We passed this one over to Denny, our master craftsman.
You are using a great method to color your leather and define your tooling, but you may want to reconsider your materials if you would like to avoid muddiness. Like the generic name suggests, the tan kote and resolene will resist the antique, but it will not prevent it from doing its job. That means that no matter how much you apply, there will still be some darkening. If at all possible, the only thing you would be able to do with those materials is to be extremely, maybe even impossibly, careful about the application. Otherwise, considering other coloring options like paint or protective options like tape may be your solution.
Make a custom bracelet for the sports fan in your life! In this tutorial, we will show you how to create bracelets that mimic a baseball and a football. As usual, we have a video version at the beginning of this article to cater to multiple learning styles.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Materials
This list includes materials and tools needed to make both bracelets.
Lightweight Leather (3-4 oz)
Brown or White depending on the ball you’re mimicking.
For the football bracelet we chose a brown pebble grain oil tan
For the baseball bracelet we chose white chrome tan
Lightweight Veg Tan (2-3 oz)
You can use suede or other leathers for this part. We recommend veg tan for its relative stiffness, which will make it easy to work with and it will patina over time, making it look better with more wear.
Lace
You are free to use any kind of lace for these! We’ve used a variety and found that materials that lay flat work best.
Football bracelet – we used two different kinds of white kangaroo lace – 1/4″ (1 foot) and 1/8″ (3-4 feet)
1/16″ hole punch for the baseball cuff *adjust size based on your lace/thread choice
1/8″ single prong lacing chisel for the football cuff *you can use a different kind of punch or chisel based on your lace/thread choice. A chisel is highly recommended for use with flat lace.
Learn by Watching
For those of you who want to watch someone make these bracelets, view the video below! Liz adds in some helpful tips and demonstrates lacing and snap setting.
If you’re looking for written instruction, keep scrolling. These instructions are complete with animated GIFs.
Football Bracelet
There’s always room for customization! The bracelet in front is exactly what the directions call for. You can add your own spin on this design with paint, additional snaps and different lace. If you’re going to go your own way with the design, make sure you adjust any measurements for your bracelet.
Getting Started
To begin, you’ll want to cut your cuff and cuff backer. We clicked out 1.5″ cuffs that measure around 8.5″ long. Your cuff can be any size! You can buy it pre-cut or cut it by hand. Be sure to mark and create holes for your snaps. You’ll want to leave some space between the snaps and the edge of the cuff. Try laying the snaps on to the cuff first to see where they’ll rest. Be sure to do this for both your cuff leather and your veg tan backer.
Create Guides
Before you begin creating holes, it is important to create guide lines to make things as uniform as possible. Use winged dividers or a compass to create a line down the center of the cuff, taking care to begin marking at least 1/4″ away from the holes you have punched for snaps. Since our cuff is 1.5″ wide, we set our compass to 3/4″.
Create two more lines, about an inch apart. We placed the outer lines 3/8″ from the edge of the bracelet. Be sure to adjust the compass based on the size of your cuff.
Punch Holes Use a 1/8″ single prong lacing chisel and a mallet to create holes for the 1/4″ lace. Be sure to place the cuff on a hard surface like a granite or marble slab and to use a surface that won’t be ruined by the punch like a poly board.
Place the 1/8″ chisel on either side of the center line, slightly overlapping the punches to create one 1/4″ wide slot. Do this on both ends.
Use the remaining guidelines to punch 1/8″ holes. Make your first hole 1/4″ away from the slot on the center line. Continue making holes down the line, placing each about 1/2″ apart. Do this on both lines, taking care that the holes are as parallel as possible.
Lace it Up
Grab a lacing needle and about a foot of 1/4″ lace. Starting on the side of your choice, bring the needle through the back of the bracelet. Then, pull the lace through and guide it into the other slot. Your lace should be laying across the top of the bracelet. Be sure to leave a tail on both ends no shorter than 1.5″.
Now thread the lacing needle with the 1/8″ lace. Starting from the back of the bracelet, pull lace through the first slot. You may start at either end of the cuff. Be sure to leave a tail for this piece of lace as well.
Next, guide the lace underneath the 1/4″ piece and drive the needle through the nearest hole.
As you continue on, take care that the lace is not twisted and is pulled securely across. Next, carry the lace over the 1/4″ piece on the back and drive the needle through the very first hole. This will secure the 1/4″ lace.
On the front side of the bracelet, bring the lace over the 1/4″ piece and drive the needle through the nearest hole, completing the loop. The product will have the 1/4″ lace secured on both sides.
Starting on the next row, repeat the steps above until you have completed the bracelet. To tie things off, tuck your remaining lace. If the lace is too long, trim it!
