DIY Suede Ombre Turks Head Bracelet

Nautical things never seem to go out of style. Presenting a new twist on an old classic: Ombre Suede Turks Head Bracelet! This is part one: the Turks Head braid. You can definitely use this technique with any type of cord or rope!
Supplies:

• Suede Cord, approximately 3 yards
• Cylindrical object the size of your desired bracelet (make sure it will fit over your hand!)

Get started!

Thanks to Hazel &Agnes

DIY: Bow clutch sewing tutorial.

 let's get started!

Supplies you'll need:
1/2 yard exterior fabric*
1/4 yard interior fabric (I recommend a quilting cotton)
9" zipper that matches your exterior fabric
1/4 yard #808 Pellon Craft Fuse interfacing
Sewing thread that matches your exterior fabric
Sewing machine
Scissors
Pins
Iron & ironing board
*I recommend a medium to heavier weight cotton for this. Linen is what I'm using, and it works perfectly.  You don't want to use a quilting weight cotton or something really light - it will make the final product too flimsy.

1. Start by cutting your exterior pieces. I use a quilting cutting mat which makes things as accurate as possible.

2. Now cut interior fabric pieces.

3. Cut interfacing.

4. Bring your strap piece to the ironing board.

Sometimes, at the end of this step, if my strap doesn't feel sturdy enough, I'll cut a thin strip of interfacing and tuck it inside the crease before sewing. This is an optional step.

5. Now it's time to sew your strap.

6. Set the strap aside and let's work on the "knot" of your bow.

7. Once you've gotten the "knot," let's work on the other part of your bow.

8. Set your bow aside for now, and grab your interior and exterior fabric pieces and your pieces of interfacing.

9. Now it's time to attach your bow.

10. Set those pieces aside and let's work on installing your zipper.

11. Attach the exterior fabrics to the other side of your zipper.

12. You're on the home stretch! Let's add the strap and finish the bag!

Thanks to Elmstreetlife

Pimp your shoes

5 Strand braided headbands

HOW TO cut continuous t-shirt yarn

T-shirt yarn (tarn) is quick and easy to make. It can be used in an endless array of projects. Try to using it in crochet, weaving a bath matt, or making a trendy scarf. I’ve used it to create a macrame throw.

In the macramé t-hsirt throw tutorial I recommend cutting multiple strips from t-shirts. This gives you strands that are shorter and thus easier to work with, but there’s a tradeoff. As those strands get shorter you have to attach new strands. The point of connection will leave you with a less finished look. Cutting continuous t-shirt yarn, is an optional technique you can use to make your macramé t-shirt throw a bit more finished.

If you use a longer strand you’ll have less of these connection points. Working with longer strands will still be more cumbersome than working with short strands, even if you spool them. You’ll just have decide what’s more important – having more consistent knots or having strands that are easier work with. Just so you know, I went with shorter stands for the throw I made for Nate Berkus and used the single stitch joining method.

Supplies

1 cotton jersey t-shirts (To make this a true upcycling project use shirts that can’t be worn or donated to charity. You can start the throw with 1 t-shirt, but you can add more t-shirts as you acquire them to make the throw bigger.)

1 ruler

1 pair of scissors

rotary cutter or X-Acto knife

How-To

1. Fold your t-shirt, by bringing the right edge of the shirt, which is closest to you, towards the left edge of the shirt, which is farther from you.  Don’t bring them together all the way. Leave about 2” of space between them.
2. Smooth out your shirt as much a possible. It doesn’t need to be perfect, but large creases can give your strips jagged, inconsistent edges.
3. Cut off the bottom hem.
4. Cut 1 ½” wide strips. Starting the cut from the right edge of the shirt down to the folded side. Notice the strip is still attached, because we left a 2” allowance between the right and left sides of the shirt.
5. Continue cutting out the rest of the strips.
6. When you reach the sleeves. Start your cut from the left edge of the shirt this time to fully separate it from the remaining portion.
7. Open up the shirt and insert your hand through all the loops. Notice the right slit and the left slit.
8. Cut towards the left slit diagonally from the outer edge.
9. Now starting from the right slit cut diagonally towards left slit.
10. Repeat this until all the left slits have been cut.
11. For the last cut, start from the right slit and cut towards the outer edge.
12. Stretch the t-shirt strand to curl in the edges. Be careful to make sure the edges curl in evenly. To ensure, this untwist the strand before stretching.
13. Stretch the t-shirt yarn a second time going in the opposite direction to ensure it’s fully stretched and curled.
14. Drape this throw anywhere that could use a bit of punchy texture.

