QUEEN OF CLUBS WIRE EARRINGS

One definition of a perfect jewelry making project is one that makes something unique and elegant, that is quick and easy to make, and that is inexpensive. Obviously, there is no perfect project, but these earrings are close. They are called the Queen of Clubs earrings because the three loops at the bottom of these earrings resemble the clubs figure from a deck of cards. This is a great beginner's jewelry making project. We have provided more detailed instructions than normal with the goal of trying to help beginners in getting started making jewelry. We have also provided abbreviated instructions that you can print and use as class notes or have next to your work space as you are making these earrings. Finally, this wire component becomes a head pin finding and can be used as a large head pin to go through very large beads to make pendants. The steps involved in making a pendant are the same as the steps in making these earring findings. For a pendant with a very large hole in the bead, you might want to put plastic ear clutches inside the bead to stabilize it. We recommend our part, item 2692.

Jewelry Making Supplies:

4 inches of 20G wire. 1/2 hard wire is preferred. Two 6mm or 8mm beads Two commercial ear wire findings Two 2 or 2.5 mm round gold-filled beads (Optional)

Jewelry Tools Required:

Round Nose Pliers Flush Cutter Bent Chain Nose Pliers Any WigJig acrylic jig Fine Step Jaw Pliers (Optional) Bent Closing Pliers (Optional) 20 minutes of free time

Jewelry Making Skills Required:

Abilty to straighten wire. Ability to cut wire. Ability to make a loop in wire. Use of a WigJig jewelry making jig to create wire components. Ability to open and close loops without distorting the wire.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Making the Queen of Clubs Earrings:

Step 1: Using your nylon jaw pliers, straighten a segment of wire at least 4 inches long. This can be done before the wire is cut from the spool and allows you to use the spool to help hold the wire. Step 2: Cut two 2" segments of 20 gauge wire. 1/2 hard wire is preferred if available. Step 3: Now we need to make a loop at one end of the 2" wire segment. This is a multi-step process. You can view these steps in the pictures below. First, grasp the wire in your round nose pliers as shown below-left, with just a very small amount of wire sticking through the jaws of the pliers. Hold the pliers in your non-dominant hand. Step 4: Using the thumb on your dominant hand push the wire up and over the jaws of the pliers until the wire is resting against the opposite side of the pliers. Push with your thumb as close to the pliers as possible. At the same time that you are pushing with your dominant hand, rotate the pliers a small amount in the opposite direction with your non-dominant hand. When you are done, the wire will appear as shown below, center-left. Step 5: You will not be able to push the wire in one step to form a complete loop for the simple reason that the jaws of the pliers will get in your way. At this point, there will be a slight gap in the wire, between the end of the wire and the rest of the wire. To close this gap you need to re-position the wire in the jaws of your pliers as shown below, center-right. Step 6: Once you have repositioned the wire, push some more so that the wire forms the letter "P" with the shaft of the P in contact with the end of the loop in the P. See the picture below-left.

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7: Once you have a loop in the end of your wire, grasp the wire by the loop and pull the stem of the loop through the jaws of your nylon jaw pliers several times to straighten the wire. Step 8: Now using a WigJig Olympus, Olympus Lite, Delphi or Centaur, position two pegs in your jig as show at right. Place the initial loop in your wire on the lower of the two pegs, peg 1. (We have a .pdf template for this peg pattern that you can print and use to help determine where to place your pegs for your WigJig Delphi or Centaur here.) Step 9: Using the tip of the index finger on your dominant hand, push the wire with your finger as close to peg 2 as possible. While you are pushing the wire with the tip of your index finger on your dominant hand, rotate the jig counter-clockwise using your non-dominant hand. Using your index finger guide the wire up and over peg 1 until the wire is in the position shown at left. Step 10: Add peg 2 to your pattern and remove the wire from the jig. Replace the wire back on the jig in the mirror image position as shown at right. The reason that the wire was removed from the jig and flipped over is that the finished piece that results will layflatter by doing this.

Step 8

Step 9

Step 10

Step 11: Now we need to wrap the wire around peg 2 a second time. We do this by pushing the wire with the index finger on our dominant hand while we rotate the jig in a counter-clockwise direction using our nondominant hand. Guide the wire with your index finger over peg 1 until the wire rests in the position shown at left. Step 12: Remove the wire from your jig and grasp the clover component you made on pegs 1, 2 and 3 in the jaws of your nylon jaw pliers as shown at right. Squeeze gently in several orientations until the wire settles into its final shapeand then give the wire a good firm squeeze. Step 13: Remove the wire from the jaws of your nylon jaw pliers. At this point the wire should appear as shown at left. If the wire doesn't appear exactly like this, this is the time to do some "Hand Finishing" and maneuver the wire using your round nose pliers and your fingers into this shape.

