm beads. Pull the beads down to the stop bead. Thread the needle through the bottom of the bottom seed bead and pull it through all 6 of the seed beads, but not the 4mm. Pull the string all the way through. Your beads will form a half circle kind-of shape. It's ok if your half circle doesn't touch the stop bead anymore. 

Step 3:

Thread three more seed beads and one more 4mm bead. Pull them down to the half circle. Thread the needle through the bottom of the last 3 seed beads on the half circle and pull all the way through. It will make a small V shape. Then thread the needle through the 3 seed beads above it, strengthening the V. The needle and thread should be coming out the top of the last seed bead you added. 

Step 4:

Continue adding three seed beads and one 4mm and threading the needle through the last three seed beads of the last V and the next 3 seed beads that you just added until you have the desired length of earring. It will look like one continuous zigzag.  You can now remove the stop bead. To do so, you just pull on it. It will easily slide off the thread and you're good to go!

Step 5:

Once you have the desired length, thread 6 of the 11/0 seed beads. Bring the needle with the 6 seed beads through the bottom 3 seed beads of the top V. Pull them through and you should get a circle around the 4mm bead. That is your first teardrop. 

Step 6:

Thread 6 more 11/0 seed beads and bring those through the bottom three seed beads of the same V using the needle and pull through. If unsure of where to pull the needle through, imagine how the earring will look. You can visualize the teardrop circling the 4mm bead and you know that the teardrops alternate sides. This will allow you to see the correct line of seed beads to pull the needle through. Continue this until all 4mm beads are encircled with seed beads except for the very last 4mm bead on the earring. 

Step 7:

Thread six seed beads and pull them through the last three seed beads of the last V. From where the thread is coming out of the point of the last teardrop, thread the needle through the bottom seed beads of the teardrop and circle the needle through the teardrop until you reach three seed beads from the point of the teardrop (the last three of the V). Thread an earring wire and bring the needle through the last 3 seed beads of the teardrop. 

Step 8:

Now circle the needle and thread through the last teardrop and earring wire several times (3-4 times to be exact) to strengthen the loop. This will make sure your earring doesn't come undone after all of your hard work. You can now take scissors and cut the end of the thread off of the earring. Cut it as close to the beads as possible but be sure to not accidentally cut beads or loops out of the earrings. Do the same with the tail. Ta da! One of your earrings is done! Just follow this tutorial again to make the second earring!