My friend and team mate, Vicki from Orion Designs has written a simple to follow tutorial to make handmade earwires from sterling silver wire. Happy bending!
Vicki says:
I’ve been making my own earwires for many years. What follows is a tutorial for a very simple style that is a great way to get started.
I start with 3″ – 3 1/2″ of 20 ga half-hard sterling silver wire. If this is your first time trying this, you might want to practice with copper wire before cutting the sterling!

Hammer about 1/4″ of the end of the wire flat using a chasing hammer and either an anvil or bench block.

Next, using your round nose pliers, make a small loop at the flattened end.

Placing the round nose pliers just above this loop, make a bend in the opposite direction, as shown in the next 2 photos.


In the photo below, you can see that I’m making the curve that will go through your ear. Here, I am using a size 13 aluminum knitting needle as a “jig”. A Sharpie pen works well too.

To finish the earwires, hammer both the top curve and the small curve at the bottom where your drops will go. This hardens the wire and dresses it up at the same time. Don’t forget to file the ends and make a small bend in the end, if desired. You can also toss all your newly created earwires into your tumbler to make them a bit more sturdy and to shine them.
This final image shows an example of Vicki’s earwires used in a pair of lovely prehnite earrings she created.
Thanks for sharing Vicki!
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Thanks for posting my tutorial Kristy. It really shows how straightforward it can be to make your own findings.
Vicki
Awesome! I am now inspired to make my own!
Great tutorial! Enjoyed it much!
This is a great tutorial, thank you!
What type of pliers are those in the 4th picture? They sure don’t look like my round nose pliers! … and thanks so much for the info!
Kimberly
they are wire looping pliers. You can find similar ones about mid way down the page on the monsterslayer site
http://www.monsterslayer.com/Pages/PliersSherSnip/PlierShrNip.aspx
Great lesson thank you.
Getting closer and closer to putting holes in my ears…
I am so excited I have been wanting to try my hand at making my own earring wires. Thanks Vicki and Kristy
Thanks again Vicki and Kristy
Just found your blog – wonderful
Anne
Wow, that was really interesting. I’ve only dabbled in jewelery-making myself, but I’m definitely into jewelry WEARING!
Wonderful job. Pictures are excellent. I have got to get me a pair of those wire looping pliers.
Lois