Falling Raindrop Earrings - A WigJig Jewelry Making Technique

(FOR FREE INSTRUCTION PAIRED WITH PHOTOS, CLICK HERE)

Step 1: Cut a segment of soft wire that is 5 1/2 inches long for the small earrings, 6 1/2 inches long for the medium earrings and 7 1/2 inches long for the large earrings. Practice making these earring with 18 gauge wire. For those of you who get satisfied with the product with 18 gauge wire, then try 16 gauge wire. Finally, for advanced wire workers you can try 14 gauge wire. 14 gauge wire makes a bolder appearing and more permanent earring, but is much more difficult to work with.

Step 2: Make a loop in one end of the wire. Please note that making a loop in 14 or 16 gauge wire uses a different technique than one would use for making a loop in 18 gauge wire. Please visit this web page to view how to make a loop in 14 or 16 gauge wire.

Step 3: Hold your wire segment by the loop and using your nylon jaw pliers, repeatedly pull the wire through the jaws of the pliers until the wire segment is straight.

Step 4: Now decide which pattern you want to make, the small, the medium or the large. The pattern involves only two pegs and the pegs are separated by between 1 1/2 times to 2 times the size of the Super Peg that you use. This pattern can be easily set up on either a jig with a round pattern as shown below-right or on a jig with a square pattern as shown below-left and below-center. Choose your pattern and set up your pegs appropriately. For the small pattern, a WigJig Spiral Maker can be used in place of the 3/4" Super Peg.

Small Pattern Medium Pattern Large Pattern

Step 5: Place the initial loop that you made in your wire on the regular metal peg and while holding the wire tightly wrap it round the large Super Peg. You want to push the wire tightly against the Super Peg so that there are no gaps between the wire and the peg. Push the wire beyond the regular peg at the top until with no pressure applied the wire will rest adjacent to the metal peg at the top. You will have to press the wire tightly into the Super Peg many times until the gaps between the Super Peg and the wire are as small as possible.

Step 6: While continuing to hold the wire tightly against the Super Peg, wrap the wire around the regular metal peg at the top. With the 14 gauge wire we had to use bent chain nose pliers to help us pull the loop closed.

Step 7: When you remove the wire from the jig you will probably notice that it will spring out of shape slightly. With the 18 gauge wire you can shape the wire by squeezing it against the Super Peg with your fingers. several times. With 16 and 14 gauge wire you will probably find that hammering the wire against the Super Peg with a nylon hammer will help the wire to take the shape of the Super Peg. You can use the nylon hammer with the Super Peg on the Jig or off. Experiment to determine which works best for you.

Step 8: With 18 gauge wire there are two ways to finish the top of the earrings. If you view the tip of the raindrop wire component shown at right, you can see that the 18g wire component is finished with an modified figure 8 connector. (Our instructions for making this jewelry component can be found here.) The connector at the top of the two 14 gauge earrings shown at right were made with 24 gauge wire wrapped tightly around the two loops holding them in position. For beginners the modified figure 8 connector is by far the easier option. Unfortunately with 14 gauge wire the only option is the wrapped 24 gauge wire. You can view a close-up of this approach at left. The two loops of the raindrop wire component are at the bottom of the picture, the loop in the ear wire is at the top and the wrapped 24 gauge wire is in between the two. To complete this wrapped 24 gauge wire, first, wrap two loops of the 24 gauge wire tightly around the two loops at the top of the raindrop wire component. Pull these two loops tight by using your bent chain nose pliers and then wrap the shorter end of the wire around the longer end of the wire. Cut the excess wire on the shorter wire segment and squeeze the cut end flat. Finish the loop at the top using the longer end of the wire by making a regular wrapped loop. The technique for making a wrapped loop can be found here.
Step 9: Open the loop in a pair of conventional ear wires and connect them to the loop at the top of the modified figure 8 connector or wrapped 24 gauge wire. The technique for opening and closing loops is discussed here. When you have done this for both earrings you are done. Get ready for walking down the runway, but don't be surprised if you see someone else wearing these same earrings.