What a combination – little scraps of leather and a terrific-looking way to use them! I saw a handbag from Sweden made with multi-colored leather loops, and thought they would look good used for making a bracelet. Here is the result! I’m now imagining having a bowl-full of these colorful loops at the All Things Local store that will soon be opening in Amherst – 50 cents per loop. My bracelet used twelve loops, so I have a $6.00 bracelet. Oh, the color combinations that could be created…

Then of course you could make belts – since I haven’t worn a belt in decades I don’t plan to make one, but you might –

I’ve posted the pattern here, of course they could have different shapes, but this is the tried-and-true-one. The length for the belt loop is 4 inches. I used the same pattern for the bracelet loops, reducing the length to 2 5/8 inches. To make the slits I used a 1/2-inch hand punch. And, I used a “line 20” snap for a closure. It’s fun to set snaps, all you need is a little metal post and a little round “anvil” with a concave side that completes the setting kit you can order from Tandy Leather along with the snaps.

In case you didn’t make belts from these loops back at Na-Wa-Kwa Girl Scout Camp, like I did, (all brown, of course) here’s how you make the chain of loops: fold the first loop (the grey one) so the slits line up. Take the second loop (the yellow one) and pull it through the two grey slits. Fold it in two just as you did the grey one, and you’re ready to insert the red one. Keep on going until it’s the length you want. For the last loop, don’t punch any slits in it. Set the two parts of the snap, and you’ve got your bracelet.