How to Make Gothic Wristbands

Gothic wristbands are a serious accessory for tough Gothic attire and style. Usually made of leather and resembling dog collars for pit bulls, Gothic wristbands are easy to to buy, but more fun to make yourself. With a few supplies and your own personal creative flair, making Gothic wristbands is a great way to express your style. Here's how.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Leather material Hot glue gun and glue Superglue Snaps with black "caps" Silver chains, spikes and other metal accessories to use on your wristband.

1. 

   Get your materials together. Gather your leather, snaps, hot glue gun,and assorted chains and studs. All these materials can be found at fabric and craft stores and the hardware store.

2. 

   Cut a leather cuff. Make a leather cuff to fit your wrist by measuring your wrist and cutting a piece of leather 2-3" wide to fit with a little overlap. