Off the Cuff

Goodness what a mess!

I spent some time today digging into a new and somewhat messy project, one that has caught me a little by surprise.










You'll recall from this post that I have a version of the Scrappy Trip Along quilt in progress, one that is being made as a custom order from men's striped shirts.

Well, of course the first thing I had to do to start the project was break down the shirts into big pieces of fabric that could then be cut into strips.  That involved cutting off the "button" portions of the shirts-- the collar, the button row going up the front of the shirt, and the cuffs.

As I was cutting the cuffs off of one of the shirts, I thought maybe I would make a little cuff bracelet for myself, just for fun.

I randomly piled on stuff I already had lying around my sewing area-- yo-yos, buttons, trim, beads.

This was a no-sew project, I just attached everything with hot glue.

I wore it to the last Seminole Heights Market, where there was such commotion over it from my customers and other vendors that it seemed like An Opportunity.  I'm always on the lookout for fun new projects!

There are probably a million different ways to make these and I would imagine my process will evolve over time if I end up making a lot of these.  But this is how I'm approaching it now:

Cut the cuff off of a men's long sleeve dress shirt.

I added lace at the edges.  I attached this with fabric glue (hot glue would have burned my fingers through that lace), then trimmed the edges of the lace flush with the edges of the cuff.

How about a yo-yo, and some buttons?  You get the idea-- just pile stuff on.

Don't forget Linda's Rule of Embellishment:
"If Some is Good, More Must be Better"

Now you can see why my sewing area was so messy in that top picture!

These will be making their debut at a "Christmas in July" craft show that I'm doing next month.