Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Is your child looking for something green to wear this St. Patrick’s Day? This shamrock beaded safety pin is just what they need. Beaded safety pins are such an easy kid crafts, and with this one they’ll have something fun and green to wear for St. Patrick’s Day!
Shamrock Beaded Safety Pin
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I’m sure when you think back to your childhood you can remember a St. Patrick’s Day or two when you were searching for something green to wear so you wouldn’t get pinched. Certainly schools are on top of making sure pinching no longer happens, but we all need some green in our lives on March 17.
This shamrock beaded safety pin is such a fun way to add some green to the holiday. Plus it’s a great activity for a snowy March day when the kids are stuck inside and everyone is feeling so over the winter.
Supplies Needed for Shamrock Beaded Safety Pin
- 12 Size 3 safety pins (2″ 51mm pins)
- 6/0 Seed beads (55 orange and 55 green)
- Butter knife
- Pliers
How to Make a Shamrock Beaded Safety Pin
Over the last year or so I have had so much fun designing new beaded safety pin crafts. I have such a good time creating them, but coming up with the designs are not always easy. It can take a lot of fiddling to get a design to work.
You don’t have to worry about that part of the process though because I have that part covered for you. You can just hand the supplies and design over to the kids and let them have fun crafting away!
Before I get into the technical part of the craft I do want to put a disclaimer out there. This craft is not made for young kids. Between the pins and the tiny beads it’s all around not the best idea. I do create these crafts with kids in mind, but I create them for older kids. I’m sure I don’t really need to say that, but the educator in me just can’t pass this part by.
I also have a tip I want to share. If you’re new to seed beads be aware that they are not created equal. The shapes and size of them are not all the same. This means that you might need to play around with what actual beads you use to get the design to look the way you want it to.
Alright, now with all that out of the way let’s get crafting!
Building the Beaded Safety Pins
To make things easier I will talk about the order of the safety pins from left to right. In reality though the pins are a mirror image, so you truly can go left to right or right to left. Which ever works best for you.
When making beaded safety pins I like to make them by first building all of the pins. Then I work on assembling the entire pin. I find working this way makes it easier to play around with the seed beads if needed for everything to line up right.
The designs of the pins are as follows:
Pin 1: 4 Orange seed beads, 1 Green seed bead, 1 Orange seed bead, 1 Green seed bead, 3 Orange seed beads
Pin 2: 3 Orange seed beads, 5 Green seed beads, 2 Orange seed beads
Pin 3: 3 Orange seed beads, 5 Green seed beads, 2 Orange seed beads
Pin 4: 1 Orange seed bead, 2 Green seed beads, 1 Orange seed bead, 3 Green seed beads, 3 Orange seed beads
Pin 5: 4 Green seed beads, 1 Orange seed bead, 2 Green seed beads, 3 Green seed beads
Pin 6: 1 Orange seed bead, 9 Green seed beads
Pin 7: 4 Green seed beads, 1 Orange seed bead, 2 Green seed beads, 3 Green seed beads
Pin 8: 1 Orange seed bead, 2 Green seed beads, 1 Orange seed bead, 3 Green seed beads, 3 Orange seed beads
Pin 9: 3 Orange seed beads, 5 Green seed beads, 2 Orange seed beads
Pin 10: 3 Orange seed beads, 5 Green seed beads, 2 Orange seed beads
Pin 11: 4 Orange seed beads, 1 Green seed bead, 1 Orange seed bead, 1 Green seed bead, 3 Orange seed beads
Assembling the Beaded Safety Pin
While it seems like the easiest step, assembling the entire pin is actually the trickiest part, and will most likely require some adult help.
The first step is to open up the coil of the safety pin that all of the beaded safety pins are going to hang from. You don’t need to widen it a lot. You just need to open the coil enough to allow the beaded safety pins to slide over it.
The easiest way to open the coil is with a butter knife. Slide the thin cutting side of the butter knife into the coil. Then pull on the knife in order to open up the coil.
You can start to add the beaded pins to the main pin once the coil is open enough. I start with Pin 1 and work my way to Pin 11, but since the sides are mirror images you can start at either end.
To attach the beaded pins you just slide the hole of the beaded pin onto the opened side of the main pin. When you get to the opened coil just continue to slide the pin over it so it ends up on the other side of the opened pin.
Don’t worry if this sounds a bit confusing. Once you try it a few times you’ll get the hang of it. If you are unable to slide the beaded pin through the coil then just use your butter knife to open the coil a bit wider.
Something that is important to note is that when you attach the beaded safety pins make sure that all of the beaded pins are facing the same way when you attach them. If you don’t do this then the beaded pins will face in different directions when they get to the other side of the pin.
The way they face, either left or right, when you attach the beaded pins is totally up to you. I’ve done it both ways. Just depends which way I grab the first pin when I go to put it on.
Once you have all of the beaded pins on the main pin, and they are all facing the same direction, there is just one small step left. You’ll need to take the pliers and pinch the coil of the main pin shut again. That will keep any of the beaded pins from sliding back through it.
Shamrock Beaded Safety Pin - St. Patrick's Day Kid Craft
This shamrock beaded safety pin is a fun St. Patrick's Day kid craft. It's a great way to keep kids entertained on a snowy and cold March day.
Materials
- 12 Safety Pins - size 3
- Seed Beads - Size 6/0 (55 orange and 55 green)
Tools
- Butter Knife
- Pliers
Instructions
- Create 11 beaded safety pins as listed below (pins are a mirror image so can be built from left to right or right to left)
- Open the coil on the main pin with a butter knife
- Slide beaded pins over the coil in the correct pin order
- Use pliers to pinch the coil shut
Notes
Beaded Safety Pin Designs:
Pin 1: 4 Orange seed beads, 1 Green seed bead, 1 Orange seed bead, 1 Green seed bead, 3 Orange seed beads
Pin 2: 3 Orange seed beads, 5 Green seed beads, 2 Orange seed beads
Pin 3: 3 Orange seed beads, 5 Green seed beads, 2 Orange seed beads
Pin 4: 1 Orange seed bead, 2 Green seed beads, 1 Orange seed bead, 3 Green seed beads, 3 Orange seed beads
Pin 5: 4 Green seed beads, 1 Orange seed bead, 2 Green seed beads, 3 Green seed beads
Pin 6: 1 Orange seed bead, 9 Green seed beads
Pin 7: 4 Green seed beads, 1 Orange seed bead, 2 Green seed beads, 3 Green seed beads
Pin 8: 1 Orange seed bead, 2 Green seed beads, 1 Orange seed bead, 3 Green seed beads, 3 Orange seed beads
Pin 9: 3 Orange seed beads, 5 Green seed beads, 2 Orange seed beads
Pin 10: 3 Orange seed beads, 5 Green seed beads, 2 Orange seed beads
Pin 11: 4 Orange seed beads, 1 Green seed bead, 1 Orange seed bead, 1 Green seed bead, 3 Orange seed beads
With the coil pinched shut the shamrock beaded safety pin is ready to wear! This really makes for a fun kids craft that is perfect for the next snowy or rainy March day.
