These make fun gifts for the knitting enthusiast and are particularly popular at fairs as ‘top up’ gifts
I make them all myself, by hand and using recycled sterling silver for the needles, earposts and backs.
You are ordering one pair of studs, with the yarn made from the wire colour and type you select from the drop down
The coloured ones use a copper core craft wire with an anodised coating for the colour wound round the 'needles' to represent the yarn.
I don't recommend you order the coloured ones if you usually experience any sensitivity to copper as some of the 'yarn' will touch your ear lobe, and eventually, with a lot of wear the coating touching your lobe is likely to rub off, meaning that your ear will then be in contact with the copper
The silver ones use 0.5mm recycled sterling silver wire for the yarn and are listed as 100% in the options and the sample photo
Dimensions will vary slightly, as will the exact orientation of the needles. I've photographed a selection so you can see the variation.Average dimension is 13 mm x 10mm and the 'yarn ball' is 6-7mm deep although the studs will vary between 12 and 15mm (at the largest width)
Notes: I only use natural light and take all pictures in my home, so I have used a variety of backgrounds to help display the colouration and avoid your disappointment. The coins included for scale in the photo are a UK penny, USA 1 dime, EU 2 cent piece
The day I took these photos was a bright October afternoon.These aren't hallmarked, as they are below the 7.78g threshold that's the legal requirement for Assay here in the UK.
*I've been using Eco silver since 2016, but now all the silver elements in all my jewellery are certified recycled by my bullion dealer - it's made from the waste and offcuts returned and reclaimed in the jewellery process, which means it's environmental impact is significantly lower than if mined afresh. Thanks for looking!
Knitter ball of wool stud earrings and pendant
Sterling Silver will eventually oxidise or tarnish. It's a natural process that can be slowed down by regular wear and by keeping unworn items away from the atmosphere. If you leave your jewellery out on display, this oxidisation will be faster. You can polish up your items, with a soft cloth, some silver polish, or a buffing cloth such as Town Talk, which is readily available from any high street jewellers in the UK
Fine silver is 99.9% silver, and because of this the tarnish rate is much, much slower. Again, a buff should do the job for polishing it back up. If I have patinated your silver already, be gentle when buffing!
Each piece should stand up to regular wear, but , as with all jewellery, please remove it before washing, using chemicals or applying perfume etc
Apply body lotion and perfume a few minutes before putting on your jewellery to help slow down tarnish
The sterling silver used in these items was sold to me by my bullion dealer as certified recycled.
The gemstones I use have been sold to me by reputable dealers as untreated (unless stated specifically in the listing). They are a natural, organic creation from the earth and each one will be slightly different. You can see examples of this on my Facebook page.
I select the stones that I think go together best for each project, hence my comments that each item is individual.