Monday, April 20, 2015

Easy Fabric Bracelets

I'm finally getting back into blogging again, and what better way to do it than with an easy tutorial for fabric bracelets.

This little pattern can be made to any size.  This fits my wrist nicely, while I have made some to hold Scrunchies.  I love Scrunchies!!!!  At the end, I will tell you how to make a strap to hold all the scrunchies you can make.

Items needed:
Scraps of Fabric
scissors
thread
sewing machine
Wonder Clips/ Binder Clips/ pins (your choice)
Kam Snaps or fasteners of your choice.


To start off with, grab some material.  Just about anything laying around will do.  I used part of an old sheet to make this green one.  Now, before you get to cutting, you need to measure your wrist.  Mine came in just shy of 8 inches.  It's best for the math (I heard those groans!!) that you keep the numbers rounded to 1/2 inch.  Now, where mine measured 8 inches, I needed to add 2 inches to that for a total of 10 inches.  Pretty easy, now wasn't it.  Now, back to the material chosen, you will need to measure a strip on it your wrist measurement + 2 to get the length.  The width will stay the same at 3 inches. Need a visual?  Here you go: 


Next thing you want to do is press it in half.  I just finger pressed it here, but you could use the iron and ironing board if you want to:



Nicely pressed and about ready for the next steps. But while this next step can be skipped, I would advise against it.  You need to turn the short ends down about 1/2 inch.  This will give your bracelet a nice, finished edge:
 
These next two pictures show the next step, but I had forgotten to turn down the edges.  Trust me, you want to do that turning down first before doing these next steps. 
At this point, since you already have them open to fold the ends down, now you need to fold the long sides in to meet in the middle.  They don't have to completely meet, just come close.  And those cute little clips in the picture are called Wonder Clips By Clover.  I can't imagine using anything else now.  But in the past I have used binder clips and regular pins (still do in fact on some things).  When you get the edges folded to the center, then fold the whole thing in half again on the long edge.  Most quilters will agree that this is how bias binding is made:


 Make sure you pin/clip the open edge or all that folding will spring apart.


Now, time to go to the machine and let it do it's magic.  I sewed this with about a 1/8th seem allowance.  I say about because I didn't measure it, just kept the stitching close to the edge all the way around:


And when I meant around, that includes those folded ends.  Just pivot on the corners like this:


Here it is, all stitched up!!!  Sorry for the background change, was having lighting problems at the point.


And a close-up of the stitched end:


But what is the point of all this hard work if you can't attach it to your wrist?  I've never been great at making button holes, but if you can, WONDERFUL!!! Go for it.  My personal preference is Kam Snaps.  They go on easy, very washable, and come in an array of colors.  I first seen them recommended for cloth diapers, but they are sooooo versatile in anything.


 The Kam Snaps website has tutorials for how to attach them, but if you use them on this project, one thing you need to remember; You need to place them on opposite sides to lie flat.  Here I have one side installed, and starting on the other.


Now both snaps are on.  Can you see what I mean about having them on opposite sides?


And Tada !!!!!!  You now have a bracelet to match your outfit!!  One thing I should note, the white bracelet on the left, if you noticed, doesn't have the nice, finished end that the green one does.  It was the first one I made, and I just cut the length to fit my wrist.  I actually prefer the finished end of the left one now.

Now, at the beginning of this tutorial, I said that you can make these almost any length.  Here is my scrunchie holder.  All I did was do the strap just like I did for the bracelet, but made it bout 3x as long as the bracelet (the length is totally up to you).  Then attached snaps at both ends, but made sure they were on the same side to make a loop.  Snapped it around a hanger, and I can keep the scrunchies off the floor and clean for when I need one.


I hope you enjoyed this simple little tutorial.  Just remember to let your imagination run wild with color choices.  If you make your own clothes, then just make sure you have enough material left to make a bracelet.  If you want to make a scrunchie to match, may I suggest you go to my favorite tutorial for scrunchies on Instructables.

Friday, April 10, 2015

Wow~~

I will say this now, I almost forgot about this blog.

Lately, I've been getting into quilting, and neglecting my knitting and crocheting badly.

But for those that are still following me, be on the lookout for some sewing patterns from me.

For now, my list of sewing to do:

Bionic Gear Bag with Needle parking lot
Fountain drink cup covers
Stuffed toy balls for the animals.

Off to work on this list!!!!