Hammered Wire and Leather Bracelet

Last week I showed you a quick pair of hammered wire earrings, and promised I’d have more to match this week.  I incorporated a little bit of leather cord into this bracelet to match with the organic look of the hammered metal, and I couldn’t stop at just one cord!  Take a look today, and I’ll show you how to make these simple hammered wire bracelets.

You can add as many cords as you like to this design (and you can certainly stop at one, if you prefer a more minimalist look).

What you will need:

• 1mm leather cord
• Fold over cord ends
• Jewelry glue
• Clasp and jump rings
• 12 gauge aluminum wire
• Wire cutters
• Chasing hammer
• Bench block or anvil
• 1/16″ (1.6mm) metal hole punch
• Optional but helpful, nylon pliers

I’m going to borrow the photos from my earring post to show you how to create your metal accents for the bracelets.  If you read that post, you’ve seen this already, but if you’re seeing this post first, then let me share again!

If you’re working off a coil, you may want to straighten your wire with nylon pliers before you get started.  Any curve in your wire will be retained once you start banging on it.  It will take on a more organic shape once you start manipulating it, but I wanted it as straight as possible to start.  Cut off equal-length pieces of wire for each cord you’re planning.  I cut mine about 1.5 inches – anything between 1-2 inches will work.

Next, I started at the ends of each piece, flattening with the flat end of my hammer.  The flatter it gets, the wider it gets, and that’s what will accommodate a hole being punched.  I also hammered the center, but not as much, so it’s got a thinner appearance in the middle.  Once I had a shape and size I liked, I turned my hammer over and texturized with the rounded side.  Finally I popped a small (1/16?) hole in both ends with my screw-down hole punch.  (If you have a hand punch, that’s fine too – this is just what I have for making holes.)

Next, it’s time to add the accents you just made onto your cords.  Cut 7.5 inch cords for each metal accent.  Feed an end of the cord so that the ends come up through the bottom of your piece, as shown below.  Center it on the cord.

Next, glue on the cord ends.  This style of end cap folds over and crimps on.  Just add a drop of glue for security, and then crimp onto the end of your cord.  Do this to all the ends, so that you have a ring to work with.

Finally, just attach your clasp with a jump ring – you can add just one cord, or you can do like I did and add several.  I used three for this project, in two colors.

Jump add a jump ring to the other end of your cords to finish it off, and that’s it!  You can experiment with different colors, different lengths of wire, and more or fewer cords for a look all your own!