DIY Leather Bracelets

This tutorial shows how you can make leather bracelets from old belts you can buy at thrift stores using a Dremel tool and leather inks.

Today I'm sharing a fun and inexpensive way to diy leather bracelets. There are a few different ways to make this craft, from the "it couldn't be any easier," to the "takes a little time but worth it," approach.

The idea for this tutorial came from the DIY blogging conference I attended recently in Atlanta. One of the first things they give you is a huge bag of swag from all the sponsors. Yay!

How to Make Leather Bracelets

One of my favorites was this leather luggage tag from Dremel. There was a note to take the tag to their booth. In between classes, you could visit the vendor booths. Dremel had a nice table with their tools that let us engrave whatever we wanted onto our tags. The entire weekend was really hectic, so I didn't have a lot of time to think about it, and I had to work fast, but I love the concept.

Then one of the girls I met at the same conference had on a cute bracelet that she bought on Esty. She told me that the woman she bought it from uses old belts to make the bracelets. That sealed the deal. When I got home I ordered some blue leather online, and stopped by my local Goodwill to pick up a few belts to make my own leather cuff bracelets.

This one already had a pretty carving in the belt. I measured my wrist, and added 2 inches for the overlap for the snaps, and cut a piece of the belt.

I used some old leather paints to color in the engraved sections and added two snaps at the end. You could probably just use craft paints too.

This belt had a couple of pretty silver metal sections, making it perfect for a bracelet.

Just cut to fit and add snaps. Here I chose to add only one snap, as the belt was already pretty stiff. In fact, I'm pretty sure that it was not leather at all.

Since I didn't find any good leather belts to engrave at Goodwill, I purchased this piece of blue leather online.

Then I created a pretty pattern, printed it out and used a pen to trace the image.

The Dremel rotary tool allowed me to engrave the traced pattern into the leather. It turned out okay, but I think I could use a little practice. Still, I love the whole idea.

Here's my daughter modeling one of the bracelets.

You never know what you will find at any thrift store. The cost of the two belts was only $1.51, and the snap kit was around $5.00 for 6 snaps and the anvil tool. Of course the leather was more, but still affordable, and you could make several bracelets from the piece. We already own a dremel rotary tool. They can be pricey, but I do find it so handy for many DIY projects. A great one for your wish list.

Overall these DIY leather bracelets were a blast to make. They are a great candidate for selling and gift-giving. They would also be great for a girls' craft night project, where everyone could bring an old belt to the party to share.