Coral Spiral

a twist on a favorite
This time, I used upholstery thread (readily available in even the smallest craft section of most stores) which is super tough, and a pain to work with when crocheting. Why did I choose it, then? First of all, most gemstones (the coral) have very small drill holes which don't readily accommodate the thicker crochet cotton. Secondly, I wanted the thread to be invisible, which means a smaller ratio of thread to bead size.

The earrings were fun to make, I coiled silver wire around a small mandrel (like a spring) then elongated them by gently pulling from both ends. If you don't have a mandrel, you could use something like an ice pick. It does require some thought to make sure they mirror each other, but if you just play with it, you'll get it.