Step 11

Step 12

Step 13

Step 14: Add a bead to the wire as shown at right. Slide the bead all the way onto the wire until it is in contact with the clubs wire component made in your jig. See the picture below-left. Step 15: Using your bent chain nose pliers grasp the wire immediately above the bead as shown below, centerleft. Please note the orientation of the clubs component. You are looking at the edge of the clubs wire component

in the picture. Step 16: Using your thumb, push the wire over 90 degrees as shown below, center-right. When completed, the wire component should appear as shown below-right.

Step 14

Step 15

Step 16

After Step 16

Step 17: Now we need to make a loop at the top of the wire component. We begin by grasping the wire close to the bend that we made in step 15, but on the horizontal sideof the bend as shown at left. Step 18: Using your thumb, push the wire up and over the jaw of your round nose pliers as shown at left. You will not be able to complete the loop here in one motion as the jaws of your pliers and the bead on the wire will get in your way. Step 19: To complete the loop at this position, you will first need to reposition the wire in the jaws of your pliers. See the picture at right. This is accomplished by relaxing your grip with your pliers, moving the wire until you get it into position as shown, then tightening the grip with your pliers. You want to make certain that all of the wire in the loop is touching your pliers. This is accomplished by sliding the wire in or out on your round nose pliers. In essence, we are gripping the wire at the same point in your round nose pliers as you did in step 17 so that the loop in the wire will be a circle. If you grip the wire at a different point in the jaws of your round nose pliers, the loop won't be round.

Step 17

Step 18

Step 19

Step 20: Now we are ready to complete the loop. Push the wire the rest of the way around to complete the loop at the top of the wire component. When completed the wire should appear as shown at left. Step 21: Release the wire from your pliers and view the loop at the top of the wire component. If the loop isn't centered above the bead and clubs wire component, this is the time to manually center the loop. Should you need to adjust the loop you do this by inserting your round nose pliers all the way into the loop and then rotating your pliers left or right until the loop iscentered. Step 22: At this point, we could grasp the loop with our bent chain nose pliers and wrap the wire around the stem of the clubs wire component, or we can cut the excess wire. For this beginner's project we will cut the excess wire. Using your flush cutter, with the flat side of the cutter toward the finished piece, cut the wire at the point where it overlaps. After the cut, the wire component will appear as shown at left. Notice that the loop at the top is slightly opened.

Step 20

Step 21

Step 22

Step 23: Using your bent chain nose pliers grasp the open side of the loop at top. See the picture at right for the orientation of your pliers. While holding 1/2 of the loop as shown push the rest of the wire component up while twisting your pliers down, until the loop at the top of the wire component is closed. If you have difficulty getting the loop closed, you can use bent closing pliers to squeeze closed a small gap in a loop. Please scroll to the bottom of the page to view bent closing pliers in action. Step 24: At this point you have completed the Queen of Clubs earring dangle. Your wire component should appear as shown at right. The only thing that remains to be done is toconnect that wire component to your commercial ear wire as shown at left. The way that this is done is to open the loop in the top of the Queen of Clubs earring dangle, or the loop in the bottom of your commercial ear wire and connect the two wire components, then close the loop. Opening and closing loops is done using your bent chain nose pliers to grasp one side of the loop you want to open, then twisting the loop open. You do nor want to open the loop open by pulling the loop to increase the size of the gap. This will distort the loop so that it will not be round. Instead, you grasp one side of the loop as shown at right and twist up to open, then twist down to close. Make two earrings using the same steps and you are done. Now you need to find interesting beads so that you can make several pairs of the Queen of Clubs Wire & Beads Earrings.

Step 23

Step 24

Finished Earrings

In the following section, we will abbreviate these instructions. These abbreviated instructions may be just the thing to use as class notes, or to print and sit by your work space when you are making these earrings.

Finished Earrings

Make Loop Step 1

Loop Step 2

Loop Step 3

Loop

Make Clover on Jig 1

Clover 2

Clover 3

Clover

Flatten Clover

Finished Clover

Add Bead

Make Open Loop 1

Open Loop 2

Open Loop 3

Open Loop 4

Open Loop 5

Open Loop 6

Open Loop7

Open Loop 8

Open Loop 9

Open/Close Loop

Attach Ear Wire

Advanced Queen of Clubs Jewelry Making Projects:

Now that we have made a simple Queen of Clubs Earrings, we will discuss some similar but more advanced designs. In the following sections, we are going to describe how to make two more advanced clubs shapes. You can view these two shapes at right. Near right, we call the shape "bold round clubs". Far right we call the shape "bolder clubs". Because both shapes require wraps of wire around itself, these two shapes are probably not suited for beginners.

