Gemstone Leather Friendship Bracelet

Make a Gemstone Leather Friendship Bracelet for a friend and one for yourself too! This is a great jewelry project for beginners. We’ll show you every step! We love how wearable this bracelet is. A wonderful handmade gift for any one of your friends!

Here’s a video showing how we made the Gemstone Leather Friendship Bracelet. Follow along as we make the bracelet then use the steps to make your own.

Video Tutorial: Gemstone Leather Friendship Bracelet

How To Make A Gemstone Leather Friendship Bracelet

Materials

Faceted gemstone
26-gauge wire, gold
22-gauge wire, gold
Leather cording, 2mm
Hook clasp, gold

Tools

Round-nose pliers
Wire cutters

Steps

1. Start by adding wire work to the faceted gemstone. This will create loops for the leather cording to attach to. Cut a piece of the thicker, 22-gauge wire about 4 inches long. Use the round-nose pliers to make a wrapped loop in one end.

To do this, make a 90-degree bend about an inch or two from the end of the wire.

Reposition the round-nose pliers just above the 90-degree bend. Grab the short tail of the wire and wrap it around the top jaw of the pliers all the way around making an almost complete loop. Complete the loop by repositioning the round-node pliers so the bottom jaw is in the loop. Finish pulling the wire around to complete the loop.

Wrap the tail two times around the neck below the loop. Trim the end with wire cutters. (This is easy to follow in the video!)

2. Feed the faceted gem bead onto the wire. We got our big faceted gemstones at a local bead shop. You can also find them at bead shows or online. If you don’t have one big faceted gemstone, you can make the bracelet using 3 or 5 smaller beads in place of the big one.

3. Repeat step 1 to make a wrapped loop on the other side of the gemstone.

4. Next measure how much leather cording to use. To do this, wrap the cord around your wrist two times. Cut that length of leather cording with the wire cutters. This measurement does not need to be exact. We’ll measure more precisely later.

5. Cut the piece of leather cording in half. Take one piece and fold it in half. Slide it through a loop on the side of the gemstone.

6. Wrap the leather cording with a five-inch piece of the thinner 22-gauge wire. Hold the bottom inch of the wire down alongside the leather and then grab the other end of the wire and pull it around the leather five times to make five wraps. Trim the ends close to the leather and tuck them in.

Repeat with the other piece of leather cording on the other side of the gemstone.

7. Find a bracelet you like the size of or cut a scrap piece of ribbon the length of your wrist. Lay it down on the table. Lay the Gemstone Leather Friendship Bracelet centered below it.

Slide the hook part of the clasp on one end making sure to get both pieces of leather through the clasp. Fold the ends over. Align the fold with the end of the bracelet that fits you.

Wrap the leather cording below the clasp with a five-inch piece of the thinner 22-gauge wire (as you did before). Create five wraps. Trim the ends of the wire and tuck them in. Trim the leather cording just below the wraps.

8. Slide the other side of the clasp on the other end of the Gemstone Leather Friendship Bracelet. Fold the ends over aligning the fold with the other end of the bracelet that fits you. Wrap the leather cording with a five-inch piece of 22-gauge wire making five wraps. Trim the ends of the wire and tuck them in. Trim the leather cording just below the wraps.

We made this one with a Labradorite gemsone. How easy and how pretty is that?! We have made bunches of these for friends and for ourselves. They look great alone but are also fun as stacked bracelets. If you have any questions at all about this or any jewelry project, leave us a comment and we’ll reply.
Happy Crafting!
Jennifer & Kitty

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