Okay, everyone. We’ve gone over the different necessary tools you need to make jewelry, and we’ve learned how to make a classic candy-stripe friendship bracelet. Now, let’s stretch our skills a bit with a simple wire ear cuff. I love ear cuffs. I’m too chicken to go and get my cartilage pierced (also, too cheap), so I’ve remedied my desire for more ear accessories with ear cuffs. You can purchase ear cuffs for $5 to $10 at places like Claire’s and Icing, and even cheaper on Amazon. When I get into more sophisticated designs for my cuffs, though, they can get expensive to buy at a store. So, with a little research and experimentation, I figured out how to make them myself with wire, and with beads in the more intricate designs.

First off, let’s go over what you need:

• Wire that’s 18-22 gauges
• Ring mandolin (or something round, such as a sharpie or a lipgloss tube)
• Ruler
• Flat-nose pliers (used in the majority of the work)
• Wire cutters
• Round-nose pliers (for adjustments)

You may be confused by the coloring of my wire. It’s copper craft wire that is coated in black. That being said, whenever you use a coated wire like this, you need to be careful and make sure to not nick and scratch the wire, or the copper will show through.

Step 1: Measure out and cut about 4 inches of wire. 

Step 2: Using your flat-nosed pliers, pinch one end of the wire, and bend the wire around into a circle. Instead of curling with the pliers, I usually just grab the long end of the wire and wrap it around the nose of the pliers.

Step 3: Now, I’ve experimented and measured store-bought ear cuffs, and I’ve found that the part that wraps and grabs onto your ear is about 1 inch long. So, placing the curl you just made at zero, measure out and grab with your flat-nose pliers 1 inch.

Step 4: Then, once again grabbing the long end of the wire, bend it around your flat-nose.

Step 5: Clamp your flat-nose evenly with the curl you’ve already made. Bend the wire around the end of your flat-nose until you have a second curl. 

Step 6: Cut off the excess. Then, make adjustments as needed, whether it be tightening your bends, rounding out the curls, or evening the curls. Then, you have the shape of your ear cuff.

Step 7: Lastly, you bend the ear cuff around the ring mandolin, or whatever you have to form the ear cuff. 

And there you have it! An ear cuff!

The back and forth motion in between the curls is the basic form for all the ear cuffs that you make in the future. By making that rounded loop, it makes there be no sharp edges that could scratch you, thus making it more comfortable to wear. I wear mine either on the cartilage of my ear, or in the conch of my ear. With bigger ear cuffs, which we’ll get into later, I usually wear them in the conch.

Enjoy!