Few months ago I saw a friend wearing a braided leather bracelet, nothing unusual right? But I noticed that the both ends were intact... but how was it braided? I had to figure it out. I almost forgot about it but it hit me again while making the pyramid leather pouch. I searched the internet, found out that there are many ways to do the magic braid and chose the one I found easier.
It requires only one material (leather) and 2 tools (ruler & x-acto knife, pencil is optional!). Go make one, it won't take much time :)
Step 1: Materials Needed
To make this bracelet you'll need:
- Thin leather,
- X-acto knife,
- ruler and pencil (or anything to mark).
Step 2: Getting Started
Firstly, measure your bracelet size (lengthwise) and add 2.5 cm extra.
Keep the width of the bracelet between 2-3 cm.
Use a ruler and a pencil (or anything to mark) to draw the outline of the bracelet on the leather.
Draw 2 lines to create 3 strands on the leather, make sure that the strands are equal in width.
Step 3: Cutting the Lines & Sides
Use an x-acto knife to cut the strips but not all the through the ends.
Keep 1.5 cm intact on both sides of the leather.
You can keep the sides square or cut round corners like I did,
And don't forget to punch holes on both sides for attaching closure.
Step 4: Braiding (Part-1)
The magic braid mainly includes 2 steps.
I'm hoping that we all know how to do basic braiding.
Lets start from the right side and count each time we braid a strand,
- Braid the right strand over middle -1,
- Left over middle -2,
- Right over middle -3, now stop.
Notice the gap on the right side (3rd picture of this step), just below the 3rd braid.
Now, hold the other end and take it through the gap.
This might look like a mess and all-tangled but don't worry, see what happens in the next step.
