DIY Beaded Sunglasses

I remember flipping through a magazine a few years back and seeing a tiny picture of sunglasses that were adorned in beads. It was so small that I couldn’t exactly see all of the detail, but I remember staring at the picture for a really long time, wishing that I owned a pair.

sunglasses and beads

Taking something you already own, and adding a few extra touches here or there is the perfect way to reinvent and make it feel new again. With the peak of festival season on its way, that mental image I took of those sunglasses popped back into my head, and it made me eager to finally try and make a pair of beaded sunglasses. It took a little bit of time and a steady hand, but the result was well worth it.

Here’s how to make your own pair of beaded sunglasses…

beaded sunglass supplies

What you need:

Sunglasses (it’s best to use a pair with thicker arms)

Seed beads

Bendable wire (small enough to fit through the bead opening)

Super glue (I used this)

Before you get started, it’s good to have an idea of what kind of design you are going to do. I chose to do a chevron and stripe pattern. If you can’t decide on what to do, you can always pick out your color scheme first, and then just decided as you go along. You can always follow the design that I did as well!

beading the beads

First, take your wire and string on your first row of beads. I started out with a light blue.

beads placed on sunglasses

Take your super glue and place a thin line of glue along the arm. (I lightly blew on the glue to allow it to set a bit before placing down my beads) Take the beaded wire and place it straight down on the glue, then lightly press down on the row of beads before sliding out the wire. If all goes well, you have your first row! Sometimes there might not be enough glue, so if the beads don’t stick the first time, take them off and apply another thin layer of glue before trying again.

chevron pattern

Continue this method for each row of beads you place.

beads placed

Be careful not to press down too hard on the beads when you are placing them so the super glue doesn’t seep through to your fingers.

finished sunnies

When you are finished, give a good press over the beads with your finger and set your sunglasses aside for an hour or two to make sure the glue has completely set.

beaded sunglasses

How cool do these look?! Have fun and get creative with your design! :)

More DIY ideas from the BLDG 25 Blog.

Follow FP Jana on Twitter.

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Megan
9 years ago

This is the coolest DIY ever!!!

Katie
9 years ago

These are so gorgeous–thank you for sharing!!

xoxo Katie
http://www.etsy.com/shop/adifferentsun

KC
9 years ago

I LOVE these!! I am so going to do this DIY…thank you for such a awesome diy!! :)

annette
9 years ago

i love this, trying it out this weekend! thanks!

9 years ago

Great idea!! Love it <3

Strawberry Blonde

9 years ago

This is so cool! Seems like a lot of work that is really worth it!

shakkablakka.blogspot.nl

Michelle
9 years ago

LOVE!!! Pure genius ❤️

Yie
9 years ago

I adore the idea and can’t wait to try!

9 years ago

Such a great idea! I never would have thought to use wire in this project.
http://be-sparked.blogspot.com/

9 years ago

These. Are. AWESOME!
I can imagine that you might need some patience, but that’s worth it!

http://lettersandbeads.blogspot.de/

9 years ago

I love the result. I think I’m not good in gluing beads but good inspiration. Thanks. :)

9 years ago

These look so good! I’m really impressed by the technique! :)

acoupleofbrownfinches.blogspot.com

This is such a cool idea. Like, so awesome. I’m totally going to try this.

xx Kelly
http://beautyandthebeachblog.com

Bobbi
9 years ago

Awesome idea! I wonder if using a glue gun would give the same results or would it be too thick?

Nicole
9 years ago

I did this a few years ago but just used bead glue to attach each individual bead – never thought of stringing them first. Good idea – I always get rave reviews on mine! :)

Marit
9 years ago

Awesome DIY!!! Highly recommend. Instead of using glue I just strung the beads on a piece of copper wire and wrapped it around the arm band. It was great when I decided to change the pattern I just unwrapped it and started over. They’ve held up really well and I get lots of compliments!

9 years ago

This is the perfect time to try this! I love how it can be personalized for anyone’s style AND you could make multiple sunglasses for different outfits. :)

https://www.etsy.com/shop/LovelyLikeTheSun

9 years ago

We are leading wholesaler in new york , the 3 main products we are selling are handbags,scarves and sunglasses,if you are intreseted in our products,you can go to http://www.huafu.org to view our items online, if you are in US,you can call us at 212-268-9985 for more information.thank you in advance.

Anonymous
9 years ago

I love it thanks for copycattin’ our culture!!!!!

9 years ago

Wow~Nice~! once i have seen before handmade stitch eye wear, and this is another handmand using beads! thank you for sharing! I like it!

http://www.malayaoptical.com

Stephanie Tan
9 years ago

I really love it!! This is so COOL! I am going to DIY soon……
http://eyeweartoday.blogspot.com/2014/09/malaya-optical-is-celebrating-57th.html

John Wilder
9 years ago

Great idea.Thanks for sharing.

8 years ago

This is a fantastic idea for festival fashion and summer in general. Thanks so much for sharing!

5 years ago

Very creative! Great idea to decorate your old sunglasses !