Make a simple wrap around leather bracelet :: Handmade jewellery

Leather bracelet to make - Make a wraparound leather cuff - Fashion makes - Craft - allaboutyou.com

You will need

● Strip of 2mm thick leather – for a double bracelet we used a strip 42cm x 1cm. For a single bracelet we used a strip 22cm by 2cm
● Press stud (we used Prym studs, available from good haberdashery shops, which come with a fixing tool and hole punch)
● Hammer

Measuring

Take a tape measure and wrap it around your wrist, making sure that you have a couple of centimetres overlap at each end. You need this so there’s room to insert the press stud (image 1).

Making holes in your leather

Take your leather strip and, with a pen, make a mark 1.5cm from each end. This will be where your press stud will be inserted so make sure it’s central.

Using your hole punch, make a hole at each mark (image 2).

Inserting the press stud

This sounds complicated, but it’s not - really.

Each press stud comes in four parts (two backs and two fronts) which sandwich the piece of leather. The top side of the stud has a cap and a female underside. The bottom part of the stud has a male upper and a spiked male underside.

In addition, the setting kit has a number of different parts (image 3). There is the plastic fixing (or setting) tool and there are also four ‘dies’ that fit into the tool. Each die corresponds to a different part of the press stud.

To fix the top part of the press stud, insert the right dies into the fixing tool and place the press stud cap and its underside on either side of one of the holes you made in your leather strip. You want the smooth cap part to go on the right side of the leather.

Now take a look at the fixing tool. You’ll see that the cap slots into the saucer-shaped die on the setting tool. Carefully close the tool over your press stud (image 4) and, keeping your fingers out of the way, hit it with a hammer – you may need to do this a few times.

Now you’ve done that side, you need to insert the underside of the stud. Change the dies in the fixing tool so you have the corresponding dies for the underneath stud. Insert the press stud components into the hole at the other end of your strip - the rounded male part goes on the right side of the leather and the pointy bit goes underneath (image 5). Insert into the fixing tool, and (mind your fingers!) hammer it again (image 6).

Button it onto your wrist.