Cutting leather was one of the first projects we did on the laser, way back in Week 3: Leather Cuffs.  While there really isn’t much new to say about the cutting and processing of the leather, I thought it would be fun to use some of the properties of leather (flexibility!) to make unique, laser cut earrings.  And, to make sure this post has something I’ve never done before, you’ll be getting a step by step tutorial!

Supplies Needed:

• Leather, about 1mm thick or less.  One color, or 2 colors, whatever floats your boat.  (Pacific Leather has a great description of use by thickness of leather)
• Leather cutting apparatus (we obviously used a laser, but Cricut machines can do it, and you could also use a simple blade or rotary cutter)
• Ear wires
• Jump rings (7mm or larger suggested, depending on your thickness of leather)
• Two pairs of pliers, preferably smooth needle nose so you don’t damage the findings (ear wire and jump rings)

Step 1: Templates

Freehand paper template

For me, I actually had to make a hand cut paper version of this, just to understand the mechanics of it, and then transfer it to the computer.  I was having a little trouble envisioning the 3D-ness of the twist.  Luckily for you, I’ve done all the hard designing work for you, and you can print out this paper template.  Use it if you want to see how the mechanics of the twist works before cutting the real thing on your machine of choice, or as a guide if you are cutting by hand.

Get your earring template here!

This template is just for ONE earring.  If you want a pair, think about how you want the second earring to look.  If you’d like it to look the same, print out a second copy.  If you’d like your final earring to be mirrored (as I do), flip the template!

Step 2: Cut!

Cut your leather!  Refer back to Week 3: Leather Cuffs for specifics in laser cutting leather, and remember, it’s a sooty job.

Step 3: Twist!

What I did was make sure the holed lined up, and then gently wrapped the leather around each other. You can’t really twist like when you make paper twist – you still want the final product to lay flat.  So, a two dimensional twist, I guess.

Make sure you have two pieces where the zig zags are opposite each other

Lay one strip on top of the other.

Hold the base and gently start to wrap the pieces around each other.

Keep on twisting!

Fully twisted, holes neatly lined up on the ends.

Step 4: Fold in half!

I wanted to make the back look as nice as the front and create a little visual interest with a loop.  You can make your fold as sharp as you’d like it, or as sharp as the leather will let you.  Make sure the holes line up.

The length of twisted leather folded in half, so the ends, and all 4 holes, line up.

Step 5: Assemble!

Home made ear wire on the left, commercially made on the right, 7mm jump ring below.

Assembly can be  a touch tricky, as more commercially available ear wires have tiny loops, and will not accommodate 4 slices of leather.  I did try them on my homemade ear wires with a bigger loop, and while they did fit, they did not swing as well.  My final solution was to use a 7mm jump ring to thread through the holes on the ends of the leather strips.  This holds the dangle part together.

If you are new to jewelry making, here is a great Instructable on how to open jump rings properly.

Leather strung on the 7mm jump ring.  Ignore the fact I used a toothy pair of pliers.

To attach the ear wire and keep the earring’s orientation (aka – show the twist from the front not the loop) you have two options.  1 – put a second jump ring on to connect the ear wire to the jump ring you already have holding to leather together or 2 (my choice) – twist the loop on the ear wire so the hole is perpendicular to the hook.

Quick visual on how to twist the ear wire:

Hold the ear wire with two pairs of pliers. Make sure the pliers have a good grip on the whole loop, and the neck of the ear wire so you don’t distort the metal.

Twist the pliers in opposite directions so they are perpendicular

Wide loop is on the left, ear wire as manufactured on the right

Then open the loop like you did the jump ring and hook the jump ring on the dangle on.  Close the loop, enjoy your earring!

Step 6: Do it all again to make a pair!

How to make the alternate design on the right:

Alternate design – don’t twist! Just fold the stacked leather strips, continue on from there.

When the leather is not twisted, the strips don’t sit quite as nicely, and you can see by the bowing inside the loop. A dab of glue will fix affix it.

I hope you have fun trying this out!  You can also shake it up by only using the curvy strips, or the zig zag strips.  The design and tutorial is by Jennifer Putzier of Isette, copyright 2017, and is shared for personal use only, please!