Tutorial: Fabric Bracelet

Posted on November 6, 2008
Filed Under accessories, featured, jewelry, tutorials | 9 Comments

This fabric bracelet is another one of those easy accessory projects that you can make quickly and easily, and with minimal investment if you already have fabric scraps on hand. For the version with buttons pictured here, I only needed 2 strips of fabric, each about 1-1/4″ wide, 2 d-rings, and a few stray buttons. You can use smaller scraps as well, as I did with the blue crazy-pieced bracelet. Other variations are limited only by your imagination.

I’ve seen several cute fabric bracelets that were fastened with buttons and cord, and I love them all, but for this bracelet I wanted something that fastened a bit more securely. I also wanted it to be completely adjustable to fit wrists other than my own, just in case a very convincing niece talks me out of it.  These d-rings have been on my table for a couple of weeks, waiting for another project that I’m working on, so they were an obvious choice for my bracelet.

When choosing fabric for the back of the bracelet, keep in mind that it will probably show, so don’t pick the ugliest thing in your stash.

About cutting your fabric strips – I used 3/4″ d-rings, so my strip width is 1-1/4″ (3/4″ + 1/4″ on each side for seam allowances).  Actually, I cut them very slightly wider than 1-1/4″ because my seams tend to go a tiny bit over 1/4″. For length, I estimated that 10″ would be enough, keeping in mind that I would lose about 1-1/2″ of that during construction.

My wrist measures less than 6″, and I had a lot of length left over when I put this on, so I tucked the loose end beneath the bracelet. If you don’t want to do this, be sure you adjust the length accordingly.

Once you determine the size of your strips, the rest is very quick and easy.

With right sides together and using 1/4″ seam, sew the strips together on both long sides and one short side.  Leave the remaining short side open for turning.

To reduce bulk, clip the corners of the short end that you stitched up.

Using a chopstick or a dowel, turn the strip right side out. Press carefully. If you want, you can zigzag the raw end, but I didn’t really think it was necessary on mine.

Topstitch around the edges if you like.  This step isn’t necessary, but you know me, I topstitch everything.

Insert the open end through both d-rings and fold down about 1 to 1-1/4″, to the back of the bracelet.

Pin in place, and stitch through all layers to secure.

You can stop now and wear your bracelet, or you can embellish it with buttons, embroidery, beads, or whatever comes to mind.  Just be careful not to attach anything where it will get pinched by the d-rings.

Comments

9 Responses to “Tutorial: Fabric Bracelet”

  1. Bonnie on November 16th, 2008 7:21 pm

    Love this neat little bracelet. Can’t wait to make a few and to share with my friends

    Tks.

  2. Cheryl on November 18th, 2008 3:31 pm

    Thanks Bonnie! These are so fun and easy to make.

  3. Gen on March 9th, 2009 3:00 pm

    These will be great as gifts. What type of fabric is best to use?

  4. Cheryl on March 11th, 2009 3:01 pm

    Gen, you can probably use any woven fabric. Just keep in mind that if you use a thick, heavy fabric, such as denim, you should make your bracelet wider (more of a cuff), and use larger d-rings. Otherwise, it might be difficult to turn right side out after you sew it. For my bracelets, I used a lightweight batik cotton.

    I think I would stay away from extremely stretchy knits, as they might become stretched out of shape in the d-ring area. (But if anyone out there has used knits, please comment and let me know how they worked out.)

  5. Dayna Howell on June 7th, 2009 9:11 pm

    I love this idea….I recently got a tatoo on the inside of my wrist and this will be a neat and convenient accessory for me when I need to cover it up! Thank you…very cool!

  6. Cheryl on June 25th, 2009 8:56 am

    Great idea, Dayna! The beauty of this project is that you can make it wider if you need to, depending on the the size of your tattoo.

  7. Wristbands on November 17th, 2009 7:29 am

    Great designs! i love it! also thanks for the helpful tutorial :)

  8. Bracelet Sale on April 19th, 2010 8:26 am

    Hi, wanted to say great site! I’m possibly being a little bit off topic here, this is my first visit, but I was browsing and wanted to say thanks for an idea. Your article sparked a new concept I hadn’t given thought to before.
    Thanks for the insight!

  9. Cheryl on May 3rd, 2010 8:41 pm

    Thanks for visiting, Bracelet Sale, and for letting me know that I sparked a new concept for you. I would love to hear how it works out.

Leave a Reply