I love leather cuff bracelets! Whether I wear one alone, or layer them with other metal and leather bracelets, I think they are always in style. They are bohemian, and can be in funky bright colors or subdued earth tones. With the large selection of pre-made cuffs we sell, the possibilities are endless! I made a few examples using the TierraCast eyelet setting tool and eyelets to show you! Check out how to make them below!
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Easy to Make Rubber Stamped Leather Bracelets
September 30, 2013With the holidays fast approaching, why not make some simple handmade gifts for friends and family?
Using rubber stamps and permanent ink pads, you can easily embellish ready-made leather bracelets to create fun and whimsical gifts in just a few minutes.
This DIY tutorial shows you how.
Gather your Supplies
You will need the following products and supplies:
- Leather Bracelets
- StazOn Ink Pads
- Rubber stamps of your choice
Rubber Stamp Angel Policy
If you plan on selling your finished pieces, remember to check out the “angel policy” for the rubber stamps you choose. The manufacturer or stamp artist may have restrictions on using the stamped images on items created for sale.
Plan your Design Layout
If you want a certain stamped image to appear in a certain location, like the center of the bracelet, you should plan your design layout.
Depending on the length of leather bracelet you choose, you can plan the layout directly on the bracelet.
Or use the bracelet as a template to trace its shape on paper. Trace several, so you can practice. This is helpful when determining the spacing needed between individual letter stamps when stamping words or names.
Stamp your Design
Place the rubber stamp on the ink pad and press down so the stamp picks up the ink. Repeat several times. Use plenty of ink for a dark image.
Press the stamp firmly on the leather bracelet and hold for a few seconds. Then gently lift off the stamp.
To prevent smudging, allow the ink to dry before stamping the next image. It takes about 3-5 minutes for permanent ink to thoroughly dry, if you can wait that long.
Use plenty of ink for a dark image. Less ink makes for a nice contrast. Or use several different colors of the StazOn ink for your design.
Fixing Mistakes
StazOn ink is permanent. If you make a mistake, you can remove the image with StazOn All Purpose Cleaner. But be cautious, as this cleaner is a solvent and will also remove the dye on the leather bracelet.
When you are finished, use the cleaner to remove the dried ink on the rubber stamps.
Since the StazOn ink is permanent, there is no need to apply a sealer to the bracelet.
Another fast way to make a bracelet is to draw your own design on the leather using Sharpie permanent marking pens.
With ready-made leather bracelets, StazOn ink pads, and your favorite rubber stamps, you can start making your handmade holiday gifts now.
Amy
How to Make Leather Bracelets – Two Finishing Methods
August 12, 2013In this do-it-yourself jewelry-making tutorial, the bracelet blanks from last week’s blog post, “Customizing Tim Holtz idea-ology® Word Bands for a Handmade Look”, combine with Rings & Things’ new leather strips to make two styles of leather cuffs.
Leather Bracelet Style One – A Single-Wrap Bracelet with Drawstring Clasp:
“In the Moment Leather Cuff Bracelet”
You will need the following tools and supplies:
ruler
1/2″ wide leather strip
3mm suede lace
5-ply waxed linen cord
large-hole bead (hole size 4mm)
customized Tim Holtz idea-ology® word bands
Sharpie®, Extra Fine Point
Leather Bracelet Style Two – A Double-Wrap Bracelet with Hitch Clasp:
“The Journey Leather Wrap Bracelet”
You will need the following tools and supplies:
ruler
Sharpie®, Extra Fine Point
1/2″ wide leather strip
5-ply waxed linen cord
customized Tim Holtz idea-ology® word bands
Make things,
Mollie
How to make wrapped leather bracelets
March 8, 2011
Let me begin by stating the obvious – this style of wrapped leather bracelet is EVERYWHERE this season. Everywhere! Even my athletic clothing catalogs – which only have maybe three pieces of jewelry – are featuring this style. Why? Because it is casual yet chic and infinitely customizable! The catalog (which shall remain nameless) priced each bracelet at $120. Needless to say, you can make your own for far, far less using supplies from Rings & Things!
