How to Make Earrings
 This pair of earrings is made from wire and all the pieces are made by hand. The only components that were not made from wire is of course the garnet beads. You can choose to make earrings with store bought components or findings, or you can learn to make all the components in the earrings yourself including the earwires and headpins. Why Make Your Own Earwires? It's very easy to make your own earwires once you get the hang of it. You can make your earwires exactly the way you want it and you can make so many styles and sizes. The right style of earwires makes all the difference! Frequently Asked Questions... How thick is the wire that you use to make earwires with? You can use from 18 ga or 1 mm to 22 ga or 0.6 mm. However, 18 ga or 1 mm is on the too thick side. For some people it's just too thick to be comfortable in their ears. Also, 22 ga or 0.6 mm tends to be on the too thin side and can be too flimsy. Sticking to the middle range sizes is a good idea... that is 19 ga, 20 ga, and 21 ga or 0.9 mm, 0.8 mm, and 0.7 mm. I'm rounding the millimeter measurements. If you would like to see the exact measurements you can go to the Wire Gauge Chart or use the Wire Gauge Calculator. Both these links will open in a new window. How do you get the earwires hard? You can hammer the earwires and/or you can use a tumbler to work harden the wire. Either lightly hammer with your regular hammer or use a nylon or rawhide mallet if you are concerned that you are going to damage it. Do the hammering on a steel block. Copper wire is more difficult to get hard and strong. It's better to choose thicker wire like 19 ga or 0.9 mm to start with. How do you finish the end of the cut wire? Start with a good cut... flush or micro bevel. You can use a fine needle file and fine grit sandpaper or a cup burr on a rotary tool. How to Make Earrings - Tutorials Learn to make hammered hoops - Earring Making... Wire Jewelry Projects... Hammered Hoops... Part 1 Wire Jewelry Projects... Hammered Hoop Earring Making... Part 2 Making Horseshoe Earrings - Part 1 Return to the top of this How to Make Earrings page. Return to Wire to Jewelry home. |