Tutorial: Leather and Nylon Cuffs

I LOVE using up some fabric scraps.  I always feel that after I use a fabric from my stash, that I should be making room in my drawers, but unfortunately fabric scraps seem to take up just as much room as a flat fold.  So, when I am able to use up the last little material scraps from a previous project, it is extremely rewarding. 

These little CTR wrist bands used up the remaining nylon webbing that I had from the Nylon D-ring belts that I made a couple of weeks ago.  Wahoo!  Unfortunately, I liked the bands so much that I went out and purchased five times as much nylon webbing, to make some for my bazaar booth.

What I used:

Scrap piece of leather with CTR (choose the right) stamped in it
1" of velcro tape
6.25" of nylon webbing (3 year old measurements)
Contrasting thread

To start out I added a few rows of contrast stitching along the nylon webbing.  I was surprised how easy it was to feed through the machine with the zig zag stitch.

 Next, I attached the velcro.  You want to attach it to either end of the bracelet, with one piece of the velcro on the top of the band, and one on the bottom (underside). I secured the velcro with a triple stretch stitch.

Once the velcro is attached your cuff is basically done.  You can leave it plain, or add a small leather piece to the top of the band.  To do so you will want to use a leather needle for attachment.

 If you are attaching leather, I recommend that the stamped leather piece is no longer than the top of the wrist.

You can find more information on leather stamping here:

Leather Stamping

Leather Letter Stamping

Casing Your Leather

Leather Bracelets: Superhero Cuffs and Hybrids

Poor Clark has been a bit neglected when it comes to handmade gifts.  It seems that I'm sewing for my booth, custom orders, Miles, and very rarely myself.  My poor little three year old just gets  the short end of the stick when it comes to being a recipient of my sewing project.

The really sad thing is that he is one that really appreciates handmade things.  The other day I overheard him talking about me to his dad.  He said something like this...

"My mom is really good at fixing things.  She can fix things with her sewing 'chine, and her serger.  She can make me clothes, and capes, and she's really good at making things".

It melted my heart when I heard him talking about me that way.  Sometimes I worry that all of the time I spend blogging and crafting isn't the best use of my time.  I still don't know that it is, but I'm glad to know that he appreciates what I do, and knows that I do it out of love.

Anyway...I made him some superhero cuffs out of some foiled leather that I picked up over a year ago. He loves them.  He wore them for eight days straight, and the foil is already fading. If you're interested in the Superhero Sewing Pattern, you can find it here.

I also wanted to show you some new cuffs that I came up with.  This is a hybrid of the braided leather bracelet, and a standard cuff.  I love the red leather!

These are some tone on tone cuffs.  The one on the left is a simple combination of a coil cuff, and the right is a braided leather with some side stitching.

These are nothing new, but I still love them.  I really need to make one for myself.

Women's Leather Coil Cuff

Yesterday I mentioned that I had a more feminine version of the leather cuff.  Here it is, and I'm even going to give you a tutorial so that you can make one for yourself (or anyone on your Christmas list).

The thing that I love about about working with leather is that you can cut right into it, and you don't have to worry about finishing off edges.  I also love that it is soft and really quite comfortable when worn.

I'd like to thank all of the Rodeo Queens out there who want pink and metallic silver chaps.  Thanks to you I can now have these ultra feminine leather cuffs.  This was scrap leather that I picked up on my most recent trip to the saddle store (where I buy all my leather for small projects).  Due to the fact that I am buying scrap leather, you never know quite what you'll find.  I really feel like I hit the jackpot last time.

Read more below for the full photo tutorial.

Easy Ribbon and Bead Bracelet

After my plum colored dress post I received a sweet comment from Dawn suggesting that I add some fun beaded jewelry to my dress to give it a little something extra.  It was a great suggestion, but here's the deal.  I am cheap.  I have a hard time spending money on jewelry.  Also my taste is a bit selective.  I do like some big/chunky jewelry, but not much.  Anyway, I decided that I did need to start dressing myself up a bit.  I was at Joann's late last week and I found that their beads were on sale. I can't resist a sale.  So I picked up some of the least expensive beads that I could find and a few jewelry making basics.  I remembered seeing several bead/ribbon necklaces and bracelets around blogland and decided to try it out for myself.  

The bracelet that I made used this pewter colored ribbon and some tiny little beads.  I followed the tutorial here.   It was really pretty simple to make.  I love the color combination.  I added a jewelry clasp to the bracelet so that I could take it on and off, but you could totally make this out of a stretchy cord which would eliminate any need for a clasp.  

I strung the extra beads onto some stretch cord to make some simple coordinating bracelets.  I'll probably end up cannibalizing them for a future project, but until then I'll put them to good use.

It is a little baby step into the world of jewelry making and wearing, but it is a step none the less. What do you think?

Don't forget to enter to win the CSN Stores Giftcard Giveaway.  It is still open for a few more days.  

I'm linking up here today.