What you’ll need:
- Leather cuff
- Bead Cord (I used a 3-ply silk cord in black so that it wouldn’t show)
- Beads of your choice – mine are silver plated and stone
- Sharp utility knife and a ruler
- Sharp, thick needle (I just used the biggest one that came in a regular pack of sharps needles)
- Hammer
- Self-healing mat or several layers of cardboard for your cutting and hole-punching
By cutting an existing cuff (I found mine in a 2-pack for less than $3 at Hobby Lobby), you get the look of a wrapped bracelet out of one cuff really inexpensively. But if you prefer a wrap, you can certainly go that route, too. To trim your cuff, measure where you want to cut, and place your ruler as a guide so make sure your cuts are nice and straight. You’ll want to do this on a self-healing mat or several layers of cardboard to protect your work surface. And please be careful anytime you use sharp objects, of course. :)
Now, next I actually attempted to use a 2mm leather punch for my holes. I scored them first and then realized – they would be way too big at 2mm. So what I ended up doing was this – I used a large, sharp needle as a makeshift awl (you could obviously use a real awl if you have one) and I just hammered it in to make my holes.
You’ll see the circles where I was planning to punch my holes. I spaced them 1/2 inch apart from each other for my bead distance, but do whatever you like here. I just put a hole in the center of each of those, and a second hole slightly outside – so I punched two small holes for each circle you see. You shold be able to see an extra hole just outside each circle below.
I made two holes each, because I wanted to tie a small knot on the underside of the cuff on either side of the bead. I threaded it through (if your beading needle is having trouble passing through the hole you made, you may want to use pliers to help pull it through).
Then I tied it off, and threaded my cord back through to the top of the cuff. Then, I added a couple of beads, and tied off the other side. I did this for each set of holes I made.
Beading went pretty quickly, though I’m not going to say it was really easy. Threading through leather was a little bit of a challenge – not difficult, it was just a tight fit so you’ll have to coax it through, is all. This project only took me about 30 minutes, though, and I was left with a fabulous cuff at the end.
I link up to these great parties!
~ Adrianne
Six Sisters says
So cute! Thanks for sharing your ideas on “Strut Your Stuff Saturday!” We'll see you next week! -The Sisters
Evelyn says
I am loving this. At first glance I thought you just glued the beads but wow you went and really secured them with your cord. Very durable! Thank you for sharing another one of your great tutorial at Freedom Fridays!
Jana Faith says
Very cute! Way to add some femininity to an otherwise edgy bracelet. :o)
Jill says
That is so pretty! I love how simple it is, but is so cute and can go with so many things! Thanks so much for sharing this as well at Thursday's Temptation.
Jill
monsterscircus says
What a great DIY, lovely blog you have a very Nice tutorials!
Sue and Danny O'Mullan says
Fantastic! If I tried to do this – I would need a case of bandaids! You made this beautifully!
Maureen Hayes says
Adrienne,
I went to vote for you. Just so you know, I subscribe via email and I don't get your posts until the late evening/night of the day they post. If you decide to sell these leather bracelets, I would love to buy one! Really beautiful, as usual with your work!
Kadie says
I love these beads with the leather! They look great together! Great tutorial!:)
Michelle says
Love!!! I'm going to look out for a leather cuff :) x
Jill says
Super fun! Love it!
Jill @ Create.Craft.Love.
Terry says
Clever switchup. Your tutorials are so awesome – so easy to follow.