I've been making the trendy wrap-bracelet for weeks, trying to perfect my technique and use the correct size of leather or lace (ie waxed cotton) with the correct sized beads. I only use the word correct because I seem unable to get an even distribution of beads without a magical formula, which I will share with you soon.
In making these wrap bracelets, I suddenly find myself absentmindedly wrapping strands of beads around my wrists as I sort my kit, getting ready for my show in Fishkill, NY in July, and for the big show in September, in Marlboro, MA. So I have another kind of wrap bracelet to show you, which I will do in photos since it is so easy. The leather wrap I should do in a video, because it can be tricky. Guess I had better get at cleaning my front porch so I can shoot the video out there soon.
This is such a loose project- you can really do this a million ways. I started with some 2mm leather cord. Be careful buying leather cord in bulk in the craft store. Often it is spliced together halfway through the roll. If that is what you are using, unwrap a length, and without cutting it, take hold of it every foot or so and give it a good pull between your hands. If it is spliced it will break, and better it breaks before you use it than in the middle of your bracelet. The length is really going to depend on how many times you want it to wrap around. The trend is wrap bracelets of different stones and/or metals, and you just stack them. I have some that wrap 2x or 3x and I pair them with one or two traditional chain or plain bead bracelets.
For the 2mm cord any large hole bead will do, but for wrapping purposes, you do not want this bead to be bulky. I chose this silver pewter bead:
To start, I always make my closure first. In this case I am using a button with a shank large enough for the 2mm leather to fit through. Thread the leather through the button shank and leaving about a 1/2" of tail, wind some wire around to hold the two pieces together. You could also use thread for this, binding it tightly and finishing your knot with a drop of glue to secure it.
Next, thread however many beads on that you like. I didn't want a solid silver bracelet so I just covered about 3/4 of the cord.
Check to see how many times it comfortably wraps around your wrist, and then loop the loose end around the button. I don't have a hard and fast rule about how big to make the loop. I just wrap it around and wiggle it back over the button. You can make a loop smaller but you can't make it bigger. Next take hold of the loose end of the leather where the base of it touches the other side forming the loop. Again, I wrapped fine wire around and around the two pieces, and I tried to make it somewhat the same length as the other side, however, his is not about perfection so don't get caught up in trying to be all matchy matchy. Trim the wire and tuck the little sharp end back up between the two pieces of leather. Trim the excess leather. Now you have your wrap bracelet!
You can leave it as is, or, you might decide to do what I did- I noticed all the beads congregating in once place, leaving the raw leather exposed in one chunk on the other side, so, noticing one of my beads was a little tighter than all the others, I randomly grouped beads along the leather and squished some here and there with my bent nose pliers. That way, they are still loosely distributed on the length of the bracelet but there are not large blank areas.
Below you can see the bracelet stacked with others that I have made, including the simple thread bracelet.
Here it is again with the beaded leather wrap bracelets that are so trendy right now:
I'll be back with at tutorial for the beaded leather wraps (I am actually more fond of cotton cord for these, as they are more forgiving of the stitch) and also I have an idea for a simple stone wrap bracelet with no leather at all.
Wrap bracelets are addicting! These work up really fast and look great with just about everything. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
