Customized ear wires add a special handmade touch to your PMC and other jewelry creations. In this Beading Lesson, we'll experiment with a few different ways to make your own ear wires.

Wire jigs are very helpful for making ear wires because you can make identical ear wires again and again. For a basic ear wire, you'll need to cut a 2 1/2" piece of 20-gauge wire. Place the large peg on the jig, with a small peg at 6:00 and another small peg two holes to the left.

Use round-nose pliers to make a loop and place it over a small peg. Wrap the wire upward, around the large peg, and downward toward the second small peg. Remove the wire from the jig and trim the end of the ear wire to about 1/8" beyond the last bend. Use a wire rounder (or cup burr) to file the end of the wire, then place it on a bench block and use a hammer to flatten the bent part of the ear wire. Hammering the wire hardens it and prevents the ear wire from losing its shape.

For a modern fish hook-style ear wire, cut a 2 ½" piece of wire. Position a large peg between a small peg and a medium peg. Use round-nose pliers to make a loop on the wire end and place it over the small peg. Wrap the wire upward around the large and medium pegs (as one) and back downward. 

As for the other earring, use a wire rounder to file the end of the wire. Then, place the ear wire on a bench block and use a hammer to flatten the bent part of the ear wire to prevent it from losing its shape.

Candie Cooper, author of Metalworking for Beaders 101 (Lark Books 2009), accented a variety of PMC dangles with customized ear wires. Each pair reflects a unique, handmade look that's easy to achieve in your own home studio.

Links:
German-style Wire
http://www.beadalon.com/GermanStylePlatedWire.asp

ColourCraft® Wire
http://www.beadalon.com/ColourCraft.asp

Chasing hammer, Steel Bench Block, Deluxe Thing-a-ma-Jig http://www.beadalon.com/WireWorkingTools.asp

For more ideas and inspiration visit:  http://www.katiehacker.com/index.htm