DIY Network

Leather Bracelets and Rings Create fun, chunky jewelry from leather belts. From "B. Original" episode DBOR-302

Turn old belts into new jewelry.

There’s more than one way to accessorize with a leather belt—especially when you get creative with Michele Beschen. The B. Original host shows how to transform a leather belt into cool bracelets and rings with a few simple tools. It’s a great way to get started working with leather while you make fun accessories.

With Michele Beschen's how-to, you can turn one leather belt into three bracelets, with enough left over to whip up a few rings to go with them. So dig out that old leather belt that doesn’t fit any more, gather a few tools, and scroll down to see how you can B. Original and create bracelets and rings.

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	Figure A
	Figure B

Buckle-End Belt Bracelet

Materials:

leather belt with buckle
leather punch or awl and hammer
utility or hobby knife

• This bracelet buckles the belt around your wrist like a tiny waist. Wrap the belt around your wrist, adjust it until it fits comfortably and use a pen or awl to mark the location for a new hole (figure A).

• Remove the belt, locate the mark for a new hole and find the center of the belt’s width at that mark.

• Use a leather punch (figure B) or an awl and hammer to create the new hole. Leather punches are available at hobby stores, leather-crafting stores or online. Make sure the tool you use makes a large enough hole to accommodate the prong of the buckle.

• Lay the belt out flat and use a sharp utility or craft knife to cut the belt to the desired length. Now you're ready to buckle up and go.

	Figure C
	Figure D
	Figure E

Hole-End Belt Bracelet

Materials:

leather belt section
leather punch or awl and hammer
utility or hobby knife
snap-setting kit suitable for leather
snaps and rivets suitable for leather

Note: Snap and rivet kits are available at hobby stores, leather-crafting stores, fabric stores or online. Don’t be shy about asking advice from the store staff to make sure you’re getting the right tools.

• Wrap the "hole end" of the belt around your wrist and adjust it until it fits comfortably (figure C). Mark the location for the bracelet’s snap closure; if you’re lucky, there already will be a belt hole at this spot.

• Make a second mark about 1-1/2" past the first mark. This is where you will cut the belt to size.

• Lay the belt out flat on a work surface and cut it to length with a utility or craft knife.

• If there’s no hole at the snap location, punch a hole there with a leather punch or awl.

• Use a snap kit to install the snap closure, following the kit instructions (figure D). The un-cut end of the belt should fold over the cut end when the snap is closed.

• Embellish the bracelet further with rivets using coral, turquoise or other decorative elements (figure E). Use the existing belt holes, or add new ones using the leather punch or awl.

	Figure F
	Figure G

Layered Belt Bracelet

Materials:

leather belt section
leather scraps
leather punch or awl and hammer
utility or hobby knife
snap-setting kit suitable for leather
snaps and rivets suitable for leather
rubber stamps and ink

• Wrap the belt section around your wrist for a comfortable fit and mark the location for a snap closure.

• Cut the belt section to length and install the snap using the snap-setting kit.

• Position small scraps of leather across the face of the bracelet and secure with rivets at the corners of the scraps (figure F).

• Finish the bracelet by adding some rubber stamp impressions to the scraps (figure G).

Leather Rings

To make leather rings from the remaining scraps, cut the belt sections lengthwise to get the right width for a ring. Then, assemble the rings the same way as snap-closure bracelets: Fit the leather to your finger, mark the size, trim the belt and install a snap.