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How to Make Ear Wires With Square Wire

Although square wire isn't recommended for making ear wires, if you're in a pinch it can work with a little extra manipulation of the wire. Usually you make ear wire out of round wire, since it is easier to slip through the hole in the ear and because it bends more easily into the shape of a hook. Square wire is often used for the ornamental portion of the wire, not the hook that goes into the ear. However, if you don't have access to round wire, you can make square wire into ear wire in under five minutes.

Things You'll Need

Wire cutters
Needle-nose pliers
Marker
File

Instructions

- 1
  Cut the square wire into two 4-inch strands with your wire cutters. Use a thin gauge, anything from 16 to 21 gauge. It needs to be thin enough to comfortably fit through the ear and sturdy enough to hold its shape once bent.
- 2
  Grip the very end of the square wire with the tip of the needle nose pliers. Bend the wire around one jaw of the pliers to create the small hole that the ornamental portion of the earring attaches to. Repeat this process for the other strand of wire, since you are making a matching set.
- 3
  Hold the square wire from the small hole end that you made with your forefinger and thumb. Grip the other end with your needle-nose pliers. Gently twist the pliers. This twists the square wire so that it is slightly corkscrewed, mimicking a round wire. This shape helps the square wire enter the hole in the ear lobe. Repeat this process with the other strand of square wire.
- 4
  Hold the two strands together with their small holes touching. Wrap them once around the cylindrical body of a marker. This action loops the square wire into a hook. Because it is already corkscrewed, the square wire may lose some of its durability when bent into a hook. The ear wire hook won't be as strong as if you had used round wire in the first place.
- 5
  Hold the ear wire hook in your hand. File the rough edge of the tip with a finger file or pumice stone. This sharpens the square end into a point, making it slip through the hole in the ear more easily. Do this for the other ear wire hook, too.

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