MelissaEsplin.com

Leather Friendship Bracelet Tutorial

January 10, 2012

With the new year already here in full-swing, I've been thinking a lot of what I want this year to be like. I want it to be full of family, blogging, friends, parties, organization (I'm really going at it at our house!) and health. While all of these things are nice, they're keeping me really busy. So busy, in fact, I don't have time to do them all. This brings me to the words I want to live by this year: Be Still. While I want to do a million things all at the same time, sometimes I need to be okay with not getting it all done. I need to take in all of the smiles & giggles Felix & Penelope throw my way, take in the small stuff, take in how fleeting these little moments are.

When I had Penelope, the biggest shock to my system was that I couldn't just get up & do things quite like I used to. I was tethered. It caused a lot of frustration for me, but it was (and still is) a good learning experience that I can slow down, do what I can & enjoy the small stuff.

I made this little "friendship" bracelet to serve as my reminder this year. It took about 5 minutes to make. I whipped one up for Penelope, too. Hers says: Love You. I told her that it should remind her that I love her very much (even when I put her in time out). What word or words do you want to live by this year?

• T U T O R I A L •

• S U P P L I E S •

  • hammer
  • leather scrap
  • leather string
  • hole punch
  • X-acto knife or scissors
  • tape
  • letter punches (optional)

Print out the pattern, provided in the download, cut out & place on your leather. You’ll want to add tape below the pattern & on top to secure it while punching holes & cutting out.

Cut out the leather, then punch the holes. Remove the pattern & burnish the leather if needed.

With an X-acto knife, cut a small slit into one of the holes. Start small. If you need, you can make the slit bigger, later.

Take your string & tie a knot.

Thread the knot through the hole without the slit leaving the knot facing the right side of the leather.

wrap leather & string around your wrist & thread unknotted end through the slitted hole. Make a mark at the desired length, then take off your wrist.

tie another knot near the marked line & trim the ends. You want to leave at least a 1/2 inch tail on the end that goes through the slotted hole. Make the slot bigger if you need more space for the knot.

Make one for you & one for a friend. Enjoy!

• O P T I O N A L •

Stamp a little saying or word onto the front of your bracelet. Click the download button below for the printable version of these instructions & the pattern template.

This tutorial/freebie is free for personal use and should not be distributed/republished without my consent. Altering the file NOT ALLOWED. If you would like to use this tutorial for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!