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Making Your Own Ear Wires!

 

After spending what I felt was too much on the components for making earrings,
and being frustrated because the components were never quite what I wanted,
I decided that I needed to figure out how I could make my own!

I learned the following technique from the book, "All Wired Up," which is described in greater detail at the bottom of this page.

Tools:

   Begin by cutting a 3" piece of wire and pulling it straight. Make a small loop with the tip of your round nose pliers, at one end of the wire. This loop will be the spot where you attach any embellishments. The wire now resembles a head pin.

    Now, move the round nose pliers to the other side of the loop. Nestle the pliers against the edge of the loop, and bend the wire over the pliers to almost a 90° angle. Hold the loop of the wire, so that the long piece of wire points at you. Place the pen about 1/2" away from the bend in the wire and roll towards the bend, creating the hook of the ear wire.

   Make any minor adjustments, so that the wire looks right and cut off excess wire about 1/4" past the bottom of the small loop. At the very bottom of the straight wire, make a slight bend away from the loop.

   File the tip as described above. Hammer the front of the ear wire to add a more elegant feeling.

I've looked through several different wire working books, and finally stumbled upon a really great beginner's book. It describes all the different tools you'll need, touching upon basic techniques and delving further into intermediate techniques as well.

All Wired Up

"All Wired Up: Wire Techniques for the Beadworker and Jewelry Maker"
by Mark Lareau

A peek into the table of contents:

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