September 6, 2011

What to Do with Scraps of Felt, Part VI: Make a Cuff Bracelet


This use for scraps of felt was inspired by a post I originally saw on Craftzine on how to make a felt friendship bracelet. I saw potential in the general idea presented there of a wide band of felt embellished with embroidery. One fun direction that I thought it could go, and that would help me use some of my very large quantity of felt scraps, was to embellish it not just with embroidery, but also with additional felt, possibly among other things.

Materials
  • A strip of felt that is at least 3/4" wide and as long as needed to encircle the wrist of the wearer-to-be with a little gap between the ends, and a minimum 1" allowance on each end (sorry if that's confusing; illustrative pictures to follow!)
  • Smaller pieces of felt
  • Embroidery floss
  • Thread (optional, as long as you have floss)
  • Sewing/embroidery needles
  • Buttons, beads, or the like (sequins?); maybe even fabric paint
  • Fabric glue (optional)
Steps

Fold each end of the felt strip over at least 1" and pin in place (you'll note that I folded mine over much more; this was because I measured the length of the strip only approximately and used the fold-overs to adjust it).


Using three 18" lengths of embroidery floss, sew the sides of one end of the felt together. Pull the floss through to the middle so that you have the equal lengths of all three strands on either side.

Two down, one to go

Braid the strands on either side of the felt and finish with a knot.


Using a matching color of thread or embroidery floss, sew the sides of the other end of the felt strip together leaving enough of a loop for the braided floss on the other end to be laced through it.


Embellish the felt strip with additional pieces of felt and whatever else.


Lace the braided floss through the loop on the other end of the strip and tie together.


Done!


Until next time --