The supply list is pretty short:
- 4-6mm round beads We used gemstone beads, but glass, crystal beads or pearls would also be lovely. The number you need depends on how many times you want to wrap the bracelet around your wrist. Larger beads work too – but they will start getting heavy on multiple-wrap styles. All the bracelets pictured in this post use 6mm. Our new wrapped bracelet kits use 4mm beads. <– The kits are great, because once you make your first bracelet, you’ll have plenty of thread and needles left over with which to make many more!
- Leather cord Our examples use Greek leather. Both the 1.5mm and 2mm worked great.
- Thread Needs to be sturdy and able to pass (doubled) through your beads twice. Pick a color that matches your leather or that provides a pretty contrast. We used earth assortment). We now have tubes with all black or all brown bobbins available too!
- Button or bead for the clasp. Rings & Things has some pretty buttons from TierraCast.
- Required tools: needle (size 12 is a good general choice), scissors, work surface with clips or clothespins.
- Optional tools: needle threader, thread conditioner, glue (GS Hypo Cement, Bead Fix or other fabric-friendly adhesive for extra security on your knots).
The technique:
- Choose your bracelet length and cut your leather. The formula is double your finished bracelet length plus extra for making the knots. For single-wrap bracelet, measure your wrist and then triple that number to get the length of leather needed (7″ wrist = 21″ of leather). For a triple-wrap, multiply your wrist by seven (7″ wrist = 49″ leather). It is better to leave your leather too long than to end up with not enough.
- Cut a long piece of thread (10-12 feet) and thread your needle. Knot the end of the threads.
Holding the thread by the knot, let the needle fall to the ground so it is centered on the thread. Fold your piece of leather in half, leaving a loop large enough for your button to fit through. Holding the knot-end of the thread with the leather, tie an overhand knot so that your thread and leather are now connected.
Using binder clips or clothespins, attach your loop to the top of a piece of cardboard. Use a second clip to attach the leather ends to the bottom of your board (leave the thread loose).
Do this 5-6 times, pulling the thread tight around the leather to form a binding. (The pattern could go either way, but since I’m right-handed I’m going to describe it this way. Reverse it if needed!) Here is a close-up of the lashing:
If somehow you come up short, all is not lost. You can tie a disk bead onto just one strand of the leather (use glue to enforce your knot), like on the 2nd bracelet from the left. Or if your ends are really short, use a hook-end crimp, as shown on the pink bracelet on the right.
Other design options:
- String your button or bead clasp first, then tie a series of knots on the end to make the bracelet length adjustable.
- Use jump rings to attach a couple of charms, like on Mollie’s Belle Star bracelet.
- Leave the leather tails long and add beads or decorative knots.
- Substitute a different type of cord for the leather, as in Tracy’s rattail and dragon blood jasper design:
Have fun creating your own wrapped bracelets! You’ll find it is quite addictive once you start. Please feel free to post questions – I will do my best to answer! ~ Cindy
Need supplies? Rings & Things ships around the world! The most popular wrapped leather bracelet supplies are:
- Round gemstone beads | 6mm round glass beads
- 1.5mm Greek Leather cord | 2mm Greek Leather cord
- Thread (size D Super-Lon)
- TierraCast buttons (to use as a clasp)
- Size 12 beading needle
- Or – complete wrapped leather bracelet kits!
Q: “How do you start a new thread in the middle of the bracelet?”
(answers selected from replies to blog comments)
A: It’s best if you can avoid running out of thread (start with 10-12 feet to avoid running out). But if you do, start a few beads back and go through them again. This means you’ll have to go through some of your beads 4x, which (depending on your beads and cord) might be impossible. Other problems are that your bracelet will be weaker than if you were able to use 1 continuous thread, and you’ll be able to see the section that has twice as much cord as the rest of the bracelet.
