04/10/2012 - Copper and Rubber Wristband

For Christmas I made various handbags as gifts for people, including one with rubber inner tubes. I thought I had measured the purse handle length incorrectly and trimmed off the excess...only to find out it was too short. To make my long story even longer, I had a leftover bit of rubber with fabric stitched to it. I need to make a longer purse handle, so I will have more pieces like this if I want to make more. I do like this wristband a lot and have been wearing it all day.

Reclaimed Material: scrap rubber/fabric piece, button, copper wire
Other Material: none
Tools: scissors, needle, thread, pliers

How I did it: I threaded the copper wire through a large-eyed needle and used it to whip stitch the unfinished ends of the rubber on both ends. I flattened the wire by tamping it down with the pliers. I placed the button and sewed it onto the rubber then cut a slip for the button hole that corresponded with the button placement. I used black thread to cover the button hole.

What I would do differently: I could have done the button hole stitching with a sewing machine, but by the time I got the right tension, etc. it was just easier to stitch it by hand. Also, the copper whip stitches could have been a little bit neater, but it is an effect I want to keep practicing.

04/08/2012 - Button Hair Pin

Necessity is the mother of invention, so they say. My hair is getting awfully shaggy so making a cute hair pin came to mind. Thankfully, that quote refers to more important things than my hair.

Reclaimed Material: rubber, button, copper wire
Other Material: bobby pin
Tools: scissors, X-acto knife, needle nose pliers, wire stripper


How I did it: I cut a circle from the rubber about 1/4" bigger than the button. I cut marks around the circle to feather it. I cut a small slit in the rubber to pull the button notch (? not sure what the back of a decorative button is called) through. I slid the bobby pin through the button hole. The copper wire was from a broken electrical cord so I had to strip off the plastic using the wire strippers. I took one of the copper wires and wrapped it around the button and bobby pin to secure it.

What I would do differently: This needs something to differentiate the black rubber from my hair. I think I will make some type of doodad to mount behind the rubber. I used copper because it kind of matched the button that I got from a bag I got from SCRAP.

02/20/2012 - Rubber/Antique Button Hairband

Yes, another headband...for a friend. I got this done the night before I went out of town so I just took a quick picture.

Reclaimed Material: rubber inner tube, antique(ish) button
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, needle, thread, tape, paper

How I did it: Again, I did the same thing as the other headbands. My grandmother-in-law gave me some of her old sewing stuff and I found the awesome button for the middle of the flower.


What I would do differently: As you can see the flower rolls up on the sides. I found with some of the inner tubes that they roll up depending on how I cut them.