Making the pendant shape shown at right is a more advanced project than the Queen of Clubs Earrings we discussed above.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Making the Large Queen of Clubs:

Step 1: Using your nylon jaw pliers, Straighten a segment of wire 6 inches long. If your beads have normal size holes, use 20 gauge wire. If you have beads with larger than normal holes, you can use 18 gauge wire. Please note that everyone should practice making this pendant with 20 gauge wire since it is much easier to make with 20 gauge wire. Step 2: Using your flush cutter, cut this segment of wire. Step 3: Using your fine step jaw pliers or your round nose pliers, make a "P" loop in one end of this wire. This loop will ultimately be cut off so it is not important that the loop is fully closed. Step 4: Position your pegs in your jig as shown below-left. The jig used in this picture is the WigJig Delphi. There are two regular metal pegs (peg 1 and 4) and three 3/16" Super Pegs (pegs 2, 3 and 5). (Please don't look for logic in this number scheme as you won't find it. Hopefully, you can just accept that the author wasn't paying attention when I numbered these pegs.) This same pattern can also work on theWigJig Centaur and you can modify the pattern slightly for the WigJig Olympus Lite or WigJig Olympus. Please select here to print a PDF template of this peg pattern. Please turn page scaling off when you print. Step 5: First, remove peg 5 so that it won't be in your way. Then place your initial loop on peg 1 and wrap the wire around peg 3 as shown below-right.

Step 6: Now we need to flip the wire component over and replace it on the jig as shown at right. Step 7: Wrap the wire around peg 2 as shown below-left. Step 8: Now add peg 5 to your pattern and wrap the wire around peg 5 as shown below-center. Step 9: Remove the wire from your jig. At this point the wire component should appear as shown below-right.

Step 7

Step 8

Step 9

Step 4

Step 5

Step 10: Using your bent chain nose pliers, grasp the wire tail (the long end of the wire without the initial loop) just prior to the center of the clubs component and bend the wire up as shown below-left. Step 11: At this point we need to bend the initial loop up as shown in the picture below-right. This must be done without distorting the rest of the wire component. The best way to accomplish this is to use nylon jaw pliers, or bent chain nose pliers to grasp the clubs wire component near the point where the initial wire segment leaves the clubs component. When you look at the picture at right please note that most of the wire component is flat against the table, but the initial wire segment is bent 90 degrees away from the table.

Step 10

Step 11

Step 12: Again, grasp the clubs component with your nylon jaw pliers or your bent chain nose pliers and hold the shape firmly. Then wrap the initial wire segment around the vertical wire segment about two times. Holding the wire firmly with your pliers while you wrap will preserve the symmetrical shape of the clubs component. If you accidentally hold the wire component loosely, it is likely that wrapping the wire will pull the clubs component out of the symmetrical shape you want. Please see the picture below-left for how this wrap should appear at this point. Step 13: Using your flush cutter, cut the excess wire. After you cut the excess wire, use your bent chain nose pliers to squeeze and twist the cut end of the wire until it is flat. See the picture below-center. Step 14: You are now ready to add your bead or beads. Because this design is larger and bolder than our regular clubs component, we recommend using larger beads. The black pearl beads shown below-right are 10mm beads. Even larger beads can be used with this wire component.

Step 12

Step 13

Step 14

Step 15: Make a loop at the top of the pendant. Our instructions for making a loop can be found by selecting here. Please see the pictures below for steps in completing this wire component.

Bolder Clubs Pendant Jewelry Makign Project

These free jewelry making instructions continue with instructions for our Bolder Clubs Wire Component shown at right. This wire component is a slight modification to our Round Bold Clubs component. The steps in making these Bolder Clubs Wire component are almost identical to the steps for the Round Bold Clubs component. So, for that reason, we will abbreviate our instructions for this wire component.

StepbyStep Instruc tions for Making the Bolder Clubs Penda nt:
Step A: Straighten a segment of wire 7 inches long. If your beads have normal size holes, use 20 gauge wire. If you have beads with larger than normal holes, you can use 18 gauge wire. Please select here to print a PDF template of this pattern. Turn page scaling off when you print. Step B: Cut the wire to a length of 7 inches. Step C: Make a loop in one end of the wire. Step D: Place your initial loop on the peg1 peg as shown belowleft.

