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Make Your Own Ear Wires

Are you in need for ear wires but don’t have any? Do not despair; you can easily make your own. All you need are some wire, a pair of pliers and a mandrel or pencil to bend the wire around. You are not restricted to one type, but can make them exactly as creative or simple as you please.

One thing to keep in mind though is not to use thick wires. It has to go through the hole in your earlobe without stretching it. I have found that 20 gauge/0.8 mm is what fits best. Also use wire without nickel, as some people may have an allergic reaction to it.

Half hard wires will hold the shape well. You can use dead soft, but I would not recommend it unless you hammer/flatten parts of it, something that will harden the wire making it sturdy enough to hold its shape. You can use dead soft if the earrings are light but with heavier ones it is safer with half hard wire. Apart from that you can do whatever you please. Decorate them with beads, hammer them, texture them or use the wire to make extra swirls.

When they are done, make sure that you file the end that passes through the ear lobe. The cutting of the wire makes it sharp and jagged, and it may harm your ear lobe when you insert it. Try to file it as smooth and rounded as you can.

When it comes to the functionality of the ear wires, keep in mind what kind of earring you are making and choose wires according to that. Heavy earrings tend to pull forwards and down and may pull the ear wire out of your lobe.

What you need:

• Jewelry wire 22 gauges half hard or dead soft
• Round nose pliers
• Chain nose pliers
• Mandrels or a pencil with the diameter you want the ear wire to have
• Wire cutters

Fishook:
Cut a length of wire, proximately 6-7 cm. Make a loop in one end with your round nose pliers. Use the chain nose pliers to bend the wire 0,5 – 1 cm from the loop. If you want to add a bead here, add it before you make the bending. Place the mandrel where the bend begins and bend the rest of the wire around it. Cut the wire and bend the tip of the end horizontally. File the end smooth.

Fishook variation 1:
Cut a length of wire, proximately 6 cm long. Make a loop in one end with your round nose pliers. Hold the loop onto the mandrel like you can see in the photo and bend the wire around it. Cut the end and bend it upwards a little. File the end smooth. Use the chain nose pliers to turn the loop in the right position.

Fishook variation 2:
For this ear wire you need two mandrels, one small and one a bit larger in diameter. Cut a length of wire, proximately 10 cm long. Make a loop in one end, and bend the wire around the smallest mandrel.

	Turn the eye like you see in the photo.
	Then bend it around the thickest mandrel. Flatten the ear wire and cut the wire a few millimeters longer than to the first bend. File the ends smooth.

Fishook variation 3:
Cut a length of wire, proximately 10 cm long. Make a loop in one end, and curl it into a spiral.

	Hold the spiral a little higher than the thinnest mandrel and wrap the wire around it.
	Hold the bent wire on the side of the thickest mandrel, like you see on the photo, and bend the wire around it. Bend the loop so that the ear wire is flat, cut and file the end.

Hoop style:
Again you will use two mandrels, one thin and one thicker, like when you made the previous wire. Cut a piece of wire, proximately 10 cm long. Make a hook in one end.

	Hold the hook towards the thickest mandrel, and bend the wire around it.
	It will then look like this.
	Hold the wire in front of the thinnest mandrel and bend the wire around it, like you see on the photo.
	Lead the wire towards the hook you made in the first step and cut it so that the end rests snugly into the hook and cut it.

Curved hoop:
Cut a piece of wire, 10 cm long. Make a loop in one end. Measure 4 cm up and bend the wire downwards with your chain nose pliers. Cut it 5 mm below the loop and file the end.

Stud earrings:
Cut a length of wire, 12 cm long. Measure how long you want the stud to be and make a loop where you want the earring to begin. Continue to coil the wire around into a spiral until it reaches the size you want it to have. If you like, you can add beads along the spiral. You can also attach the beaded part of the earring to the coil with a jump ring.

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