Wire Teardrop Hoop Earrings (Tutorial)
by Rena Klingenberg. © 2003-Present Rena Klingenberg. All Rights Reserved
These teardrop hoop earrings are a long, graceful shape created from a single piece of wire.
Here’s how the earring looks when it’s being worn:
And a closer look when it’s being worn:
I like the long lovely line of the earwire on the back of these earrings – but if you prefer a shorter earwire, you can easily cut it to your preferred length.
You can wear these earrings as plain hoops, or you can add beads or dangles to the bottom of the teardrops.
Supplies:
- 2 pieces of 20 gauge round half-hard wire – each 16cm (6.3″) long.
I’m using copper wire.
If you’re not sure what types of wire you can use, see my Earring Wire Guidelines. - Ruler – for measuring and marking your wire.
- Sharpie marker – for marking your wire, and to use as a mandrel.
- Wire cutter.
- Cup bur / wire rounder – to smooth and round your wire ends.
- Small piece of #0000 steel wool – for final smoothing of the earwire tip of your earrings.
- Round nose pliers.
- Flat nose pliers.
- Chain nose pliers.
How to Make
Wire Teardrop Hoop Earrings
Start by cutting two pieces of wire, each 16cm (6.3″) long:
Now we’ll straighten the wire, using your nylon jawed pliers (or your fingers) to straighten each wire.
Hold one end of the wire firmly with your flat nose pliers, and pull the entire length of wire through the nylon jawed pliers (or your fingers), pulling the wire straight and tight as you do so:
Next we’ll use a cup bur / wire rounder to smooth and round the ends of your wire:
Now we’ll make two marks on each of your wires.
Use a ruler and your Sharpie marker to make a mark 6cm (2.36″) from each end of each wire.
The blue marks below show where to mark your wires:
Now each of your wires should look like this:
We’ll make one earring at a time.
We’ll start by using your Sharpie marker as a mandrel to shape your wire.
Pick up one of your wires and lay it across your Sharpie pen, with one of your Sharpie marks centered across the pen:
Keeping the mark centered across the pen, place your thumb on top of the marked place on your wire:
Smoothly bend the wire ends straight downward:
Now you have a short wire end and a long wire end.
Keep pressing the two wire ends toward each other, until the short wire end crosses the Sharpie mark on the long wire end:
Your wire should look like this:
Now we’ll bend the long wire end so that it’s pointing straight up from the top of the teardrop.
So use the tips of your flat nose pliers to grasp the long wire end, just above the Sharpie mark:
Now bend the long wire end, so that instead of leaning over to one side, it points straight up from the top of the teardrop:
Now we’ll bend the short wire end, so we can wrap it around the longer wire end.
So use the tips of your flat nose pliers to grasp the short wire end, just above where it crosses over the Sharpie mark on the long wire end:
Bend the short wire end at an angle like this:
Your wire should look like this:
If you want to add any beads or dangles to the bottom of the teardrop hoop, now is the time to add them! 🙂
Next we’ll wrap the short wire end around the long wire end, just above the top of the teardrop.
Use your flat nose pliers to grasp the top of the teardrop:
. . . and use your chain nose pliers to grasp the end of the short wire end:
Wrap the short wire end around the long wire end – starting just above the teardrop, and wrapping toward the end of the long wire end.
To get uniformly tight wire wraps, keep the short wire pulled taut and wind it firmly around the long wire:
When you’ve made about 3 wire wraps at the top of the teardrop, it’s time to snip off the short wire end.
Use the flat side of your cutter against the wire wraps, and trim off the little wire tail as close as possible to the wraps:
Use a jewelry file or emery board to smooth off any roughness or sharpness on the cut-off wire end.
Then use the tips of your chain nose pliers to squash down the wire end where you just trimmed and smoothed it:
Your wire should look like this:
Now we’ll shape the earwire part of the earring.
Use the widest part of your round nose pliers to grasp the long wire, just above the wire-wraps you just made; the teardrop should be facing up, as though it’s looking at the ceiling:
Bend the long wire straight downward, around one jaw of your pliers:
Your wire should look like this:
Next we’ll make a tiny bend at the tip of the earwire.
This bend makes the earwire easier to insert into the ear piercing.
Use the tips of your flat nose pliers to grasp the tip of your wire.
Bend the wire at a slight angle, away from the teardrop:
Now the shaping of your earring is finished. It may look something like this:
Now make the second earring, the same way you made the first one.
Use a small piece of #0000 steel wool for final smoothing of the earwire tips of your earrings.
Wipe away the Sharpie ink marks left on your earrings, using a small amount of rubbing alcohol / isopropyl alcohol on a scrap of paper towel.
Your finished pair of Wire Teardrop Hoop Earrings may look something like this: