Romantic Ruffled Bracelet

With Valentine’s Day around the corner I decided I needed some new jewelry.
Yes. It’s a weak excuse but I’m using it. :)

I wanted something that was girly and romantic, but something that could be worn year round.
I love the combination of cream, tan, and white together and it’s been a while since I’ve made a bracelet.  - here is what I came up with.

I found the inspiration for this bracelet at Ann Taylor Loft and their Stretch Corsage Bracelet.

Mine has raw edges and is a little more casual – cotton, linen and pearls rather than satin and rhinestones.

Awww. So romantic. ;)

Ready for a tutorial?

Here’s what you’ll need.

• fabric for bracelet – 2 1/4″ x 36″ piece
• fabric or ribbon for flower portion
• beads or pearls and small piece of chain
• 27″ of 3/8″ elastic
• snaps

Start with your pieces for the bracelet. A great way to get straight raw edges is to tear your fabric. Make a small slit near the edge of your fabric and tear the small strip off. This will be your first edge. Then measure 2 1/4″ over and tear your fabric. You will end up with a long straight strip with raw edges. Nice and easy!

Cut 2 strips 18″ long out of the strip you just tore.

Lay your strips together and sew a seam 1/4″ away from each raw edge.

Sew two more seams 5/8″ away from the outside seams.

Cut three pieces of elastic, each 9″ long. This should fit around your wrist comfortably with about 1″ overlap. If you need to, adjust the measurements of your elastic.

Pin a small safety pin to one end of a piece of elastic. Feed the elastic through the top casing by pulling on the safety pin, but stop feeding it through when the other end of the elastic is just past the raw edge of the fabric.

Sew a small seam right inside the edge of the top casing only. You should not be sewing over the elastic. It should be just on the other side of the seam.
Move the needle over and sew a second seam, using your presser foot as a guide along the first seam. This should sew down the elastic. Repeat a third time.

Pull the elastic the rest of the way through the casing, and sew the three seams on the other edge.

Repeat with the other two casings and the remaining pieces of elastic.

For the snaps, I used Colored Snaps. Which were white. ?
To put them in you need to buy a little plastic tool that is sold seperately.
I was worried about this part – but it was sooooo easy.

Just follow the instructions and place the snaps in the tool, with the fabric between them.
Put a towel down to protect your floor.

Hammer the snap in place.  Ta da! Super easy.

Put all four snaps in. The two on the right side should face down and the two on the left should face up.

For the flower part of the bracelet I used 1 1/2″ strips of linen. I folded them so that they resembled a flower, with folds that were gradually smaller towards the center.

I don’t have pictures of the process because it took me several times to get it the way I liked it. Just keep folding and trying different layouts until you get your flower layers the you want.

Sew on your beads, pearls and chain. I tried to keep the larger pearls towards the center, the smaller beads towards the outside.

Swirl a small piece of chain in an “S” shape around a few of the larger beads.

Sew your flower piece to the outside of the gathered bracelet piece.

All done!! What do you think?

I’m in love with it.
Which is handy since it’s my Valentine’s Bracelet. :)