In wire jewelry making, eye pins are what we call findings and can be found, either in gold-filled, gold-plated, silver-plated, sterling silver, niobium or steel. Eye pins is a very useful finding in jewelry making, particularly in wire jewelry making because they are used for linking which is common in making bracelets and necklaces. They are also used to create dangles such as in constructing drop earrings. Sometimes in making pendants, eye pins can also be used.
Eye pins are available in different lengths and gauges and are usually sold in packs or grams. Depending on the type of jewelry you’re going to create and types or sizes of beads you’re going to use, you need to choose the right length and gauge for your eye pins and jump rings. If you’re going to use a bead with small holes, eye pins in 24 gauges or smaller are available while 22 gauge eye pins are useful for bigger holes and heavier beads. You can also choose to create your own eye pins and looking closely at an eye pin, it has a hole on one end.
Photo courtesy of etsy.com
To create an eye pin you must learn how to create that hole or commonly called a loop. So, for our jewelry making basics for today, let’s learn how to make a loop following this tutorial from our Jewelry Making Tip of the Week.
Now that you’ve learned how to create your own eye pins, let's learn how to make wire jewelry. With your handcrafted eye pins you can create drop earrings like this Coin Pearl Drop Earrings Video Tutorial from the Beadclub
