Leather Teardrop Earrings

by jessyratfink

3.9K6110

Intro: Leather Teardrop Earrings

I ordered a couple bags of scrap leather pieces from Tandy recently, and when I saw a piece of tan/grey leather inside I just knew it'd look lovely if I used it in jewelry.

These leather teardrop earrings are super easy to make, and you could really use any geometric shape! I just think the teardrops look great in a pair of dangly earrings.

STEP 1: What You'll Need

small piece of leather/pleather - should be stiff enough to hold its shape when hanging from something
at least 20-30 inches of chain
6 mm jump rings
two earring wires
pliers (preferably two sets, it makes opening the jump rings easier!)
rotary punch
scissors/x-acto knife for cutting

I used a pretty variegated chain to add a little interest to the earrings, but you can use a plain chain as well. :D

STEP 2: Cut Out Your Shapes

You'll want at least three per earring. Mine ranged from 3/4 inch tall to 1 1/2 inches tall, and normally around 1/2-3/4 inch wide. :)

STEP 3: Punch Holes

Use the smallest rotary punch to make a small hole in the very top of the shapes.

It needs to be close enough to the edge to comfortably sit on a jump ring, but can't be close enough to rip through the leather.

STEP 4: Assemble

At this point, you'll want to decide on chain lengths. (I doubled my chain over because I thought it looked nicer, and I also thought the extra weight might reduce tangling a bit!) I suggest setting the hanging length between 1 1/2 inches to 3 inches and altering as necessary.

String the chains with the leather shapes attached onto the jump rings and then attach the jump ring to the earring wire!

Try them on and see if you like them - keep cutting the chain down until you love them. I altered the lengths quite a bit so they were shorter and more layered.