Read the sequence from the top before cutting, painting, or moving pieces.
Hello Bekob! I am Tasha and I blog over at Designer Trapped in a Lawyer’s Body about thrifty Handmade projects and home renovations. You may remember my first contributor post about how to transform an outdated, cultured marble vanity with concrete and my post about how we built a striking wood screen to hide ugly utility boxes on the exterior of our house. Well, I am back again this month to teach you how to make a wood bead chandelier. It is a bit time consuming, but VERY straightforward and the result is strong!
I don’t know about you, but I find that striking light fixtures can be outrageously expensive. Fortunately, there are a lot of affordable Handmade options for making light fixtures, like these 14 Handmade pendant lights. There are also clever and cost effective ways to update existing light fixtures, like these two straightforward ways to update flush mount fixtures.
I have fallen in love with wood bead chandeliers that are popular right now, but I have NOT fallen in love with the price tags. So, I decided how to make my own Handmade version and today I am going to show you how I did it!
How to Make Your Own Wood Bead Chandelier
Full written walkthrough below; be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more videos!
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Materials Needed:
- (1) 10 inch quilting hoop (from your local craft store or Amazon)
- (2) 3 inch quilting hoops (from your local craft store or Amazon)
- Thin gauge wire
- Wood glue
- clearly glue
- Electrical tape
- Scissors
- Quilting thread
- Quilting needle
- Wood beads (the amount of beads you need depends a lot upon what size your chandelier will be). I ordered mine online and spent around $40 for the beads. I used the following:
- Small beads- 8mm (like these). I used approximately 600.
- Medium beads- 14mm (like these). I use approximately 400.
- Large beads- 19 mm (these are just slightly larger). I used approximately 75.
- Mini pendant light kit (I used Portfolio Mini Pendant Fitter in oil-rubbed bronze finish, from Lowe’s Home Improvement; you can also find an inexpensive one on Amazon)
Steps for the top of the chandelier:
1) You will be working with a 3 inch and 10 inch hoop first. Remove the outer hoops–for now, you will work only with the inner hoops.
2) Thread your quilting needle with quilting thread, being sure to double up and knot it at the end.
3) Loop the thread over the 3 inch quilting hoop.
4) String your beads onto the thread. The pattern is: 10 small beads followed by 1 medium bead/1 small bead x 12. Finish each row with a medium bead, so that you have a total of 13 medium beads.
5) Tie the end of your strand to the 10 inch quilting hoop with a double or triple knot. BE SURE NOT TO ALLOW YOUR STRANDS TO CROSS OVER EACH OTHER.
6) Repeat until the top of your chandelier is as full as you like. Then cut away excess thread. This is what your chandelier will look like at this stage.
Steps for the bottom of the chandelier:
1) Grab your second 3 inch hoop and remove the outer hoop.
2) Thread your quilting needle with quilting thread, being sure to double up and knot it at the end.
3) Loop the thread over the 3 inch quilting hoop, just as you did above.
4) String the beads onto your thread using the following pattern: 1 small, 1 large. Repeat the pattern for a total of 5 times.
5) Tie the end of your strand to the same 10 inch quilting hoop with a double or triple knot. The 10 inch hoop will sit above the 3 inch hoop you are working with, which will serve as the bottom of the chandelier. AGAIN, BE SURE NOT TO ALLOW YOUR STRANDS TO CROSS OVER EACH OTHER. Below is a photo of how things will look at this stage–bear in mind, you will be working with it upside down at this point.
6) Add as many strands as you like.
Final light assembly steps:
1) Add a drop of clearly glue to each knot. This will help ensure that your knots do not come loose.
2) Grab your OUTER hoops and paint some wood glue along the inside of each one. Then, secure them in place over the inner loops, tightening them into place.
3) After your wood glue has dried, remove the screw from each of the outer hoops. Then use cutting snips to remove the part of the hardware that sticks out.
Steps to attach the pendant light:
1) Use a small drill bit to drill two very small vertical holes along each side of the TOP hoop.
2) Run wire through one hole and circle the wire around the cord of the pendant light. Then thread the wire through the opposite hole.
3) Wrap electrical tape below the circle of wire around your cord–this will ensure that the light does not slip down. I covered my black electrical tape with some gold washi tape to make it less noticeable. Be sure also to wrap secure the ends of your wire by wrapping them. This is what the top of your light will look like when you look down into it.
That’s it! You are ready to hang your light up and admire your handy work! look at the finished chandelier. We hung ours in our guest room to replace an outdated flush mount fixture. We are in love with it!
I would love for you to head over to my blog, Designer Trapped in a Lawyer’s Body, to look at our other inspiring Handmade projects. You would love our Handmade bentwood pendant light walkthrough! And if your kitchen is outdated, be sure to look at how we painted our kitchen cabinets without priming or sanding {and they are holding up perfectly}! Or if you prefer crafty projects, you won’t want to miss my Handmade photo canvas walkthrough–learn the secret to creating authentic canvas texture! I hope to see you over in my corner of blog land soon!
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More Handmade lighting options:
straightforward Faux Copper Light Fixture
Terrarium into light fixture Handmade walkthrough
Handmade geometric hurricane pendant light
Crystal update for a “boob” light
How to turn your vanity light strip into a hanging pendant chandelier
