Thread Earrings

Welcome! I really love these earrings. I always get so many compliments when I wear them. They're is such a beautiful collaboration in the design between the shiny wire, the bold colors, and the texture of the materials used. I have a pair that reminds me of peacock feathers! And really, they look like elegent peacock feathers that can match any outfit. I love that I can use extra thread that I have from little sewing kits for these earrings and the vast amount of possibilities of variation because of all the different color combinations out there. Now let's make a pair...

- Wire

• Gauge 20
• Gauge 24

- Thread: Around three different colors

- Clear Nail Polish or Glue

- Earring Hooks

Tools

- Scissors

- Needle Nose Pliers

- Wire Cutters

- Wire Twisting Rod

- Nylon Jaw Pliers (optional)

To start, get your 24 gauge wire, your wire twisting rod, and your wire cutters. Attach your wire to the handle or end of your rod. My rod has a little hole in the handle that I can put the wire through to fasten it. Fastening your wire keeps the twist tight and makes the process go by faster. After your wire is secure to the rod, either twist your rod or the handle, whichever works best for you. I find that if I hold the wire with one hand to guide it where I want it to go, I can quickly twist the handle to create a nice spring. As you twist, compress and tighten the spring as much as you can. Soon you will get a nice and tight coil. Do this until your coil reaches 1.5-2 inches while compressed (this depends on how big you want your earring to be). Now let's stretch the spring...

Then use your wire cutters and your gauge 20 wire to cut a roughly 2-3 inch section (it doesn't have to be exact, this will not be part of your earring). Use the gauge 20 wire to wind through your spring like screwing in a nail. I have some pictures above to demonstrate the process. The two wires will be perpendicular to each other as you hold the thicker wire steady in your hand and rotate the spring through it. This step is important because it makes the spacing between each spring the same distance. This makes your earring look even and makes the earrings together look like a pair. Keep in mind that I am doing each of these steps times 2 because there are two earrings. Two earrings, two springs, two even springs. After you have your two stretched out springs, line them next to each other and cut each of the four ends until the springs match in length. If you want to check if you want your earring to be smaller, then lightly bend the spring into a teardrop shape. If you think the teardrop is too big then use your wire cutters to modify their lengths accordingly. Now let's build the frame of your earring...

To build the body of the teardrop grab the spring, the wire gauge 20, the wire cutters, and the needle-nose pliers. Cut two 10 inch lengths from the gauge 20 wire. Put the thick wire down the middle of the spring as shown in the picture above. Make sure the ends are even in length. Then take the needle-nose pliers to twist the neck. Make sure you don't accidentally get the spring wrapped in it. Do the other pair at the same time so that they look even. Now let's make the eye of the earring...

To develop the eye of the earring, grip the thick wire with the needle-nose pliers at the end of the neck. Wrap the thick wire around one of the prongs of the needle-nose pliers as represented in the picture above. Then turn over the earring and make the eye on the other side. Use the Nylon Jaw pliers to straighten out the earring. We're almost done with the wire body of the earring...

To finish off the body, wrap the thick wire down the neck-shaft while gripping the eye with the Nylon Jaw Pliers. Then cut the wire on the same side and hide it close to the shaft with the needle-nose pliers (this will be the backside). The pair of your earrings to be completed up to this step. Now let's grab your thread choices...

To wrap the thread, start with the thread parallel with the eye and neck-shaft. Start it on the backside that has the cut-wire-ends. Then direct it straight down the middle. ***It is important that the thread evenly divides each side of the wire teardrop as shown in picture one. Place the thread around the midpoint (between two spring rounds, spokes). Next, pull the thread up and toward you and up and to the left. The thread will be wrapped like it was in the midpoint, between the two spokes closest left of the neck. Pull the thread around the back, down, and to the right between the two spokes. Continue this process of winding it crosswise. If you get confused, look at the picture for reference. This will go on until you make it all the way around the teardrop. Let's add another color now...

Thread 2 will be done very similar to thread one with slight variations. Start the thread down the back to the middle between two spokes. As you go back up though from the back don't go to the top left. Instead, find the midway point that would be at 9 o'clock if it were a clock with the eye pointing up (position unlike the picture). Now continue the process like before with the other thread until the sides mirror each other. Do these steps with both of the earrings to verify uniformity. I'm gonna add an extra color...

Now, because I was trying to match the color scheme of my dress, I added an extra color. This is not necessary. You can add one or as many colors as you want. As you layer colors don't do them so close that they don't show. And for the final color...

The final thread will follow the same process as the others just to a lower extent. As you do it I want to remind you to do the pair together through each step and to start with the threads at the back so that in the end, they won't show on the front. Almost done...

To finish this, grab all threads (they should be coming from the same general direction) and wrap them up and through the neck shaft. Try to make them hide within the thick wound wire. Now the threads should be coming through the eye. Dab some nail polish or glue to fasten the thread and use your scissors to cut the excess thread so as to make it as hidden as possible. Use my pictures for reference at any point if you have confusion. So lovely...

And finally, take your needle-nose pliers to attach the earring hooks to the earrings. Give these as gifts to loved ones or show off your artwork with your favorite outfit. Please take a picture of your earrings and share them with me. I would love to see your work and any discoveries you find! Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or confusion.

Flowing with Inspiration,

Skylark Z