Fabric Bracelet

I've been seeing all kinds of different fabric bracelets on Pinterest lately. Some have multiple coordinating fabrics, some are wrapped around cuffs, and others are just strips tied together with dangling charms. I love them all and wanted to try my hand at it. I like the rough edges of torn fabric, so that's the idea I started chasing. There are as many ways to make a fabric bracelet as there are fabrics - this is just the way I went about it.

First, pick your fabric. I love this bold pattern! This is a remnant and so was pretty inexpensive.

Give yourself a little bit of a start by cutting in notches, about 1 inch apart. Use these to start tearing. I made two braids, so six strips total.

Gathered my tools and some additional supplies.

Looks orangish - but everything is black, white or red.

I even used some of the fabric to cover buttons. 

Braid three of the fabric strips together. I use a safety pin to attach it to something solid so I can pull it tight. Do this again to make a second braid.

Now, I tied the two braids together with some coordinating ribbon.

The ribbon I was using was too fat and too stiff. I ended up cutting off the small seams along each side and that seemed to help with both problems.

I restrung some pearls onto wire to make them stronger, I knew I'd be tugging on them. 10 inches seemed to work perfectly. Leave a couple of inches of wire on each side, you'll use this to attach it at the start and then again to finish it at the end.

Use excess wire to attach the pearls to your bundle and anchor it to something solid, this box is filled with magazines and wasn't going anywhere no mater how hard I pulled. Begin braiding all your strands together. (I added the button just above the knot with some strong quilting thread.)

Close-up of the braid 

Once you get to the other end you need to tie another tight knot to keep it all together, keep the knot a little loose and don't include the pearls yet. I have extra wire from the pearls, don't cut it off!

To make the closure, I used an elastic hair band. Slide it into the knot, tighten the knot and use the excess pearl wire to help attach it.

Weave the end back down into the braid if needed. Now cut off the excess fabric and ribbon to make everything the same length.

Check the size and make any adjustments needed to your bracelet.

 Add a few well spaced buttons, bows, charms, etc. 

Voila! You are done! 

I can't wait to make a few more of these, my first two were given as Christmas gifts. I bought a remnant of green/purple fabric that I want to make into a bracelet - that one may end up being mine. We'll see....