Denim Crystal Name Bracelet

Designer: Dale Nicholson

Time required: 1½ hours

Upcycle a worn pair of jeans into this sleek cuff bracelet adorned with your name in sparkling gems from Create Your Style with Swarovski Elements™. Using the Placement Mat and Transfer Sheets from the Hotfix Design Kit makes it foolproof to “write” your name (or any other design) in flat backs. The special glue on the back of each gem allows it to magically adhere in place and lasts through washing.

What You Need:
Create your Style with Swarovski Elements™:
5, 4 and 3mm Hotfix gems, Crystal (quantities as needed to create design)
Hotfix Design Kit

Other supplies:
Old jeans waistband
½” wide lace strip (about 10” piece)

Tools:
Seam ripper or sharp tip scissors
Iron
Sewing machine

What To Do:
Prepare the Jeans Cuff: Take the waistband off of an old pair of jeans.  Use the seam ripper or sharp tip scissors to remove the stitches so that it is clean and open where it was stitched to the pants. Study the ends of the waistband to decide which side is the best one to use for your cuff. Determine the wrist size and mark the end and where the buttonhole needs to be. Stitch in a length of lace along the open edge and finishing off the cut end.  Put a buttonhole in by machine.

Make the Name in Gems: Read through all the directions of the Design Kit to create and transfer the name into place on the jeans cuff. When ironing the design into place, be sure to apply even pressure on the uneven seams for the best transfer.

Tips for Using Hotfix Design Kit: Plan out your name placement carefully. Draw a pencil outline of where you can put the letters. Use this as a guide allowing a margin gap around the outside so that you do not go off the edge. When you start to “trace” the letters with gems feel free to alternate sizes to give a unique effect and texture.

Project Tips, Notes, & Techniques:  Play around and experiment with different letters, designs and accents to make interesting cuff designs.  The softened denim of a jeans waistband might offer areas of darks and lights that could make good design options instead of names or words.