Bring it Together
Once your bracelet is laced, it’s time to cover the laces with a veg tan backer. To do this, we simply glue the pieces together. For the best results, apply contact cement to both pieces. Be thorough in your application as this tutorial does not call for sewing.
Allow time for the glue to get tacky (when it’s hardly sticky to the touch) and then press the pieces together. Give priority to lining up the edges. This will help ensure that the holes punched for your snaps will line up and that your bracelet will have a clean appearance with no trimming. Take your time pressing the pieces together to ensure optimal adherence.
Get Snappy
The final step is to set the snaps. This part is business as usual. For this step, grab your line 20 snaps, snap setter and mallet and get to work. Make sure you have them turned the right way!
Next…
You’re done! Great job!
Baseball Bracelet
Here are some options. The one in front features artificial sinew lace and a single snap setup.
Getting Started
To begin, you’ll want to cut your cuff and cuff backer. We clicked out 1.5″ cuffs that measure around 8.5″ long. Your cuff can be any size! You can buy it pre-cut or cut it by hand. Be sure to mark and create holes for your snaps. You’ll want to leave some space between the snaps and the edge of the cuff. Try laying the snaps on to the cuff first to see where they’ll rest. Be sure to do this for both your cuff leather and your veg tan backer.
Create Guides Creating the guides for this bracelet will be begin with a light pen and a bit of creativity. The center line for this project is up to you, but should be in an arc shape that is safely away from the edges of the bracelet. We recommend leaving at least a half inch between your line and the edge. We used a silver marking pen that wipes off leather. For that reason, it’s tough to see, but it’s there – we promise!
Once you have created a line that you are satisfied with, use wing dividers to make two outer lines. We set our compass to 1/4″. Adjust the size for your cuff as needed. Place one end of the divider onto the arc and create an impression. Repeat this step on the other side of the line.
Open Things Up
Next, use a 1/16th hole punch and create holes about 1/4″ apart. Since this line is curved, using a ruler can be difficult. For best results, as your repeat this step on the second line, take care that the holes are as parallel as possible.
Next, use a utility knife and slice the bracelet along the center line. Creating a slot (or a smiley face, as Liz calls it).
Lace It Up
It’s time to lace. get started by threading the artificial sinew onto two “00″ harness needles – one on each end. Since sinew is waxy, you can just fold down the thread. No need to tie or double up.
Start at the back of the bracelet on the end of your choice. Drive both needles through the topmost holes – one needle for each hole. Pull them through and ensure that the thread is even on both sides.
Proceed to lace by bringing needle through the slit then through the nearest hole opposite. Essentially, you’ll be crisscrossing the lace. You may begin on either side.
Just be sure to proceed in the same order that you began. So, if you started with the left thread and followed with the right, make sure you do that every time. As you proceed, the needle should never be tucked underneath an existing stitch
Follow this pattern until you reach the end of the bracelet. To finish things off, pull both strings through the middle slot and pull forward. Trim the sinew as needed. Since sinew is waxy, you can simply press it into the leather to stick.
If you would like you final stitches to be more secure, you may double lace the final slots.
Bring it Together Just like the previous bracelet, it’s time to glue the veg tan backer on using contact cement. You’ll want to apply contact cement to both pieces. This time, be careful about glue application around holes. Applying too much glue will make it difficult to keep your bracelet clean.
Push the pieces together, giving priority to lining up the edges.
Get Snappy
The final step is to set the snaps. This part is business as usual. For this step, grab your line 20 snaps, snap setter and mallet and get to work. Make sure you have them turned the right way!
They don’t come with directions. Actually, you can use them any way that you want, and to punch through any leather that they will go through. The only thing that you might want to be aware of, is that it’s good to use a poly cutting board, (like you might use in the kitchen,) on top of a granite slab to punch through on. Other than that, it’s good to strop them like you would a swivel knife from time to time. That’s about it!
First of all, if you’ve run into a piece of leather that has a bit of rawhide in it where you’re starting to cut, that could be it. It happens, although it’s not common. If you’ve tried to cut it, then you’ll need to move your blade to a fresh cutting spot, because rawhide dulls it immediately. You might have to take a sharp knife, and see if the leather will cut that way. If it does, you might be able to remove a little bit of the leather where you’re starting to cut from. Usually, if leather has hardness in it, it won’t be all through the hide. If it’s my leather, then I’d be happy to get it back and replace it for you. You might also be able to cut it with a knife and a straight edge. I’ve run into hides in the past where I could not cut a strap from it. I cut two straps with a knife and a straight edge, and my strap cutter worked just fine after that. If I can be of any other help, let me know. And like I said, if I need to replace it, I’ll be happy to.
