How to Make Bead Wrapped Hoop Earrings

Bead wrapped hoop earrings take a bit more work than simple beaded hoop earrings, but they come out beautiful. Experiment with different beads to get a look you like.

Things You'll Need

• 18 gauge wire and wire snips
• 32 or 34 gauge wire
• Seed beads
• Earwires and round-nose pliers
• Something solid and round, the size you want the hoop to be

Instructions

1. Cut a length of 18 gauge wire that is at least 1 inch longer than your round item. Use the pliers to make a loop in one end of the wire. Wrap the wire around the item, and make another loop where the wire overlaps. Snip off the excess wire. This is your hoop.

2. Cut a length of 32 gauge wire -- at least 3 feet. Wrap the thin wire several times around the thick wire (hoop), just under the loop.

3. Add a seed bead to the thin wire. Wrap the thin wire around the hoop wire one time, coming back where you started. Check that the seed bead is sitting on the outside edge of the hoop, and that the thin wire is snug.

4. Repeat step 3 until you get all the way around the hoop. After every third or fourth bead, push the beads up against each other.

5. Wrap the thin wire several times around, right under the loop, when you reach the other end of the hoop. Snip any excess wire off both ends.

6. Open the earwire by twisting slightly to the side with the pliers. Slide on one loop of the hoop, then the other. Close the earwire.

Tips & Warnings

• Larger beads will be awkward and will move around unless you pass the wire back through the bead and around the hoop a second time.