How to Make Earwires from Scratch * Moms and Crafters

Learn how to make earwires from scratch to save you loads when making jewelry from precious metals! Then check out more copper jewelry making tips and tricks. This post contains affiliate links.

how to make earwires - final project collage with grayish blue background images

Making your own earwires is a fantastic way to save space in your craft room and to save money when making jewelry with more expensive metals.

The raw materials when crafting with copper and silver, for example, will likely be cheaper than buying the components.

I love to make my own earwires when I’m using a material that I don’t necessarily stock. I have loads of gold and silver plated components, but I have more of a copper wire stash than anything else. So I make my own copper findings.

I’ve shared in the past how to make wire jewelry clasps as well as how to make jump rings from scratch.

Today, I’m sharing my favorite: how to make earwires. I do this a LOT because of the cool organic feel you get.

I also struggle with ‘lost earring syndrome’ when wearing hook earrings. And I never seem to have enough backs. When I make my own earwires, I often make it elongated so that it stays in better.

You can even take this a step further as I did with these DIY metal earring. And finally, the earrings you see modeled in this post were made for my tutorial on how to wrap crystals with wire – but I made sure to photograph the process of how to make earwires so that I can then share that tutorial too! You can see the other style featured in this wire wrapped pendant (minus the outer wire).

Which wire should you use for making your own earwires?

It’s very important to choose a good wire weight for making earwires from scratch.

You don’t want it too thin or it’ll be flimsy.

You don’t want it too thick or it won’t be comfortable to wear.

A good size would be 18 gauge. You can probably get away with 16 gauge wire here too. Play around with what works for you. Remember that the higher the gauge the thinner the wire. The lower the gauge the thinner it is.

What you need to make DIY earwires

18 Gauge copper wire
Wire Cutters
Nylon Jaw Pliers
Round nose pliers – it doesn’t have to be one with guides, but it’ll definitely help!
File (or wire end rounder)
Chasing hammer
Steel bench block
Sandbag – recommended to absorb the shock of hammering
Clamp – recommended to more easily bend two at the same time

How to Make Earwires – Step by Step with Photos

1. Cut two pieces of wire about 2.5 inches long.

2. Round off the ends (or at least the end that’ll be poking into the ear).

3. Slightly bend back the end using the nylon jaw pliers so you don’t nick it. This makes it easier to angle into the ear.

4. Hold the two wires together so that the portion you bent back align. Holding them with a clamp with a flat end really helps with this step. Determine how long you want your earwire to be. Bend the two together around your round nose pliers together at that point.

5. Place your wires on your steel block, on top of your sandbag. Tap gently with the flat side of the hammer to slightly work harden it. Leave the bottom portion alone as you want it to remain workable to make your loop. Make sure it keeps its form as you harden it and flip it over to hammer the reverse if it starts curling up.

6. Using your round nose pliers, curl back a loop on your earwire to attach whatever will be dangling from it. Make its partner to match.

7. Make a pair! You’ve succesfully learned how to make earwires in a beautiful, elongated, and more practical shape. To make it less elongated, make a wider loop and make the loop much higher up.