How to Form a Hook for a Handmade Wire Hoop Earring

Make your own handmade hoop earring jewelry.

Make your own handmade hoop earrings using a variety of metal wires, including 14-karat gold, sterling silver or brass. You can embellish your earrings using fancy beads and charms in any style you like. When creating your own handmade wire hoop earrings, you will need a closure to keep the earrings from falling out. You can create a small, delicate hook and loop closure in a few steps by simply bending the wire ends.

Things You'll Need

• Jewelry wire cutter
• 18-gauge jewelry wire
• Needle nose jewelry pliers

Instructions

1. Cut two 6 1/2-inch pieces of jewelry wire using a jewelry wire cutter. Alternatively, cut the wires in any length you want, depending on how large you want your hoops to be. Make sure to cut the ends flat, so there are no pointed edges to damage your ears.

2. Grasp the edge of one end of the wire with a pair of needle nose jewelry pliers. Create a small loop in the wire by slowly turning the wire around one tip of the pliers, pressing the wire flat against the pliers while turning. You want to create a very small loop, just large enough to fit the other end of wire through with a small amount of space in between.

3. Turn the loop you created with the pliers so it is perpendicular with the wire.

4. Shape your hoop earrings around a round object that matches the diameter you want for your earrings, pressing and forming until the wire takes on the rounded shape. Use a pipe or small bottle to help get the desired size circle.

5. Slide beads or charms onto the wire, as desired.

6. Bend about 1/4 inch of the opposite end of wire upright. This bend will fit through the loop you created on the other end to create a closure.

Tips & Warnings

• To embellish your earrings, hammer the wires flat using a jewelry hammer to within about 1/4 inch from the hook and loop. Make sure your bead holes will be large enough to accommodate the wider wire.

• As an alternative to creating a loop and hook, bend a half loop hook on each end of the wire and hook them together.

References

• Hodgepodgerie: Hoop Earrings