How to Make Your Own Post Earrings

Post earrings made of pink stone and hematite

Learn how to make your own post earrings. Posts are little pins that go through the hole which was pierced (at an earlier time!) through the ear lobe. The decorative part of the earring is glued to the front of the post or is hung from a hook that comes attached to the front of the post.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Earring posts
• Earring backs
• beads, jewels, or gems
• Head pins
• Blunt nose jewelry pliers
• Jewelry wire cutters

1. To make a post earring, first decide what kind of metal you want to use. You can use inexpensive posts made of base (common, not precious) metals. These work fine for many people, but some people's ear lobes get sore or red when base metals are used because these metals tend to corrode. Better quality earrings frequently use more expensive posts made of stainless steel, silver, gold, or other metals coated with gold. Sometimes you can even find and use plastic posts for very sensitive ears.

2. These stud earrings were made with onyx stone

   Many post earrings are made with a single stone or jewel and are called "stud" earrings. Basically you simply sand the flat end of the post so it will accept glue, then glue on a stone or bead (following directions on the glue bottle or tube), and let it dry. These are the simplest type of post earrings to make, and can range from the very casual to quite elegant depending on the materials used and the shapes and sizes chosen. For more information on stud earrings you may want to refer to my article on making stud earrings (see references) which goes into more specific detail on making this type of post earring.

3. This earring's post head is a metal flower with a hook

   Many posts are not designed to have a bead, jewel or stone glued to them. Instead, they come with a small round, square, or triangular metal bead, or a more decorative item such as a metal shell, flower, etc., connected at the end. Whatever the end decoration, it will have with a small hook attached to the bottom.

4. Using blunt nosed pliers to bend the end pin

   One or more beads can be hung directly from that hook. This is usually done by placing the pointed part of a head pin (basically like a sewing straight pin except they come in different lengths) through the beads. Just above the last bead, bend the pin at a 90 degree angle with blunt nosed pliers.

5. This red coral earring dangles from a small hook at the bottom of a gold ball

   Then slip the pin through the hook and, with the blunt nosed pliers, bend it to a closed circle. The bead or beads now hang on the pin and dangle below the post. These earrings may be very short or very long.

6. This long earring was made with one eye pin and one head pin.

   Creating an earring that hangs in sections allows it to swing more than if you make it all out of one pin. If you want the earring dangle to hang in sections, an eye pin can be used first instead of a head pin. An eye pin has a little metal hoop at the end rather than a flat piece like a head pin (or sewing straight pin) does. This allows you to have another tier of beads because you can hang the second tier off the metal hoop at the end of the eye pin. This can go on almost indefinitely (to your taste of course). Care must be taken not to use so many beads and such heavy beads that the earring will pull down on the earlobe or get caught in your clothing!

7. This earring has a bead glued into the top cup and beads hanging from a hook below

   Some posts have a small cup at the end with a hook under the cup. In this case a bead can be glued into the cup like when making a post earring. Then another bead or beads can be strung on a pin or pins and hung from the hook below.

8. Both of these have earnut backings; one also has a plastic disc for stabilization

   Once the earring is finished, select the type of backing you want to use. Broad backings are sometimes used with big earrings because they add more stability.

9. * Don't worry too much if the earrings you make aren't to your liking at first. The earrings can be taken apart and many of the parts (especially the beads) can be reused. This is even true if styles change later and you no longer like the earrings you made previously.

Tips & Warnings

• Beads for post earrings are usually available at craft stores. Some areas have stores especially devoted to selling beads or jewelry parts.

• The internet is also a very good source for all types of jewelry supplies. Some internet sites even let you practice making a piece of jewelry on a virtual bead board, where you select beads they are selling and move them around until you get a pattern you like.

• Jewelry parts are often very small. If you are working in areas where small children may play, be sure to work on a tray with edges so that beads won't roll off the table and get lost in the corners of the room, under furniture, etc. The beads are much too small for little children to play with safely, as they might swallow them.