A2: Get really good at hiding knots in your beads. =)
A3: If you’re down to just a tiny bit of thread, it is going to be hard to tie the ends onto new strands, but if you realize you’re not going to make it and cut off the needle, rethread and knot the strands together, you can probably pull the knot inside of a bead. I hope this makes sense – basically, you’re not “starting anew” but pausing, adding on some extra thread, and picking up right where you left off. 🙂
Edited December 2021 to update links.
Leather strap wrap bracelets in bright new colors!
March 6, 2012Spring is (almost!!) here, and what better way to celebrate the return of short sleeves than a wrist full of bracelets? With this in mind, we chose a fun new palette of leather strap bracelets based on the Pantone Color Chart. These triple-wrap bracelets are 1/2″ wide and feature three snaps for an adjustable fit. The gorgeous colors are created with lead-free vegetable dyes. Vegetable dyes are color fast, but you should avoid getting your leather bracelets soaking wet, as it could damage the leather.
Leather bracelets are easy to customize and fun to wear. Here are some of the ways our design team dressed them up:
Most of our designers chose to sew their beads, charms, crystals and other decorations in place. Pretty much any stringing material can work, depending on the situation. We used Nymo, Superlon, embroidery floss, hemp cord and even wire.
Use a rotary hole punch tool or an awl to make holes where needed, and stitch away! Just be sure to choose a thread thickness that feels durable enough for the weight of the items you are attaching.
Another leather embellishing option is to use rivets and/or eyelets. Eyelets line holes nicely for durability, which allows you to hang charms from them, like on Sondra’s stack of ankh bracelets:
Polly used the Crafted Findings riveting system to attach TierraCast charms and spacer beads to her purple leather bracelet. The teal blue bracelet uses evenly spaced eyelets to create an industrial style, while Toni used a couple of large leather eyelets to create attachment points for pretty charms and beads.
I had a hard time rounding up all these bracelets … I didn’t quite have to pry them off people’s wrists, but almost. They’ve been getting a lot of wear – and a lot of compliments! We hope you have just as much fun creating your own jewelry with them! ~ Cindy
Rings & Things Design Gallery Gemstone Bracelets
April 19, 2019The Rings & Things Design Gallery is the place to go for inspiration. You will find hundreds of free jewelry designs that include both the instructions for making each project, and a list of the tools and suggested supplies that you will need. And there are designs that will appeal to both the skilled jewelry maker and beginners.
Continue Reading…DIY Multi Strand Leather Charm Bracelet
December 8, 2015One of my favorite combinations when making bracelets is leather and charms! When deciding what color of leather to use, I chose turquoise because it’s a color that always calms me – plus it seems to work for all seasons. It reminds me of the beach where I would love to be! I decided to make this a multi strand bracelet because the stacked bracelet look is such a huge trend right now. To make your own version of this multi strand leather charm bracelet, read on. It’s easier than you think! Continue Reading…
Easy DIY Stackable Bracelets
November 30, 2015Ever wonder how to fill your wrists with deliciously colorful and fun stackable bracelets? Well here’s a super trendy DIY bracelet design you can make in about 5 minutes! Best yet, you can customize each bracelet with charms that match your interests — or the interests of friends, family, and customers. This design works great for making Awareness jewelry and seasonal themes too. Since I made these in November, I was ready for some Christmas Cheer. Continue Reading…
Jump rings are designed to connect things. Connect chain to clasp. Pendants to chain. Charms to bracelets. But what you may not realize is that jump rings also make great spacers! I like to use them on leather cording to space sparkly beads or pearls. This project is really easy, fast, and great to do with beginners, as the skills required are pretty basic. And while the skills are basic, the end result certainly is not. These necklaces make a real statement and are great solo or layered! —
Vintaj® & Leather Go So Well Together!
July 16, 2014Vintaj Natural Brass findings and leather bracelets go together like butter on bread! You can unite them with rivets, thread, jump rings and more.
With just a few supplies, you can create stylish and unique cuff bracelets, incorporating popular and trendsetting Vintaj Natural Brass findings. For this riveted version, all you need is:
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