This is not the easiest ear cuff tutorial; if you are just getting started, I'd suggest making several of the Simple Ear Cuffs to warm up!

A primer for those unfamiliar with ear cuffs: You don't need peircings to wear these! They slide on to the cartilage of your ear. (Here's a description of the proper way to put on ear cuffs). It's typical to wear only one ear cuff for bold designs, but the simpler ones worn in pairs are great replacements for regular earrings. They are far more comfortable and customizable than clip-on or screw-back earrings!


This swirly design is by far my favorite and it is the best-selling ear cuff style at my Shoppe.


For this tutorial I am using 20 gauge enameled copper wire to make a right-ear ear cuff. My favorite wire to work with for this type of jewelry is silver plated copper; it is pliable enough to bend, sturdy enough to last, and of course is very good quality.





(Note: if you want to dangle a bead on these ear cuffs, make sure that the swirl you add in later does not overwhelm this bend. I'm not really sure how to describe this, but you'll notice that I keep the end of the ear cuff pointy. Usually I make it even pointier than I did for this tutorial.)


This is the perfect time to hammer the wire to harden it, if you so desire. Don't hammer the "arms" and make sure you don't harden the wire so much that it becomes brittle. I didn't hammer this example.



Fold around an appropriate marker and use pliers to finish bending the very ends so that the cuff creates a proper circle. (See the other tutorial!)












This is a double ear cuff set with many interchangable dangles made from Czech glass leaf beads.

You may use this tutorial to make your own ear cuffs, or your own modified design, for personal use or even for selling. All I ask is that you please reference me (Shaylynn Ann / Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe), and include a link back to my blog where appropriate. I do put a lot of time in coming up with tutorials and offering them for free, so thank you for this courtesy! And if you don't feel like making one of your own, they are available in my Shoppe and can be custom ordered!

And create a double-loop bow-tie with your pliers. Use the bottom of your pliers, the widest part, to create the loops. The overlap from both ends should be on the same side.

Experiment with the placement of the bow-tie. The ear cuff will look really different depending on how long those ends of the wire are.

 (I did mention that this is not a full tutorial, right? You're on your own to figure out how to make the loops. It should take less than 5 minutes of playing with the wire to get the hang of it, though, it's really easy).


Take the loose end of the wire on the top of the ear cuff and fold it over along the backside of the bow tie.


Fold the other loose end of the wire (in this case, the 'other loose end' is very clear because it's longer) up along the backside of the bow tie.


(Optional) Fold that same end (in this case, the long length of wire) back down across the front of the bow tie.

If you leave the end of the wire sticking up, the ear cuff will climb up and down the length of your ear. The ear cuff I'm making in this semi-tutorial is only going to climb down the ear.


Now you've made the knot to tie the bow tie up nice and snug; just use some flat-nose pliers to flatten that knot so it's more comfortable.


Ta-da!

Next, wrap the bow-tie around a marker and tweak it with pliers to make the bow-tie grip your ear comfortably. (The how-to for this step is found in the basic ear cuff tutorial.)

 Next, use needle-nose pliers to swirl the ends of the wire however you would like! (a la the instructions I gave in the swirly ear cuff tutorial).

Note that the knot sits on the outside of your ear. The swirls are the only thing that determine which ear the ear cuff belongs on-- unlike the swirly ear cuff, which has to be designed from the start with either the left or the right ear in mind.



Voila! Hip hip hooray and happy day! You have a bow tie ear cuff, and bow ties are cool!

(As always, please be sure to reference me if you use this technique in making your own ear cuffs. Thanks!)

What you've all be waiting for... an ear cuff tutorial! I've been making ear cuffs for over a year, but unfortunately haven't had the time to make some of the insanely complicated designs I've dreamed up. This, however, is a very simple ear cuff that takes only a few minutes to master!

Ear cuffs (also known as ear clips, cartiliage cuffs, ear vines, and more) are fabulous for people who don't have pierced ears-- or pair them with other earrings for a "double piercing" look. They are easy to wear, and stay in! I wore one on several rollercoasters and it stayed in place. The only thing to watch out for is hair tangling in them; tug your hair, and you might tug off the cuff.
I've had many friends test these ear cuffs and the sizing shown below has fit everyone because it is adjustable.

All you need is pliers and some wire (the pictured wires are 20ga blue silver plated copper and 20ga enameled copper in various colors).







The tips of the ends will still be straight. Using pliers, gently twist them to complete the circle.

This brown ear cuff fits both ears. The swirly decoration sits on the outside of the cartilage. Next I'll show you have to make an ear cuff specific to one ear-- a very important skill for some of the more difficult ear cuff tutorials I've got planned.








UPDATE: I've made tutorials for two more ear cuffs, the 'Swirly Ear Cuff' and the 'Double-Loop' style, and I plan on posting step-by-step or behind the scenes shots for some more complex ear cuffs, which you will be able to find here.


As I said before, ear cuffs are not my idea, but this tutorial is. You may use this tutorial to make your own ear cuffs, or your own modified design, for personal use or even for selling. All I ask is that you please reference me (Shaylynn Ann / Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe), and include a link back to my blog where appropriate. I do put a lot of time in coming up with tutorials and offering them for free, so thank you for this courtesy! And if you don't feel like making one of your own, they are available in my Shoppe, and can also be custom ordered!

UPDATE AGAIN: I made a video tutorial! Watch it below, or, if it won't load, here's the YouTube link.

Bend it at the three inch mark. Make sure that the small loop this creates is actually a loop-- it's not as comfortable to wear ear cuffs in which the wire is pinched together tightly.


This is where the "double loop" comes into play.

First, bend the wire into a 1 inch zig-zag (just as you did with the swirly ear cuff). The next part is a bit tricky if you are working with tough wire like me (hard copper is not recommended to begin with). Take the tail end of the wire on the right-hand side and fold it down and around the right-hand loop. 

Did that make sense? Here's a picture of the finished double loop:


The next few steps are just like the other ear cuffs, so I won't narrate these photos...




Okay, now you get to have fun. How do you want the ends of the wire to look? What beads will you add? What loops and swirls and decorations will you make with the wire? Have at it!


I found that I had a bit of a hard time keeping mental track of the placement of the ear cuff, so I kept putting it on the marker (or my ear) as I designed, in order to make sure the swirls and beads were just perfect.

If you are adding beads, be sure to very, very slightly bend the wire just above and below the beads in order to hold them in place.

I only recently perfected this design, so I don't have any more double-loop ear cuffs to show you. Soon!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Please be sure to leave a comment if you used it!

Also, please note that you may use this tutorial to make your own jewelry to sell, but only if you credit me for showing you how. It does take time for me to make these tutorials! Thanks!