Leather Wrist Cuff

To clarify the next few posts for those interested: I went to the Ohio Renaissance Festival this last weekend, and I made a few crafts as prep for that, and one or two as a result of inspiration gotten there. This particular craft was one I made for my costume. It was supposed to be a full length, arm covering piece of armor... unfortunately, none of my leather pieces were big enough to make an arm guard that big/long, so I made do with what I had. Frankly, I almost like it better this way, since I can kind of wear it just as a chunky bracelet. Maybe a fashion statement. In any case, here goes.

Unfortunately for you guys, the only picture I took of me actually wearing this was after I had started fixing the 'not-covering-the-whole-arm' problem,by making a scale lather guard. Doing stuff scale stuff is harder than you might think.. I'm still not done (I've also been slacking/focusing on other projects)

I also appear to have somewhat manly-looking arm from this angle. Interesting.

 So, I started with this piece of leather. Remember that big bag of leather I got from Michael's? Well, this is from that. I chose this piece because it was the widest of all the pieces I had.

 You can pretty much see how much of my wrist it covers just from this pic. Like I said, not very much.

 I used this strip of paper to measure the length around my wrist. It's hard to take pics like this, but I actually used the hand holding the camera to draw a line there.

 I folded it in half along that line.

 Then I guestimated the middle of that rounded bit on my leather. My pieces actually came with those pre-cut, which it why it has that weird divot in it, but pikers can't be choosers. Or however that phrase goes.

 I used this old parking pass as my straight-edge for this project. No big deal, just a more convenient size than my massive metal ruler.

Major suggestion right here: You didn't, if you did it my way, measure super precisely. ADD 1/4 INCH to what you're cutting right now. You'll appreciate it down the line. Trim it back until it fits, then go to the next step. I had to trim back at least 3 times, be remember that you can always cut more off, you can't cut more on.

 Here's what your piece should look like, more or less. The reason your sides/my sides are slanty is because your arm isn't a straight tube, it widens as you go towards your elbow. Thus, more leather is needed back there.

 You can round the corners at this point, or leave then pointy. I find/found it more comfy to round them, but I also had a nifty template to do so with.

 And I was left with a piece of leather looking something like this.

 At this point I did something I should have done before I trimmed back my edges or rounded my corners- I soaked it. Just fill your sink with warm-ish water, and leave it to soak for 15-20 minutes. This is a trick I found since last time, and I can vouch for it doing wonders as far as ease of working goes.

 The real trick is to let it soak until the bubbles go away. My bubbles were small, yours might be big. In any case, just FYI: if you get pre-dyed leather, that's fine, but apparently this is what happens when you soak it. Perfectly fine, doesn't stain your sink or anything, but you get some pigment down there.

 Towel off the drippy-ness, then set out your leather o your work space.

 Get your spoon (I got this tool at Micheal's, but honestly a spoon works just as well). Use the rounded end, and go along the edges of the leather with it. You won't think you're doing much, and you have to press really hard TO do anything, but if you do it right, all in one direction, this should 'finish' the edges of your leather.

This is the point at which you decide how many holes you want on each side. I decided on 3, but however any you want is fine.

I  then stenciled a 'pattern' into the leather. This, at least for my piece, was exhausting and hard, just because of how thick the leather was, so I just did something simple, as you can see. This can be done with a tool, or with anything pointy, even a golfing tee.

 At this point, I threaded my cuff and left it to dry overnight. You'll need overnight for a cuff so wet to completely dry, and you want to lace it up so it'll dry in the shape you want it, no flat.

 And this is the final product all mink oiled and such. Remember to mink oil your stuff (see my other leather bracelet post for how), or your leather will dry, crack, look bad, and be uncomfortable much faster.

And now you can look, wear, and enjoy!