Wire Elf Ears Tutorial

This unique ear cuff (no piercing required) looks like a pointed ear when worn.  There is a wire in the back that goes around the back of your ear, similar to how glasses fit your head.  

I am focusing more on the general technique of how to make them than how to make this specific pair.  Feel free to riff on my instructions here to make pieces for your own personal use or to sell.

You can create your own template by tracing your ear and then drawing your template on paper before "tracing" it with the wire. If you want two perfectly symmetrical ears, you'll need to design it on paper first. After you have your basic ear template, draw your desired shape so that you can use it as your guide. Don't forget the curls (or some other design) at the wire ends or the wire will scratch your face and behind your ear.  

I personally like a more organic approach and enjoy making "siblings" rather than "twins".  Neither approach is better than the other, it's a matter of taste.

Skill level: Advanced beginner-intermediate. Project will take 1-6 hours, depending on your comfort level with making wire jewelry and the complexity of your final cuff. Measurements do not need to be exact for this project.  This set took me about 4 hours from start to finish, including designing the interior elements. 

Supplies

If you don't have the supplies already, you can find them at your local craft shop like Michael's, JoAnn's, or Hobby Lobby.  Some big box stores like Wal-Mart carry them, depending on your area, and of course you can find all of these supplies and more online.

Supplies needed 

• Wire Cutters

• Round nosed Jewelry pliers. Additional pliers will help with gripping the wire at various stages. Pictured here are my flat-nosed pliers which I use frequently.

• 2 different gages of jewelry wire: I am using a gold plated 20 gage and a bronze plated 26 gage. Most of the cuff will be done in the heavier wire. 16-20 gage will be good for this.  Any thicker and the wire will become difficult to use. The thinner wire will be used to connect parts together and for decoration. I'd use 24-26 gage wire for those bits.  The thicker (24 gage wire) will be a little harder to work with but will be more stable and less prone to kinks.  The color of the wire is up to you... and I've seen some neat cuffs done with colored wire, and glow in the dark wire would be a LOT of fun!

• Beads or chain for embellishments.  Glass, plastic seed beads, stone, and crystal are all beautiful options.  Chains can be hung from the loops and you can create several loops to hang more wire from (Of course, you'll need more wire than what's suggested here)

• (optional) Stencil of ear or cuff template, ruler

Wire lengths needed

　

Cut 2 lengths of the 20 gage wire approx 8" and 2 additional pieces of about 4".  These will make the skeleton of the cuff. More wire will be needed depending on the size of the point of your ear.

Making the skeleton

Curl the wire inward to avoid scratching your face

About 2.5-4 inches, depending on the size you want your ears, bend the wire into an acute angle. This will be the tip of the ear.

(insert lame geometry pun here)

 About 1-1.5 inches from the point you just created, depending on your ear size, bend the wire so that the non-curled end points back to the ear tip. Gently squeeze the wire until the sides touch.

Flat-nosed pliers are really useful here.

 Curl the remaining wire outward and bend into a C shape to fit around the back of your ear.

Refine the wire shape by bending it slightly with your fingers to achieve more of an ear shape

The inner part goes around the back of your ear.

** When making a pair of these, remember to bend the wire in the opposite direction to make a mirror image**

Unless you have two left or right ears.

Take one of the 4 inch pieces and curl both ends inward and shape the wire with your fingers to make a C shape or an upside down V, or any other shape you want here. This part will rest near the top of your ear

The unassembled skeleton

Connect the C shape to the outside ear shape with the 26 gage wire. Wrap tightly with no overlap for a neat appearance. This may take some practice. Attach at 2 points, at the inside of the ear near the bend and the outside near the curl. Adjust the shapes once attached to get a pleasing arrangement of the curls.

 Now for the fun part, EMBELLISHING!! This is the most time-consuming part of the process, but where all of the creativity comes in. You can string beads, create S-Shaped wire curls by curling 1-inch sections of 20-gage wire in opposite directions, Loose figure 8 shapes, whatever strikes your fancy. Attach additional wire embellishments with the smaller wire.

A few wire shape ideas

Attach shapes with the small-gage wire.  The brass wire is wrapped around both the skeleton and the embellishment a few times.  It can be cut and the ends tucked in or the wire can wrap loosely around the object.

Flat nosed pliers are very useful for tucking ends of wire so they don't scratch you.

"Tuck in" the ends of your wire for a smooth, non-scratchy profile. While this is easiest chain nose pliers (they have ridges on the inside for grip and a narrow head), I find flat head pliers work in a pinch.  Leave about a 1mm tail or less and use the pliers to gently coax the wire into place.  Nip any overhang with your wire cutters or file any edges down.



Attach beads in the same manner.

 If these are for you, put them on, adjust for comfort and appearance until they look like how you want them to. I like them curved gently so that they lay flat to my ear.

This is the first pair I did, to show how they look on an actual ear. This pair does use more than 8 inches for the the outside of the ear, but I'm not exactly sure how much... eyeballing and all.  This set is black wire with freshwater pearls.

Need inspiration or further instructions?  This is the original YouTube video that I used to get me started: DIY Fairy Ear cuff tutorial  

I'd love to see your results!  Post them here or tag me (Kitsune_crafts) on Instagram!　

Beginner tips:

• To avoid sharp, poky ends, cut the wire with the flat edge of the wire cutters facing the wire in use. 
• Hold the pliers firmly but gently. Strong pressure on the wire will mar the texture. This gets problematic with small bits, so work slowly and carefully. 
• Try to avoid wire that's labeled "Dead soft" as this is pretty easy to scuff with little or no pressure, even if it's easier to bend. It's still a workable wire and will create a pretty cuff if it's your only choice.