YouTube Video Tutorial - Alessia's Fan Earrings

ALESSIA'S FAN EARRINGS

• 15/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Silver" (711)
• 11/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Silver" (711)
• 8/0 seed beads Toho "Antique Silver" (711)
• SuperDuo beads "Pastel Montana Blue"
• 4mm rondelles "Montana" (Chinavoski)

 
I have never before worn earrings this large but these are so pretty that I at least had to give them a try. I'm so glad that I did. They're gorgeous! The video is in Italian but it's not too difficult to follow along. You can watch Alessia Principe's video on YouTube, HERE.

UPDATE: The video is no longer available.

I made samples in a few different colors and decided that I like them the best with silver seed beads and not so much with dark bronze beads. They seem to need lighter/brighter colors to bring out the pretty details.

I made my first couple of samples as directed by the video but I omitted the drop bead at the bottom, because I didn't care for it, and added some seed beads instead. In the end I decided that I prefer them without any added detail there. Also, I wasn't keen on the 4mm rondelles near the top of the earrings at first because the thread shows a bit. I tried replacing them with 3mm rondelles and 3mm bicones but both of those caused the earrings to curl or become unstable. I went back to using the 4mm rondelles. The earrings come out perfect with them and they're quite sturdy if you reinforce the stitching around the bottom edge and around the seed beads in the center.

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• SuperDuo beads "Opaque Light Blue Picasso"
• 4mm rondelles "Aqua Gold AB - #B26 AB" (Beads One)
• 3mm druks "Sky Blue Picasso"

I tried three different things with these three samples. The one on the far left was made as directed by the video except for the seed beads in the center at the bottom. The center sample has 3mm druks instead of rondelles near the top but I don't like them. They don't have any sparkle and these earrings are all about sparkle. The sample on the far right is the best of the three. I made it as directed but left off the bottom dangle. I might make myself a pair like those sometime.

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457D)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457D)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457D)
• SuperDuo beads "Polychrome Copper Rose"
• 3mm rondelles "Amethyst AB" (Beads One - not available online)
• 4mm rondelles "Amethyst AB" (Chinese)
• 3mm bicones "Purple Red AB" (Chinese)

The sample on the left has 3mm bicones and the one on the right has 3mm rondelles. Both earrings came out warped. It's possible though that part of the problem might also be the Miyuki "Dark Bronze" seed beads. I think they may be too tiny for this pattern. I don't like the look of these two samples. The colors are too monochrome and boring.

• 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
• SuperDuo beads "Pastel Bordeaux"
• 4mm rondelles "Brown/Topaz - #C29 AB" (Beads One)

I like this color combination very much but it's a little too dark to see the design details very well. I might try the same SuperDuos with some lighter color rondelles and silver seed beads and see how that looks.