Make Your Own DIY Flat Mesh Earrings
Do you have any leftover scraps of Flat Mesh lying around?
Because you'll be needing them for today's project - a dazzling pair of Flat Mesh earrings that are super quick and easy to make, you won't be needing a lot of materials for this one. Leftover pieces of Flat Mesh will work excellently. So, don't throw away your scraps just yet because this is definitely something you'll want to try for yourself.
Recommended Tools
Before you begin constructing your earrings, make sure that you have the following tools at hand:
A pair of wide flat nose pliers dipped in tool magic
A pair of Linstrom cutters
I use Lindstrom cutters because they're my favorite. They've been with me through thick and thin, and they've stayed sharp through it. You can use your own famous brand of cutters. Also, my wide flat nose pliers are from Wubbers. I like to dip them in tool magic to avoid scratching and maintain an overall better, firmer grip. Tool magic is actually a liquid, but it coats your tooltip- almost like magic, hence the name.
Required Materials
Now, what's really special about this piece is that we won't need many materials. As I said, you can also use any scraps that you may have leftover from other projects. The few things that you will need to make these earrings are as follows:
9-inch SilverSilk Flat Mesh Color A
9-inch SilverSilk Flat Mesh Color B
9-inch SilverSilk Flat Mesh Color C
2 Crescent Crimp Ends by Tierra Cast
2 Earring Wires
6-inch 26-gauge Gold Craft Wire
The 26-gauge craft wire that I'll be using is from SoftFlex, and I've actually cut it into tiny pieces that are about a few inches long. You can take a 6-inch piece and divide it in half, and that should be just enough for these earrings. Also, I will use gold color to match my findings. As for the crescent crimp ends, they are from the Tierra Cast. They don't have any teeth on the inside, but they are super strong. They're made of pewter and manufactured in the USA, so they're very high quality. And the plating is just absolutely gorgeous. I went for the antique gold plating, but you can get whichever ones you want. There are a couple of different shapes available as well at beadshop.com. Personally, though, I think that this specific shape is excellent because it complements the Flat Mesh loops really well.
I will be using Olive, Dark Rose, and Lotus colors for the Flat Mesh, but you can use whatever you want or already have- put those scraps to good use! If you're new to Flat Mesh, it is basically a 6-needle weave jewelry chain. It goes through two different procedures to become the beautiful chain that it is. First, we have the knitting part where six needles twist and turn the wire into a knitted round sleeve. Then that wire goes through a secondary apparatus that flattens it into this particular chain. It is around 5mm wide and is available as a 5ft spool. And the best part is that it is available in 15 very picturesque, fascinating colors. And if you're anything like me, you'll have a blast playing with all the lovely colors. You can get some really fantastic color combinations which are excellent.
You'll only be needing two 4.5-inch Flat Mesh strips in all the colors. Because we'll be covering one earring at a time, you should probably get a piece that is around 9 inches long and just cut it in half. If you're using leftovers, though, you might not end up with equal lengths for all the colors. But that's not a problem. In fact, you actually want that, to a certain extent. It helps stagger the colors so that they don't just all lay on top of each other. I mean, what's the point of using all these vibrant colors if you won't even be able to show them off. Right? So, do make sure that you stagger the colors a bit.
Making Flat Mesh Loops
Now, grab your craft wire and SilverSilk Flat Mesh. It doesn't really matter which color of the Flat Mesh you start with it. So, pick whichever one you want. The exciting thing about working with the Flat Mesh is that there are small knits holes across the entire length of the mesh that we can use to our advantage. What's more, it doesn't fray because that's just the type of flawless wire that it is. And since it doesn't fray, it ensures a super solid and secure hold when you go through the knit holes with your other materials. Thus, just stack the Flat Mesh pieces onto the piece of craft wire, suspending them from one of the threaded holes. But make sure that you go a couple of knits in from the end.
String your Flat Mesh pieces through the craft wire one by one, and once they’re all anchored, repeat the stringing on the other side. Take the free ends of the Flat Mesh and string them on the same craft wire one after the other until you have a tear-drop or loop-shaped ring with all the colors showing through- which is really just the effect we’re going for.
Attaching the Crimp & Earring Wire
Now, all that's left is to secure the tip of the Flat Mesh gathering that we'll have on the wire. So, what I do is just wrap the wire around a few times. But make sure it's not too wrapped up, though. Just go around with the wire a couple of times and then trim off the excess with your cutters. You just want to have enough wraps to keep it all friendly and secure. Plus, you will want to keep it as close to the tip as possible because the rest of it will be nested inside the crimp. And then the crimp can just lay right on top of the wire knot. Additionally, since we've already got it through the knits, it won't shift or move around a lot, making it a lot easier to crimp and finish off the earring.
So, grab your flat nose pliers and just give it a good squeeze to ensure that it's all nice and secure. If you want, you can kind of go back and fluff up some of the knitted wires through to kind of get it laying the way you want. I would say we have a very vibrant loop with all the different colored Flat Mesh wires.
Finally, to finish off this earring, go back in, attach a few beads to the piece, or just attach the earring hook and call it a day. I'll go down the simplistic road and just settle for the earring hook. But you can do whatever floats your boat because, honestly, there really is no wrong way to do it. Like I always say, experimentation is the key to making beautiful jewelry. Let your creativity run wild!
Assembling The Second Earring
We'll grab the second piece of craft wire for the second earring and kind of do the same thing. Repeat the same stringing pattern on this wire, going through the little knit holes. Plus, make sure you shake off any extra wire fuzzies for a nice, neat finish. Usually, there tend to be some pieces of the wire just sticking out, but you can simply pluck them out with your pliers. Stack on all the colors and then do the other side as well. As you go, make sure there isn't any twisted chain- give it a good shake and then wrap it back around to have it string nice and flat.
Once you have all the colors on the wire, secure the top of the Flat Mesh on the wire. Pinch it if you want, and then wrap the wire just enough times to hold everything in place. Trim off the excess and go in with your flat crimp. You can open up the crimp a little bit to make it easier because even a millimeter or so really simplifies the whole thing. Lastly, re-adjust the earring if needed and attach the earring hook to finish it off.
Go Get Yours!
Gather your materials, tools, and of course, leftover Flat Mesh wire, and get ready to recreate these glamorous earrings with me. You can watch the full video tutorial to make it along with me, and of course, don't forget to share the results in our Facebook group here. This design is really easy to make, and the Silkies and I would love to see your take on it. You can check out my Instagram here as well for more design inspirations. Also, don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel here for more such demos. I release new video tutorials every Tuesday, so make sure you turn on your notifications to get a reminder for the live stream.
HUGS to you all!
