Get Leathered

Transform off-cuts into corinne bradd's stunning collection of stylish cuffs!

Corinne Bradd, MJ Designer

Synthetic leather can be identified by a thin white layer of material between the suede side and the smooth leather, plus the plastic odour

Whether it's real or a really good fake, you can make stunning leather cuffs to suit any look, from retro to folksy, or glam to rock chick. Fantastic alcohol-based markers allow you to make the most of light-coloured leather without laborious dyeing and drying. You can also blend shades to make two- or three-toned backgrounds or even try rubber stamping one!

Fitting Snap Fasteners

1. Snap fasteners come as three different components; the 'male' protruding disc, the 'female' donut disc and the securing tops. The tops of each side of the snap are the same and are available as plain rings or solid discs. Each top has a number of sharp metal prongs protruding from the back and these pierce the fabric being used. In the case of leather you will find it easier to press the prongs into the surface to leave guide marks.
2. Pierce the marks all the way through the thickness of the leather with the tip of a craft knife. Push the snap top into the leather and turn over to check the prongs have come out the other side. Fit the male disc into one side of the setting tool with the protruding piece sitting firmly in the socket. Place the snap top and leather into the other side of the tool, then fold over to allow the prongs to sit firmly in the circular groove on the back of the male disc.
3. Hammer the top of the tool several times on a hard surface to fix the prongs into the groove. Repeat this procedure for the female side of the snap. Remember that the top of the snap will be pushed through from the other side of the leather so ensure the ends of the strip overlap and snap the donut onto the male disc before fitting to ensure it is secured the right side up.

Floral Cuff

1. Cut a 5cm wide strip of 2mm thick cream leather, long enough to wrap around your wrist with a 2cm overlap. Draw and cut a half circle at each end to neaten. Fold a piece of kitchen roll into a pad and press the chisel tip of a red alcohol marker against it for a few seconds.
2. Quickly transfer the ink to the surface of the leather by rubbing the pad in small circular strokes. Continue inking the leather in this way, deepening the colour at the edges. Colour the suede side of the cuff and the edges with brown marker, leave to dry, then fix snaps to each end.
3. Choose two colours of thin, supple leather in shades of brown, and two or three colours of thicker leather in reds and terracotta. Use sharp scissors to cut large freehand 'splat' shapes from the thin leather. Cut one medium-sized flower shape from thicker leather, suede side up and a smaller bloom from a different colour, smooth side up.
4. Layer the flowers over the ‘splats’ on a self-healing cutting mat and hammer a prong-backed stud through all the layers to fix the components together. Lift the bundle off the mat, turn over and hammer the prongs flat against the leather. Make a second arrangement in the same way using different colours and glue the two decorations to the middle of the cuff with strong PVA.

Studded Cuff

1. Cut a 5cm wide band of 2mm thick brown leather approximately 21cm long to wrap around your wrist and allow a 2cm overlap for the fastening. Round off the corners by tracing around a penny and cutting the curve with sharp scissors.
2. Cut a second strip of thin pink leather about 3cm wide by x 16cm long. Pencil two lines down the length of the strip 5mm from each edge and use a £2 coin to draw a series of curves along these lines to create scalloped edges. Cut the scallops with sharp scissors and round off the ends.
3. Decorate the pink strip with lines of prong-backed studs placed evenly along the length. Bend the prongs so they sit flush against the back of the leather, tapping sharply with a hammer if necessary. Coat the back of the pink leather with strong PVA and glue the studded panel to the middle of the thick leather cuff. Fit snaps to each end.

970s Cuff

1. Fold a rectangle of scrap card in half and open out. Sketch a fat teardrop shape onto one side so the narrow top of the shape overlaps the fold. Draw a flattish oval in the bulb of the shape, refold the card and cut the shape from the double thickness so that when opened out it resembles an '8'.
2. Choose four colours of leather between 1.5mm and 2mm thick, i.e. cream, terracotta, burgundy and red. Trace around the template and cut three shapes from each colour with sharp scissors, using a craft knife to carefully cut the ovals. You will not need an oval in your last piece.
3. Fold the first shape in half, leather side out, and mark the position of your snap fastener. Open out the shape and fit the fastener to the leather side. Use a strong PVA adhesive to glue the shape in half, ensuring the ovals and edges line up.
4. Fold the next shape in half lengthways and push the end through the ovals of the first until the narrow part of the ‘8’ rests in the slot. Open out the fold, refold in half so the two halves match up and glue into position. Repeat to add the rest of the shapes. Before gluing the final piece, fit the other side of the snap to one half of the shape as before.

Stamped Cuff

1. Use a sharp knife to cut a 2.5cm wide strip of pale leather, about 2mm thick. Wrap the strip around your wrist and trim to the required length with a 2cm overlap for the fastener. Lay the leather smooth side up and colour if desired with long strokes of a chiseltipped alcohol ink marker. Allow a couple of minutes for the ink to dry and recolour if necessary to deepen the colour. Shade the suede side and the cut edges of the strip in the same way.
2. Trace around a coin and use scissors to cut a curved line at each end of the strip. Choose a suitable design of rubber stamp and colour the raised areas with a black alcohol marker. Press the inked stamp firmly onto the leather without smudging and remove. Re-ink and press again to make a random pattern all over the leather. When dry, fit snaps to the ends of the strip and buff up the printed leather with a little furniture polish.

Plaited Cuff

1. Cut a 2.5cm wide strip of pale leather, wrap around your wrist and cut to the desired length with a 2cm overlap for the fastener plus another 2cm to allow for shortening when plaited. Trace around a coin and use scissors to cut a curved line at each end of the strip. Measure 1.5cm from each end and draw lines across the strip. Use a sharp knife to cut between these lines down the length of the leather to divide it into three equal pieces.
2. Use alcohol markers to colour one portion red and the middle piece pink, leaving the last section uncoloured. Flip the strip over and colour the suede side and the edges pink. Hold one end of the strip, leather side up and begin plaiting the sections allowing the other end to twist.
3. Flip the end through the gaps between the sections as you plait down; despite it looking twisted and tangled it will flatten out once the coloured strips are back in their original order. You will be able to make three complete plaits down the cuff. Add snaps to each end, then ease the plaiting along the length to even out the weave.

Woven Cuff