Stash Buster Projects - Part 2

Last August, I came across a blog post by Carol Eaton that got me very excited… you can read the post here.  In it, she showed photos of one of the members of her fiber arts collective, Rosalind Spann.  Rosalind was offering information about her coiled fabric bracelets, and it struck me that this was something I really wanted to try.  What a great way to use up fabric stash and create wonderful, one of a kind accessories!  Alas, Rosalind is not on the internet, so I had to see if I could figure out how to make these using my experience with coiled fabric bowls as a starting point.  I cut a 9 inch length of cord to start.  The big challenge was how to attach the ends the cord together before wrapping with fabric.  I’m still working on perfecting my method, but recently tried adhesive cloth tape, available in the first aid section of my grocery store.  I have also used zig-zag stitching, and a combination of both methods. 

Once I have attached the ends together, I wrap strips of ½” wide fabric around, anchoring with a little glue to start, then finishing up with a little glue when I have wrapped the whole circle and trimmed off the excess fabric. If desired, you can embellish with yarn, ribbon, beads, etc.

In the beginning, that was all I did.  The bracelets were cute, but not very sturdy.  I wasn’t sure what I could do to improve on the design until recently. I just tried using a clear, water based acrylic sealer found at the local building supply store.  The sealer comes in either spray form or in a can you can apply with a brush… I prefer the latter.  The surprise is that once the sealer dried, the bracelets became stiff… much sturdier than before!  And now they are a lot more durable and less likely to be soiled. 

Another variation I tried is to tape together 2 circlets to make a wider bracelet.  Below is a shot of the batch I have finished so far:

I’m having so much fun making these!  I plan to sell them at craft shows so I can make more!

I hope you have enjoyed these posts, and would love to hear about your favorite ways to use up fabric scraps.  Spring is here… time to de-stash and clean out those craft rooms!