Kat's Wire Hoop Earrings

by Judy Larson

Category: Contemporary
Technique(s): Filing / Finishing, Texturing, General Education
Skill Level: Beginner

My daughter gets more compliments on these simple gold-filled elegant thin hoop earrings than any I have ever made for her. They are a breeze to make and are great gifts.
Earring Diameter: Small: 7/8" Medium: 1½" Large: 1-7/8"

Full hard wire is best to use for this project because the earrings are constantly pulled open a bit to put on. Softer wires would not spring back into the original shape and can bend out of shape more easily. If full hard wire is not available, twist softer wires to make them harder.

Less than three feet of wire will make all three pair!

Materials

20 Gauge Round Full Hard 14/20 Gold Filled Wire

H4-20FH

Lesson Quantity: 3.00 feet
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 5FT
Price: $38.97
Gold Club Price: $29.23

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Tools

C.H.P Milano Italian Flush Cutter, 5 1/2 Inches

PLR-487.00

PLR-487.00
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $16.97
Gold Club Price: $12.73

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6 Step Barrel Plier - Pack of 1

G2-503

G2-503
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $14.95
Gold Club Price: $11.21

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Steel Hoop Mandrel

MAN-214.00

MAN-214.00
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $28.97
Gold Club Price: $21.73

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6 Inch Heavy Duty Flat Nose Pliers with Narrow Jaws

G2-96

G2-96
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $9.97
Gold Club Price: $7.48

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Round Nose Wire Pliers

G2-507

G2-507
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $32.95
Gold Club Price: $24.71

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Wire Rounder Set, 3 pieces

G14-20

G14-20
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $13.95
Gold Club Price: $10.46

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Steel and Rubber Bench Block 4x4 Inches

G17-44

G17-44
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $29.95
Gold Club Price: $22.46

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7 Piece Mini TruStrike Hammer Set with Stand

HAM-520.70

HAM-520.70
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $140.54
Gold Club Price: $105.40

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5/8 Inch Double Rubber/Nylon Head Hammer - Pack of 1

G3-26

G3-26
Lesson Quantity: 1.00 pieces
Purchase Quantity: 1.00 each
Price: $4.97
Gold Club Price: $3.73

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Instructions

Step 1

Flush cut both ends of two pieces of 20 gauge round full hard wire the length desired. The wires will be fully straightened in Step 6.

Small: 3½" Medium: 5¼" Large: 6½"

Judy Larson's Kat's Wire Hoop Earrings - , Contemporary Wire Jewelry, Filing, Finishing, Texturing, , Kat's Wire Hoop Earrings

Step 2

Use the smallest step on the 6 step barrel pliers to make an eye loop on one end of each wire. Round nose pliers will also work, just make sure the loop sizes are consistent.

Step 3

Use the tips of round nose pliers to bend each loop back to center it at the end of each wire. The very tip of a chain nose pliers well also work. The bend needs to be quite sharp, but still a bit round. Use flat nose pliers to close the loop if it opens during this process.

Step 4

Use an ultra fine point Sharpie to mark ½" in from the other end of each wire.

Step 5

Smooth the cut ends with a cup bur and a fine sanding pad (1500 to 2400 grit).

Step 6

Since full hard wire is hard to straighten right off the coil, it is easiest to do it now that the wire is cut in short lengths.

Step 7

Hold one wire loop flat in a bench block. Using the rounded side of a Mini TruStrike Planishing Hammer, texture the length of the wire to the ½" mark. If the wire is too long for the block, place something of similar height next to it so the eye loop can be held flat the full time the wire is being textured.

Step 8

With the textured side out and the eye flat against the mandrel, wrap the wire around the mandrel. Since hammered full hard wire is VERY springy, wrap the wire on a section of the mandrel where the wire will wrap around two times. Use the rubber or plastic hammer to help round the wire until the ends of the wire overlap about one inch or so.

Step 9

Use flat nose pliers to bend the eye loops up at a 90 degree angle.

Step 10

Insert the wire end into the loop on each earring. Place an earring on a bench block. Make sure the loop is hanging over the block edge while using the rounded side of a Mini TruStrike Planishing Hammer to gently texture each side or the earring. This may round the earring out to the point where the Sharpie mark is even with the loop. If not, stretch the earring out on the mandrel until the line is even with the loop.

Step 11

If an earring is no longer round, place it on the mandrel and use the small plastic or rubber mallet to gently hammer it back into shape. Since hammering will expand the circle, squeeze the earring into a smaller circle on the mandrel for hammering. Adjust the earring up or down the mandrel as needed.

Step 12

Soak a piece of tissue or cotton ball with alcohol. Rub this on the Sharpie mark to remove it.

After I wrote up directions for my daughter's earrings, I made myself a pair, but wrapped them in scrap bezel wire and scrap balled end wire.

Reviews

Judy Larson

My philosophy has always been "I will never live long enough to learn everything I want to learn, go everywhere I want to go and see everything I want to see!" So, what I make and how I create it is always changing and evolving. I was born shortly after WWII to parents who grew up during the Depression. They always had a "we can do it, we can make it" attitude which rubbed off on my two younger brothers and me. My brothers are amazing and can make and do ANYTHING! When I was a little girl, my mother gave me an old carved cigar box, which I cherish, filled with pop beads, wooden beads and yarn for stringing. That was the beginning of my jewelry making journey.

On a visit to the Grand Canyon when I was a young woman, I was fortunate enough to help a Native American silversmith sand cast my first silver bracelet and bezel set a large turquoise nugget on top. I was in love, hook, line and sinker! While working full time and having a family here in northern Minnesota, my artistic endeavors slowed down but never stopped. I am an artist, scrapbooker, seamstress, woodworker and jewelry artisan. Now that I am retired, I am able to indulge in all my hobbies. However, there just never seems to be enough time in the day to do it all, but I try!

I have been teaching community education beginner and intermediate jewelry making classes since my retirement. Many of my students have been bitten so hard by the jewelry making bug that they say I have turned them into monsters-they just can't get enough. Making jewelry, seeing something take shape from small bits and pieces, is so rewarding that I hope it brings out the "monster" in you, too!