Making a Simple Pair of Hoop Earrings
Gather your materials. Making your own hoop earrings is quite easy, but you will need to have some special materials to do it. You may need to visit a craft store to find some or all of these items. You will need: 20 gauge wire in the color of your choice. You can use silver plated wire, copper wire, gold plated wire, or any other type that you like. A dowel in the size of your choice. This is an object that you will wrap the wire around to form hoops. You can use a large dowel or a small one. Flush cutters. This is a plier-like tool that cuts through wire in a straight line. Chain-nosed pliers. These pliers have rounded tips. Round-nosed pliers. These pliers have rounded tips. Sanding block to remove rough edges.
Wrap the wire around a dowel. Get your dowel and begin wrapping your wire around the dowel to form it into a hoop shape. Make sure the wire is tight on the dowel to ensure that the wire will form a good shape. Keep in mind that you can use any round object that is the size you would like your earrings to be. You can use a soda can for a large pair of hoop earrings, or a pen for a small pair of hoop earrings.
Cut the ends of the wire. Cut the wire so that the ends of the hoop earring will be overlapping by about an inch (2 cm). This will provide enough extra wire for you to create the closure. Use flush cutters to cut the wire straight across and make sure that there are no jagged edges. Be sure to put on a pair of safety goggles before you cut the wire. A piece of the wire my go flying towards your face and it is important to protect your eyes.
Bend the ends of the wire to form the closure. Next, use your round-nosed pliers to bend on end of the wire into a rounded shape. Grasp one of the ends of the wire and slowly wrap it around the round nose pliers until there is a small loop. Then, use chain-nosed pliers to bend the other end of the wire into an upward facing “L” shape. The “L” shaped end will hook into the loop you created to form the closure for your earrings.
Sand the tip of the wire. To ensure that the edge of the wire is not rough, use a small sanding block to file the end of the wire that will be inserted into your ear. This is the “L” shaped end. Sand the end until it feels smooth when you run your fingertip across it. After you finish sanding, your earring is ready to wear! Make a second one in the same way to create a matching pair.
Customizing Your Hoop Earrings
Use a hammer and block to flatten the wire. You can change the shape of the wire using a hammer and jeweler’s block. Try placing your hoop earring on a jeweler’s block and hammering the hoop to flatten it out. Don’t hammer to much or you may break the wire.
Form the wire into other shapes. You can leave your hoops as a classic circle, or you can experiment with other shapes. Use your pliers to bend and shape the wire into other interesting shapes. Try forming the wire into a square, triangle, octagon, or diamond.
Bend the wire to create a wavy effect. You can also use your pliers to change the look of your hoop earrings. Try using your round nose pliers to bend the wire in a few places and create a wavy effect. You can bend it just a little bit, or bend it into dramatic waves around the entire earring. If you want to use this technique, then you may want to make your hoops a bit larger to provide slack for bending the wire.
Add beads. A simple way to embellish your hoop earrings is to slip some beads onto them. Try using colorful glass beads, crystal beads, or even wooden beads to add some extra flair to your earrings. Arrange the beads in a pattern to create a colorful set of hoop earrings.
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