DIY Chain Harness Bracelet

Ok, ok, I promise, this is the last bracelet tutorial for a long time. I hardly ever wear bracelets anyway. But now I do since I'm making a bunch. My chain supply is beginning to dwindle so there's only so long this chain-DIYing can continue. Last weekend's project was this wicked looking chain harness bracelet. It's super bondage-y, isn't it? So it goes.

When I initially bought my piles of chain, jump rings, and lobster clasps from Toho Shoji in NYC, I got them in black since I figured it's neutral enough. Luckily, black worked out perfectly for this project. I used all 2 feet of chain and secretly wish I had another foot of the stuff to add another level of bracelet.

I had no idea how to start out this project. I didn't know what I was doing. As I always think, DIY is half guess-and-check. SO that's what I did. I spent about 10 minutes winding chain around my hand figuring out what looked good, what worked, what wasn't physically possible. And the good thing about using jump rings and chain that's easy to cut with wire cutters is that if you don't like the way something turns out, chop it bend it back. I would cut pieces of chain too long and attach them... then chop more off 5 minutes later. Just play around until you get something you like.

(you can see my fading henna-bow)

I eventually decided on a pattern that resembles the right picture. The first picture most clearly illustrates what I did. While it's easy to just cut and bend, it really helps to count out links and make sure both sides are even. For example, I tried for some kind of symmetry. I used 6 links in between both the each hypotenuse side of the corresponding triangles (DID YOU SEE THAT!? I just used two geometry terms. But I incorrectly used "corresponding triangles". They're not corresponding. The smaller triangle's hypotenuse doesn't correspond to the larger triangle because it's disproportionately longer. See, I can be smart sometimes.)

And here's the finished project! The part that connects to my finger is too long so I actually shortened it after I took these pictures. 

Experiment! Have fun. 

DIY Suede & Chain Bracelet II

Remember my tutorial for the suede and chain bracelet? Here's another one:

I made this as an afterthought with the leftover leather (no, I do NOT believe in throwing scraps out. NEVER!). I was ogling over my other chains and I realized that my bronzey-gold chain was actually cut into 2 pieces and wired together. How sneaky! If I needed that piece for a serious project, I would be pretty pissed that I wasn't given one continuous length. Very bad, Toho Shoji.

(Look! A lighthouse charm! I haven't used it yet, though.)

But anyway, now I had a length of chain exactly the length of my wrist. I took my leather leftovers, about 10 inches, and weaved in and out of the chain (think of the strap of a classic Chanel purse- leather through chain). I also picked up a few little charms at Toho so I stuck the gold ship wheel in the middle of the chain.

This didn't leave me with much leather left to use to fasten the bracelet by tying a bow. I decided to use a sliding knot but could not for the life of me figure out how to tie one. I literally spent 5 minutes staring at a diagram and could not understand it.

Luckily I found another tutorial here and realized that all I had to do was tie two knots, leaving the tail end going through each. It's really pretty simple once the dots connect in your head.

Finished! 

DIY Suede & Chain Bracelet

As promised, here's my chain and suede bracelet tutorial. I’ve seen bracelets like this before which use plastic lanyard, like the key chains you used to make at summer camp. That looks way too homemade to me, so I thought I’d class it up by using suede instead!

The materials I’m using are a length of chain (with links big enough to thread through with suede), a suede lace, 2 rings, and a clasp. First, attach a ring and a clasp to the end of your chain.

Wrap the chain around your wrist until it fits comfortably. Attach the second ring to the chain to mark off the length of your bracelet.

Take of the bracelet and match up the doubled chain. This part is annoying, but actually count the number of links instead of eyeballing it. If you end up with extras, it’ll show at either end of your bracelet.  When the chain is perfectly doubled, cut the chain with wire cutters and attach the loose end to the ring with the clasp. Now you’ll have a bracelet of doubled chain.

Now you can start weaving the suede through the links. Start on the second link and leave at least a centimeter or two left unwoven to finish later. Getting started with the suede is tricky because you need to develop a consistent weaving strategy. Make sure the suede doesn’t get twisted while you’re threading through links; that’ll create bumps and you want everything looking the same. I weaved over a chain and under the next. Just pick one pattern and stick to it!

When you finished weaving, cut the remaining suede off, leaving a centimeter left. To secure the ends, dab a bit of crazy glue (because that glue can adhereanything!) on the last stitch of the bracelet and fold the end over.

You’re done! You can use a variety of different chain or suede colors, or even use more than 2 chains at a time. 

If you want to see this tutorial in "official form," head over to Craftistas inspiration blog!