Useful tips

• This technique can also be used with plastic bags to make plarn or plastic yarn, with the exception that you won’t need to stretch the plastic bag to finish it.

Special thanks to:
Doris, Scott, Sara

How to make a few bracelets

MODULAR LEATHER BAGS...are genious in deed

Pinetti Leather Shop

This stopped me dead in my tracks when I suddenly noticed HOW these bags and ottomans and more were made… they all use the same simple leather units to build them up! I imagined the packaging being a DIY stack of leather pieces with instructions on the many possible configurations. What a beautiful and unusual use of leather…

Turns out these are the brand new Pinetti products experimenting with materials and shapes creating collections like “Hook” trying to interpret our contemporary lifestyle. The Hook collection makes use of one single leather module without the aid of glue or staples, to create several different types of handmade objects. How’s that for an inspiring DIY idea?!

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Thanks to weekend designer & bag'n-telle

BRAIDED LEATHER STRAPPING

‘Braided Rawhide Strapping’

Leather strapping for handbag design can be made by braiding using the same leather skins used in the construction of the body of a handbag. Often rawhide thong (string) is used in leather braiding.  Rawhide (also called leather) is an animal skin (pelt) that has been stretched to dry and had its hair removed.

Rawhide is “raw” because it has not been tanned. To create tanned leather, a chemical is applied to the hide to relax the skin and make it soft. Most of the leather we use today in handbag design is tanned leather, but rawhide is still used to make many products; everything from handbags and clothing to building materials and tools.

Photo Credit: Justin McInteer, Autry National Center.

To prepare the rawhide string for braiding, a large circle is cut from the stretched animal skin. (Fig. 1) This circle is then cut in a spiral pattern creating a long continuous strip. (Fig. 2).

Braiding involves using a pattern that is repeated over and over again. As you work through these design styles, try to recognize the different patterns. Once you understand the pattern, the braiding will be easier to do. Braiding is a difficult skill to learn, so remember to be patient.

Before beginning braiding, try these helpful tips:

• Take your time.
• Look closely at the illustrations.
• Read the instructions aloud.
• Label each string with a letter (as shown in the illustrations) on a piece of masking tape.

THE THREE STRING “HAIR” BRAID

If you have ever braided someone’s hair, you might recognize the Three String Braid shown in the illustration below.

Photo Credit: Justin McInteer, Autry National Center.

Start with a strip of leather that has been cut into three strings. (Fig. 1)

Begin by pulling string A over string B.

Next pull string C over string A. (Fig. 2)

Then pull string B over string C. (Fig. 3)

Repeat until completed.

Can you see the pattern? The outside string always crosses over the middle string.

THE FOUR STRING BRAID

The Four-String Braid is similar to the Hair Braid except for the addition of an extra string. You can use this braid to make beautiful bag handles and straps. Remember, labelling your strings with letters will help you through the braiding process.

Photo Credit: Justin McInteer, Autry National Center.

Start with a strip of leather that has been cut into four strings. (Fig. 1)

Begin braiding by pulling string C over string B and under string A.

Next pull string B over string D.

Then pull string D over string A as shown in Fig. 2.

Pull string B under string A.

Now pull string C over string D and under string B.

Then pull string A under string C as shown in Fig. 4.

Next pull string D over string B and under string A as shown in Fig. 5.

Now pull string C under string D.

Next pull string B over string A and under string C.

Pull string D under string B.

Now pull string A over string C and under string D.

Next pull string B under string A.

Now pull string C over string D and under string B.

Can you see the pattern? The string on the right is pulled under the string closest to it. Then the string on the far left is pulled over one string and under one string, stopping in the middle.

Practice your rawhide braiding and add some leather details to your handbag designs.

Thanks to bag'n-telle xoxo!