Wire Wrapped Earring Tutorial: Beginner: How to Make Spiral Swan Earrings

Here is another little earring tutorial that I hope you enjoy. These don't take that long to make, are pretty simple and make a wonderful pair of earrings. It's a versatile wrap because this can be done with many different types of beads, doesn't require a lot of wire and allows you some room to be creative with either side of the earring. Offering a customer a 'two sided' pair of earrings or a pendant wrapped that way, makes for a bonus reason to buy your jewelry! Plus it allows for you to enjoy both sides of the finished stones. Sometimes, it's hard for me to 'choose the front'. ;)


'Swan Earrings' - This will be the finished project. It'll take you about 20 minutes or 30 minutes. Once you get the hang of this, it'll take you way less. You can make many pair of these in a very short time.

Click any of these images to enlarge.













You'll need:
1. Round nose pliers
2. Flat nose
3. Cutters
4. File
5. Two beads with holes drilled 18 or larger gauge (sometimes a visual will tell you if your wire will fit that hole).
6. Two gold filled, round, soft, 18 gauge wire, cut to 4 inches each.



1. Take the end of a wire with the round nose pliers. Get a firm grip about one quarter inch down the nose of the pliers.

2. Roll the pliers toward you as close against the wire as you can. You want as 'round' a center bend as you can get. But don't sweat it if it's not 'perfect'. That's the charm of hand made jewelry. Just try to be careful not to 'nick' the end.





3. Once you have a nice bend and center loop, gently turn the pliers to create a spiral. Once the first turn is made, it will be easier to get the flat nose pliers and continue the bend.








4. With your flat nose pliers, take the wire firmly but careful not to scratch. Hold onto the loose end close to the plier to maintain control and continue to roll the spiral (about 2 complete turns).

5. In this earring, we are leaving a small 'air space' in between the spiraled wire. This makes room for the earring hook to attach later. It also is a nice affect. In some cases, to add strength, we might have used a hammer to flatten the wire a bit, but in this case, the beads are not heavy and the wire is thicker. These will hold their shape without worry.




6. Once the spiral is complete, thread the bead. You are going to bend the spiral end 'up' to rest on the center of the bead. With your eye, gauge the appropriate distance. Normally, this is just a smidge shorter then the length of the bead. Remember, you can always tighten up that spiral a bit if you need.






7. Hold onto the bead with one hand and at the same the lose end of the wire. Take the spiral with the other hand and push it up and tight against the side of the bead. As an option, you can do this bend using the round nose plier to make the initial curve. I just find that if you can bend around the bead, it makes for a more natural line in the wire, in the part I call the 'neck' of the Swan.




8. Now here before you cut to shorten the end, keep in mind that you have some creative room. In this example, we're just going to make a simple single turn loop to close up and add a small spiral. You can optionally leave that wire longer and create a tight, larger spiral to cover the bead center if you like that look.










9. Using the round nose pliers, put a spiral into the unfinished end. Use the steps above to remember how to spiral. ;)




10. Leave a small amount of 'bending' room in the wire. Bend the spiral up and onto the bead. Do you see how this makes either side of the earrings 'wearable'? If you get the type of ear wires that allow for an open 'S' curve in the end (or you make some), then you have a 'two for one' pair of earrings.





11. Add your ear wires, rub off your finger prints and enjoy!










Thanks for visiting!  IzzyzGumbo@gmail.com

19 comments:

Jamie Spires said...

Ooh, these are so pretty! I will have to get out the wire, dig through my stash to find the perfect beads, and try it. Maybe tonight! Thanks for the tutorial!

Jamie
Creations by JAE
http://creationsbyjae.blogspot.com
http://creationsbyjae.etsy.com
http://www.creationsbyjae.com

IzzyGumbo said...

Hugs you! Thank you for checking that out Jamie! You're wonderful and I LOVE your jewelry. Thanks for your support. :)

Mel said...

Thank you for checking out my blog and leaving the awesome comments!

I love these swan designs! Very simple buy very original! Love them!

Betty BeadBug said...

I love these. I have been wanting to try this but hesitant about it. I wasn't sure that I could figure it out on my own. Now I won't have to. Thanks.

Unknown said...

This tut is very easy to follow and thank you so much for sharing with us. I've mentioned you in my blog!

IzzyGumbo said...

Thank you so much Amatullah! I'll be visiting shortly. Hugs and have a great day!

IzzyGumbo said...

HJC!Thank you so much! I just subscribed as well ;)

Anindita Basu said...

I love your swan earring. I do have some turquoise beads and I am going to make them tonight. I can see, you have enthused so many of us with this tutorial. Thanks for sharing. Dita

http://www.alankarshilpa.etsy.com

IzzyGumbo said...

thank you Alankarashilpa! these are wonderful, fun and easy, I'm so glad you enjoy! ;)

HJC Editor said...

Hi there!

Your tutorial is great and so we've featured in on our blog. Here is the link: http://www.handmade-jewelry-club.com/2011/10/jewelry-making-tip-wire-work-spirals.html

IzzyGumbo said...

hi HJC! Awesome of you to feature the swan earrings, thank you so much! always love to visit your site as well. xo

Manny Carwile said...

What a great idea and good tutorial. I love these swan earrings. I'll start playing with different combinations of beads and wire right now.

Manny
http://treasurerocks.etsy.com

Online Jewellery India said...

Thanks you so much for sharing such a good idea for how to make earrings at home. I'll definitely try this!!
This earrings looks very pretty!!

Unknown said...

Thank you for shareing great earrings!

Unknown said...

Lovely earrings going to try and make them.
thank you so much for sharing and your tutorial.

IzzyGumbo said...

Thanks Gina, thanks Pat! Enjoy and I appreciate your comments.

Mary Decker said...

I just found you through Pinterest. I'm so glad! Great tutorial...the earrings are lovely. Thank you for taking the time to photograph and post the instructions. I hope to learn more through you. Thanks so much!

Unknown said...

I cant wait to try this on a few plain beads I have saved for earrings! Thank you for sharing!

Copper Reflections Handmade Jewelry said...

Beautiful designs, great work. I enjoy seeing the pictures of the beautiful jewelry you make. Thank you for sharing your tutorials.