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Square Hoop Earring Jackets (Tutorial)

by Rena Klingenberg. © 2003-Present Rena Klingenberg. All Rights Reserved

We’re going to make easy earring jackets to transform a pair of post (stud) earrings.

This is a neat way to expand your earring wardrobe, or to create different jewelry looks when you’re traveling.

How to Wear Earring Jackets:

Choose a pair of post earrings, and remove the earring clutches from them.

Then thread an earring jacket onto each earring post.

Insert the earring post into your ear piercing, and attach the earring clutch to the end of the post as you normally would:

Supplies:

• A pair of stud (post) earrings.
• 18-gauge wire, soft round – 2 pieces, each 10cm (3.94″) long.
  I used copper-colored Artistic wire.
• Sharpie marker – for marking your wires.
• Ruler – for measuring and marking your wires.
• Wire cutter.
• Cup bur, jewelry file, or knife-sharpening stone – for smoothing and rounding your wire ends.
• Round nose pliers.
• Flat nose pliers.

How to Make
Square Hoop Earring Jackets:

Cut two pieces of wire, each each 10cm (3.94″) long.

If your wires are still curved from being on the roll, pull each wire through your fingers to form it into a straight line:

Next we’ll smooth and round both ends of each wire – using a cup bur, wire rounder, jewelry file, or knife sharpening stone:

Now we’re going to mark the wires so we’ll know exactly where to make each bend for the square hoops.

Lay one of your wires against a ruler, and use your Sharpie to make these three marks on your wire (the blue lines represent where you’ll make your marks).

Then mark your remaining piece of wire the same way:

Your wires should look like this:

Now we’ll make one square hoop earring jacket at a time.

Pick up one of your wires, and use your flat nose pliers to grip the wire right beside the first Sharpie mark:

Now bend the wire at a 90-degree angle; the wire mark should be on the center of the bend you just made:

Your wire should look like this:

Now move your flat nose pliers to grip the wire right beside the middle Sharpie mark:

Now bend the wire at a 90-degree angle; the wire mark should be on the center of the bend you just made:

Your wire should look like this:

Now move your flat nose pliers to grip the wire right beside the remaining Sharpie mark:

Now bend the wire at a 90-degree angle; the wire mark should be on the center of the bend you just made.

Your wire should look like this:

Now we’ll make a small loop in each end of your wire.

We’ll want the loops to be the same size, so use a Sharpie marker to draw a line on the jaws of your round nose pliers, fairly close to the tips:

Now use your round nose pliers to grasp one of the wire ends on your square hoop; the wire should be resting on the Sharpie line you drew on the pliers:

Now turn your pliers to roll the wire end into a loop:

Your wire should look like this:

Next we’ll make a similar loop on the remaining end of your wire.

Grasp the wire tip with your round nose pliers:

. . . . and roll the wire end into a loop. The two loop ends should be stacked one on top of the other:

Your first square hoop earring jacket is finished!

Now make the second jacket with your remaining wire piece:

Use a few drops of rubbing alcohol on a scrap of paper towel to remove the Sharpie marks from your pliers and wires:

Now get out a pair of post earrings:

. . . and put your earring jackets on them.

Then enjoy the compliments you receive! 🙂