How to Bead Earring Components

Earring components are the metal ear wires, studs, fishhooks or chandelier hoops that a jewelry maker uses to create earrings. When using ear wire components, usually you add the beads to a headpin first, and then you attach the headpin to the loop of the component. When you use other earring components, such as chandelier hoops, you can add the beads to jump rings and then directly to the chandelier hoops to make beautiful earrings.

Things You'll Need

• Chandelier hoop components (2)
• 3 mm jump rings (one jump ring for every loop on the components)
• Seed beads, 11 mm
• Needle-nose pliers (2)
• Ear wires (2)
• Headpins (2)
• Glass beads, 3 to 4 mm (2)
• Wire cutters

Instructions

Beaded Chandelier Hoops

1. Open a jump ring by grasping the metal of the ring with needle nose pliers on each side of the point where the jump ring ends meet. Twist each needle nose pliers in an opposite direction gently to open the jump ring.

2. Add two or three seed beads to the jump ring. While the jump ring is still open, thread one open end of the jump ring through a loop on the chandelier hoop.

3. Close the jump ring again using the needle nose pliers.

4. Repeat Steps 1 through 3 to make a beaded jump ring for each loop of each chandelier hoop. Your beaded chandelier hoops are ready to wear.

Beaded Ear Wires

1. Thread three glass beads onto one headpin.

2. Bend the headpin to a 90-degree angle approximately 1/8-inch above the top glass bead.

3. Grasp the wire of the headpin with the needle nose pliers just after the 90-degree angle. Bend the wire back in the opposite direction around the tip of the pliers to create a loop in the headpin. Do not close the headpin yet.

4. Slip the loop you just made in the headpin through the loop in the ear wire to attach the headpin to the ear wire.

5. Hold the loop of the headpin with one needle nose pliers and grasp the extending tail of the headpin with the other pliers. Tightly wrap the tail of the headpin around the base of the headpin loop two or three times.

6. Clip off the excess headpin tail flush at the point where the wrapped wire ends.

7. Repeat Steps 1 through 6 to make a second earring.

References

• Making Jewelry: Bead Earrings