Bead and Wire Earrings Tutorial

These earrings all utilize the same basic design and are relatively easy to create.   No complicated wire work skills are necessary. You can vary the number of beads, shapes, colors and patterns as you please.  I recommend bead sizes no bigger than 6mm.  The hole should be big enough to fit 20 gauge wire.

Supplies:

Two 6 1/4″ pieces of 20 gauge, round, soft wire for the frames

Two 14″ pieces of 24 gauge, round, soft wire for coiling

16 to 20 beads about 6mm size with holes large enough to fit 20 gauge wire

Wire nipper/cutter

Small nylon jaw pliers

Chasing hammer

Flat nose or chain nose pliers

Steel block

Mandrel, or other shaping tool for ear wires.  A pencil or marker are fine

Needle file, emery board or cup burr for smoothing wire ends

Hold the 20 gauge wire in your non dominant hand and start wrapping a 14″ section of 24 gauge wire about 1/2″ from the end.  Make approximately 14-16 wraps.

String a bead onto the 20 gauge wire

Go over the bead with the 24 gauge wire and wrap around the 20 gauge, down, around and back up.

String another bead onto the wire and repeat the previous step until you have seven or eight beads.  Wrap the 24 gauge wire the same number of times as you did at the start

With your fingers, gently bend the whole piece into a “U” shape and trim the excess 24 gauge wire.  Pinch it with your chain or flat nose pliers

Cross the frame wires to create a teardrop shape at the top

Wrap the smaller section of 20 gauge wire around the longer piece once.  Cut it close to the longer section of wire and pinch it with your pliers

Straighten the long wire and place it on your steel block.  Carefully and lightly hammer the wire section with no coils or beads on it to harden the ear wire

The wire will curve.  With your nylon jaw pliers, straighten it

String a bead onto the wire

Bend the wire 90 degrees with your thumb just over the bead

With a mandrel, pencil, marker or other cylindrical shaped tool, curve the wire toward the front of the earring to create an open loop.  Try to keep the small bend over the bead.  This will hold it in place later.

Trim the wire to approximately 1 1/4″

With the flat nose pliers, bend about 1/4″ slightly outward at the tip of the wire

File the end of the ear wire with a small file, emery board, or cup burr to smooth it and remove any sharp edges

Your earring is finished.  Make the other earring. They should look something like this.  These have been oxidized with Liver of Sulfur.  Read comments and add your own here and/or http://www.making-jewelry-now.com/bead-wire-earrings.html

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