How to Make Hoop Earrings (with or without Beads)

Hoop earrings are jewelry staples. They turn the right outfit into an extraordinary look. With a few simple tools, you can make your own hoop earrings-- with or without beads-- and create the exact match for your favorite outfit.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• wire
• choice of beads (optional)
• round nose pliers
• chain nose pliers
• flat nose pliers
• side cutters
• raw hide mallet, plastic mallet or ball pein hammer
• anvil or block
• cup burr or needle file
• ruler

1. 

   Gather your tools and select the type of metal wire you would like to use for your earrings. 20 or 21 gauge wire is generally the most comfortable to wear.

2. 

   Using your round nose pliers, make an eye at one end of your spool of wire. To avoid scraps and conserve precious metal wire, do not cut the wire from your spool until you get to step five (5).

3. The length of wire you use will depend on the size hoop you would like to create. Select a dowel the size of the hoop you want to make. There are many commercial dowels available to make jewelry. Inexpensive alternatives can be found throughout your house. Children's blocks, magic markers, pens, pencils, broom or mop handles and tree limbs are all examples of items that can be used as a dowel.

4. 

   Wrap the wire around your chosen dowel. Note that in this case we have used an orange block that we raided from our kids' block box. (Shhh. please do not tell the kids that we are playing with their toys. Again.)

5. 

   Be sure the wire is wrapped completely around the dowel with an overlap of about 1/2 inch. Cut the wire.

6. 

   File the end until it is very, very smooth with a cup burr or needle file.

7. 

   Feed on the beads, if any, onto the ear wire in your chosen pattern. (Here we fed on only one glass bead.) Using your needle or flat nose pliers, bend the end to create a latch for the earring.

8. 

   Place the earring carefully on a steel bench block or anvil. Hit the earring gently with a raw hide or plastic hammer to harden the metal and prevent the earring from bending when it is worn. Reshape the hoop as you work, if needed.

9. 

   Repeat to make the earring mate.

Tips & Warnings

• These earrings can be made in sterling silver, gold, brass, copper, nickel silver, gold fill or craft wire made of a combination of base metals. They should not be made with any metal containing even trace amounts of lead.
• Heavy earrings are not comfortable, so consider the weight of beads when designing your earrings.
• California enacted a law that requires body piercing jewelry sold in California to be made only from: surgical implant stainless steel, surgical implant grade titanium, niobium, solid 14 karat or higher white or yellow nickel-free gold (not gold-filled or gold-plate), solid platinum, and/or dense, low-porosity plastic that contains no intentionally added lead. The California law defines "body piercing jewelry" as "any part of jewelry that is manufactured or sold for placement in a new piercing or a mucous membrane, but does not include any part of that jewelry that is not placed within a new piercing or a mucous membrane."
• Wear eye goggles when cutting wire.
• Some people are allergic to nickel silver.

Resources

• GeltDesigns
• How to Make a Simple Head Pin
• How to Make an Eye Pin
• How to Make a Paddle Head Pin
• How to Make Sterling Silver Charm Earrings with an Industrial Tube Wringer

[IcyCucky]

on 4/3/2009 This is a great project to do..thanks