Continuing the theme of using silver and base metal wire shapes in order to make your own parts for earrings, I’m going to talk about how to make some cool Spiral Earrings. Earlier, I showed how to make some funky Zig Zag Earrings. Again, these sprial type of earrings aren’t exactly the style of jewelry that I make normally . But I was surprised how easy they were to construct, so I decided to do an article on them. They turned out pretty nicely actually.
You can use either silver wire or base metal wire (I’ve used base metal here) to make these spirals. I think it helps the spirals keep your shape if you use thicker wire than 24 gauge… I’d suggest about 20 actually. You can get creative with what types of crystals or beads to use with them. Since the spirals have a sort of “rustic” look, more roughly made beads often work well, or you could just go with faceted ones. Also, I’ve attempted to do a “double spiral” earring for this project but you could just as easily use one. Or more!
This tutorial will require you to know the techniques of Basic Wirewrapping which I’ve detailed earlier in the articles Simple Wire Loop Technique and Wirewrap Drop Technique.
Supplies:
(for “each” earring, double everything for a pair)
various 2 - 5 mm crystals or beads
4 inches 18-22 gauge wire
silver earring hook, w/ non-closed loop
2 Chain Nose Pliers
Round Nosed (Rosary) Pliers
Sharp nosed pliers for cutting
