How to make wire wrapped hoop earrings

by Shuang Liu October 31, 2019

View the Product Used in this Project

Are you a fan of hoop earrings? If so, then today’s tutorial is for you. In this article, you will learn how to make hoop earrings using jewelry wire. In addition, I am going to show you how to embellish the earrings with wire filigree and seed beads. Today’s project covers a lot of essential wire wrapping skills. Now let’s dive in!

Material needed

20-gauge jewelry wire (for the hoop)
24-gauge jewelry wire (for the filigree)
30-gauge jewelry wire (for attaching beads)
2mm red spinel beads
2.5mm turquoise beads

Tools needed

Round Nose Plier
Chain Nose Plier
Electric Wire File
Wire Cutter
Ring Mandrel
Mini Jump Ring Mandrel
Jewelry Hammer
Bench Block

1. How to make the earring hoops

In my previous post, I’ve covered the basic earring hoops. Today, let’s try a slightly different version with more design elements in it.

how to make hoop ear wires

Key points when making the hoop earrings:

The gold filled wire will expand after wrapping around the mandrel. In my case, the mandrel I used is 1inch in diameter, but the final loop is about 3.5cm/1.4inch. However, if you use the copper wire, the hoop will stay the size of the mandrel.
Don’t forget to hammer the earring frames. It will help the earrings maintain their round shape.

2. How to make wire filigree embellishments

Wire filigree can be really fancy and complicated. Maybe we can explore this area in depth in future tutorials.For today’s project though, we are going to make a simple curved shape ; then connect these curves together to create a lovely lace effect.

how to make wire filigree

Key points when making wire filigree:

The key to make those wire filigree beautiful is to keep every curve uniform. We need to use the exact same mandrel and same loop in the looping plier for every curve.

3. How to attach beads and wire filigree to the earring frame

Now I’ll show you how to attach the beads and wire filigree to the earring frame using 28 / 30-gauge wire.

how to assemble wire wrapped hoop earrings

Key takeaways when wire wrapping:

It’s difficult to work with a very long piece of wire. For this project, You can cut required length (70cm) by half ( 35cm) and wrap one piece at a time.
Keep the wire tight all the time during wrapping.
Keep the number of wraps uniform for each beads and wire filigree.
Avoid bending the wire to a sharp angle as it may cause the wire to break.

If you like today's tutorial, please share it with others by pinning the step-by-step picture instruction below. Thank you!

how to make wire wrapped hoop earrings