Fabric Wrapped Bracelets

I have what I like to call an "arm pile" - an ever increasing collection of bracelets that almost never come off. I saw some fabric wrapped bracelets on Pinterest (I'm telling you, if you haven't gotten on there - DO IT!! There are SO many gems there!!) and thought "I HAVE to do those!" Seriously, a favorite accessory that I could make cheap, deplete my pile of fabric scraps, and not have to make a special run to Hobby Lobby? I'm there! So I've included directions for two styles, a layered wrap (the two on the left in the pic above), and a "regular" wrap that showcases the fabric pattern.

Supplies:

• hot glue gun
• rubber wristband (if you need some, try yard sales. You can pick up a TON for cheap)
• fabric scraps 1-2 in. wide and 2 feet long

Start by flipping the wristband inside out (so the writing is facing inside) and placing a line of hot glue about an inch long on the wrist band. Place fabric on top of glue. *PLEASE use cation with hot glue. I once gave myself a second degree burn with the stuff.* 

Next, put another small line of hot glue, half on the wristband, half on the fabric. Quickly and carefully pull fabric through and wrap around wristband. 

This is what it should look like as you're going along

Continue gluing and wrapping. Play with tautness, how close your layers are, and pattern alignment if you want. I recommend experimenting with your wrapping before you start gluing. 

Half way done!

The wrapping goes really quickly. When you're ready to finish off, trim down your fabric, hot glue edge, and glue down, making sure the raw edge faces outside.

 Finally, flip bracelet right side out,trim fray if desired, and Presto! you're done! That wasn't so hard now, was it?

For this second bracelet, if you have a pattern you want to highlight that doesn't come out well when you do the previously listed wrap style, like chevron, it's easier to see.

Here, you can better see the second bracelet (it's the one farthest right), along with my arm pile. 

You'll want the exact same width of fabric as the first bracelet, but you won't need 2 feet, just enough to wrap around the bracelet. You'll be safe with about 9 inches. You'll also need some ribbon, bias tape, or rick-rack (this will make sense later).

Start by place a dot of hot glue on the wristband. Center fabric on the glue.

Continue placing dots of glue about every quarter to half inch. When you're ready to end, match up the pattern, trim excess fabric, and glue down.

Flip bracelet inside out. Take ends sticking above and below bracelet, fold down to center, and glue.

Continue gluing around bracelet. Now, this leaves a bumpy finish that's not comfortable when it rubs up against you arms. To fix that, take your ribbon/bias tape/ rick-rack, and glue along inside (well, actually, it's on the outside right now).

Flip back out, and you're done! Both of these bracelets take about five minutes and limited supplies. If you have limited time, these make super cute gifts. The only thing is they get dirty pretty quickly. I just remade these after wearing them everyday for about 6 months and the fabric was pretty icky. Yeah, we're not going there... But, you can just do what I did and rip off the old fabric, reuse the bracelet, and recover if it gets dirty.

Keep Crafting,

-K