Button Bracelets
Create a funky bracelet with just a strip of craft foam, a string and several colorful buttons. Add jingle bells for a wearable noisemaker that can be worn at parades, performances, musical activities, and other festive events.
Featured Crafts
Supplies Needed
- Buttons
- Satin nylon cord, 2mm
- Craft foam
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Jingle bells (optional)
STEPS
1Make a craft foam band.
Cut a ¾-inch wide strip of craft foam long enough to go around your wrist.
2Mark four points.
Mark 4 equally-spaced points along the length of the band with the first and last points about ¼-inch from the short edge of the band.
3Mark two more points.
Add 2 more points—one beside the 2nd and the other beside the 3rd points. Now you have a total of 6 marked points.
4Punch holes on the marked points.
Use the tip of a pencil to punch a hole through each marked point.
5Cut string.
Cut a length of string at least 4 inches longer than your craft foam band. Make a knot on one end.
6Singe the string.
Lightly singe the opposite end of the string. The burnt end will be firmer, which will make it much easier to string buttons and weave the string in and out of the foam band. Of course this step should be done by an adult or with adult supervision.
7Insert the string.
Insert the string through the first hole on the band. Pull all the way through until the knot touches the band.
8String the first button.
String the first button, weaving in through one buttonhole and out through another.
9Stitch through the middle holes.
Continue stringing more buttons until you reach the first pair of middle holes along the band. Stitch through these pair of holes on the craft foam, inserting the string over the first hole then out from under the second hole.
10Stitch through the next holes.
String more buttons until you reach the next pair of middle holes. Similarly stitch through these pair of holes on the craft foam.
11Stitch through the last hole.
String more buttons until you reach the last hole on the band. Insert the string over this hole and pull it all the way through until the string is taut enough for all the buttons to lay flat on the band.
12Loop at the back.
Make a looped knot at the back of the band. The loop should just be large enough for the first button on the band.
13Cut the string.
Cut the excess length of string.
14Wear the bracelet.
To wear the bracelet, put it around your wrist and close by hooking the loop around the first button on the opposite end. Enjoy!
More Ideas
Add jingle bells.
String jingle bells in between buttons for a happy and festive bracelet. Wear this colorful noisy bracelet to a parade, musical performance, or for any special occassion. Coordinate the colors of your bracelet with those of the event's theme.
You can also use a pipe cleaner instead of a string to string all the buttons and bells together.
Glue some accents.
Glue notions like wooden beads or colorful pompoms at the center of any of the buttons. Use a glue gun to make sure these notions don't come off.
You can also see from this bracelet how we used a thin string. Any string or cord that is rigid enough to weave through the foam band will do.
Make a character bracelet.
Decorate the large middle button in your bracelet into a character or animal's face. For this Christmas bracelet, we decorated it into a Santa. Santa's face was cut from pink construction paper and decorated with wiggle eyes, a red pompom for the nose, cotton for the beard and hat trimmings, a red felt triangle for the hat, and a moon-shaped sticker for the mouth. Be crafty and decorate yours into an interesting character too!
