OK I decided I wanted to make some straight forward sterling silver earrings.
First, you have to decide what you want, and what will make them different.
Second, design them, sketch doodle whatever.
Third, bend and harden the wire to make your creation!
I can't really tell you how to accomplish the first step, that's sort of the point in making your own design... you get to decide! I would suggest that you look at the earrings or pendants that others have and consider size angle etc. Other than that, let it be YOUR creation.
To design, I like to use a notebook made of graph paper. (I use the same book for church notes and sermon ideas too.) You can get one at
Barnes and Noble, here is the one I use. I like the graph paper because it makes it easy to measure the wire later.
Draw some ideas consider if you want to leave part of the wire round or if you will flatten it. Are you going to add any crystals or beads? You can sketch all of this and then finalize the design right on the graph paper.
Once you have a set design, what size wire do you want to use? Personally I like at least 16 gauge wire (Remember the higher the number the smaller the wire) There are a couple of reasons I like 16 gauge wire. one, it's small enough to bend the way I want it to, two, it's thick
enough not to bend once I have finished the product. I also like 16 gauge because it's more affordable than thicker wire. A note here about sterling silver vs fine silver wire. Fine silver wire is .999 silver, almost pure, well basically as pure as it gets. Sterling silver (.925) has some copper in it to give it some strength. Things like earrings, and bracelets need the extra strength of the copper to help hold their shape.
Sometimes thicker wire will be better and for some details you need 22 or 24 gauge wire, it's all totally up to you, the designer.
Well, with that note out of the way, I have my design on graph paper, and now the reason I like to use graph paper. count the squares that your work covers. this design used 30 squares (in this particular paper 5 squares equals 1 inch) so each of my earrings need 6 inches of wire. As another aside the price for silver varies widely, right now it's about $3.00 per foot for 16 gauge wire. I would stock up if I had some extra cash!
Cut 6 inches of wire for each earring then using my smooth jawed pliers I bend the wire to match my pattern. If it's not perfect don't fret, you can add some slight tweaks when you are done. once you have bent the wire to fit the pattern, make sure all of the angles are exactly the way you envisioned them, twist the wire to make sure the earring has the correct amount of twist or is a flat as you require. this is the point where you can make minor corrections. Once you have decided that the earring is your masterpiece... then take the other piece of wire and start bending it.. but don't use the pattern! What? No, use the first earring, this is the best way to make certain they are as close to identical as possible.
OK they are both flat or twisted as you required and have the hoops at the top, make sure that you bend the loop at the top (for the ear hook) so that the earring will hang along the head instead of perpendicular. Also, when you make that hoop at the top bend it so the two earrings are mirror images of each other so it will look more finished.
This is the point where you have to decide if you are going to hammer the wire flat or not. Hammering provides a unique random texture to the wire and it hardens it making it less likely to bend. There are other methods of hardening which I'm still learning. (One involves a tumbler full of steel shot, but I would be careful of that method if you are using a very fine design or if you are using fine silver)
I like to hammer my earrings. This is the point where you would attach any beads, gems or crystals to the earring, normally using a head pin and wire wrapped loop as mentioned in my previous blog.
Last but not least, attach the ear hooks, and have someone try the earrings on. make sure they hang evenly, etc. And you are done!
Congrats you have made your first pair of wire-wrap sterling silver earrings.
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