Swirling Crystals

by Dr. Gail Devoid
(Boscawen New Hampshire)

I had seen a pair of earrings that had used the Dutch spiral weave and wanted to create a pair of earrings that used silver and crystals.

I had already designed several bracelets using the Dutch spiral and recognized that with a close-fitting weave I could hide an eyepin in the center of the tube and turn it into an earring.

It took a little bit of experimentation to get the right size crystals and heishi spacers, but once I had that worked out, using Delicas for the inside of the swirl was a logical choice and the design came together quickly.

One of the difficulties with this design was making sure that the tube at the top and the bottom was closed properly so that the body of the earring would not slip off the eye pin.

For this reason, my pattern instructions have a very detailed section on that.

Once successful with that part of the design, I realized that the earring need a little bit more to the design, and I added a larger crystal dangle to the bottom of the eye pin.

By doing the Dutch spiral in the opposite direction, a mirror image of the design is produced--perfect for earrings.

I have done this earring using different color schemes and have not been disappointed with the results.

This is one of my better sellers.

My patterns and designs can be found at my website at

Dr. Gail Devoid
Need for Beads, Inc.