Step E: Wrap the wire around the bottom pegs (Pegs 2 and 5) in the pattern as shown belowcenter. Step F: In order to make this piece as perfect as possible, we need to flip the piece over after each loop we make. Remove the wire from the jig and place it back on the jig in the mirror image position. Place the initial loop (formerly on peg 1) onto peg 8 as shown belowright. .

Ste Ste Ste p pE pF D

right. .

Step G: Wrap the wire around pegs 4 and 7 in the pattern as shown at

Step H: At this point we need to remove the wire from the jig and flip it over into the mirror image position. See

the figure below-left. The initial loop will be back on peg 1. Step I: Wrap the wire around pegs 4 and 7 as shown below-center. Step J: Remove the wire from your jig and it should appear as shown below-right.

Step H

Step I

Step J

Step K: In this step we need to grab and hold one of either the initial wire segment or the final wire segment and bend it up. In the pictures below, you can see that we bent the initial wire segment up. You can tell it is the initial wire segment since it has the loop on it. Since the final wire segment had more wire, it would probably have been smarter to bend the final wire segment up and then wrap the shorter initial wire segment around the final wire segment in a later step. To perform this step, grasp the final wire segment with your bent chain nose pliers, just prior to the point where the wire crosses the center of the wire component. While holding this piece of wire, bend the end of that wire segment up until it is centered and pointing up as shown in the picture belowright.

Before Step K

After Step K

Step L: As we get ready to wrap one wire tail around the other to fix the design and make it permanent, we need to bend the wire segment that will be used to wrap so that it is perpendicular to the wire vertical wire segment that we will wrap it around. The secret to making good wraps is to start with the wrapping wire perpendicular to the wrapped wire. In the picture below-left you can see that we bent the wire tail so that it was perpendicular to the beginning wire segment. At that point the piece is no longer two dimensional. It is now three dimensional. To perform this bend, grasp the wire with your bent chain nose pliers. Hold the wire with your pliers just prior to the bend and push the wire to bend it. Step M: Now you are ready to wrap. Remember, keep the wrapping wire perpendicular to the wrapped wire. Wrap one or two times. See the picture below-center. Step N: Once you have completed the one to two wraps, cut the excess with with your flush cutter. After cutting the excess wire you need to use your bent chain nose pliers to squeeze and twist the cut end of the wire until it lays flat as shown in the picture below-right.

Step L

Step M

Step N

Step O: At this point, what we have can be used as a large head pin for beads with larger holes, or it can be used as as a decorative metal dangle. If you want to use it as is, without beads, you are ready to make a loop at the top. If you want to add beads, add your beads and then make a loop at the top.

Our instructions for making an loop at the top of this wire component can be found here. Our instructions for making a wrapped loop at the top of this wire component can be found here.

These instructions show the approach for making an open loop at the top as shown below, center-left, or for making a wrapped loop at top as shown below center-right or far right.

Head Pin

Dangle with Open Loop

Wrapped Loop

Wrapped Loop

Step P: With the loop completed you are ready to add this wire component to an earring or necklace. For earrings the orientation of the top loop shown above will be appropriate. For a necklace, you will probably want to twist the top loop 90 degrees so that it can be threaded on a necklace with the proper orientation.

Larger Leaf Pendant:

In the following section, we provide instructions for making a similar jewelry design. See the picture at right for our Larger Leaf wire component. This wire component is larger than the prior components that we made. It also has loops at the end of each "leaf" in the design. These loops allow you to hang bead dangles or other decorative components from each loop. This is a significant advantage over the previous designs, where without these loops, you won't be able to easily keep a bead dangle in the appropriate position. At this point, we believe that we have pretty well documented the steps in making similar wire components so we aren't going to describe how to make this wire component in the same detail as we have previously. If you can make the wire component that we described above, you will be able to make this wire component. We will describe the changes in the instructions in detail and allow the reader to use our prior instructions where they haven' t changed. The peg pattern for making this wire component can be seen below center. Both the 3/16" Super Peg and the regular metal pegs are positioned further apart to make this component. When wrapping the wire around the pegs, you wrap partially around the Super Peg, then around the opposite side of the regular metal peg and back around the Super Peg. Let's describe in detail the process for making the loops around pegs 2 and 3. The same process will apply for all other loops. Start by placing the loop in the end of your wire on peg 1, then bring the

wire from peg 1 so that it is above peg 2 (in the same position as for our prior designs). Then wrap the wire clockwise, 1/2 way around peg 2 and counter clockwise around peg 3. After wrapping the wire counter-clockwise around peg 3, wrap the wire clockwise around the other half of peg 2 until it is touching peg 6.

We hope that one of these alternatives will be interesting for our readers.