Add some extra jingle and sparkle to your backyard this year with a handmade beaded wind chime! Using found wood and an assortment of beads and charms, you can easily personalize it to your garden style.
DIY Beaded Wind Chime
I’ll admit that I’m a bit of a craft supply hoarder and have accumulated a massive amount of beautiful beads over the years, but I have barely used them. This project is the perfect excuse to get out my bead supply and make something I’ll enjoy seeing out my window every day.
Materials
- Assorted beads and charms
- Bells (or anything that makes a pleasant sound when the wind blows)
- Driftwood (or wooden dowel)
- Nylon beading thread
- Beading needle
- Electric drill and small drill bit
- Twine
Make It!
Start by drilling holes in your piece of driftwood (or wooden dowel). I used a pen to mark where I wanted the holes to go. I chose to make 5 holes, but you could make as many as you like.
Pour your beads, charms, and bells into small bowls or teacups (I sorted mine by colour). Then cut a length of nylon beading thread to approximately 22” in length. Tie a bell to one end, leaving a few inches of excess thread at the end of the knot. Thread the needle onto the other end of the string.
Begin threading beads onto the nylon string. I chose to have each strand be a different colour to create a rainbow effect. I also mixed in wooden beads and metal charms.
Once you’ve finished beading your strand, unthread the needle. Then, making sure not to lose your beads, thread the needle onto the few inches of string you left at the bottom (from knotting the bell).
Then insert the needle back up through two or three beads to hide the end of the thread. Snip off any excess string and carefully set the beaded strand aside, and start the next one.
Continue to create beaded strands until you have one for each hole that you made in the driftwood.
Once you’re done, you can lay the finished strands out and make any adjustments you might want. I wanted my beaded wind chime to hang at different lengths, so I removed a few beads from some strands and added beads to others until I achieved a look I liked.
Next, carefully pick up the first strand. Thread the needle and string it through the first hole in the driftwood. Thread a bead onto the top of the wood and carefully tie a secure knot around the bead. Thread the excess string back down through the driftwood and through a few beads, then snip any excess.
Repeat this process until all beaded strands are secured onto the wood.
Finally, make a hanger by wrapping twine around one end of the wood, securing with a knot. Then allow some slack for the beaded wind chime to hang from, and wrap the string around the other end of the wood.
Secure with a knot (I also covered the end of my string with some kraft glue to hold it down) and you’re done! Hang outside a window where you can enjoy its beauty and hear it chime in the wind.
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Rachel Beyer is an artist, designer and creative maker living in Portland, Oregon. She spends her days working at Molly Muriel Apothecary and blogging at Adventures In Making. Her favorite hobbies include cooking, gardening, and crafting.
Great idea! I’m gonna try this in my garden. But first I need to look for a driftwood.
We just completed this project as part of our DIY summer camp. My sons – 7 and 8 – LOVED it and had so much fun. Thanks for the beautiful idea!
Where is everyone getting beads from?
Amazon or Etsy is where I get them.
I love how these wind chimes turned out! I made similar wind chimes for my garden with a tree branch, glass beads and mini copper cow bells. It’s a fun project!
Old jewelry is my go to sourch.
So much fun to make and the end result is beautiful 😍 Long Beach WA has a great bead store!!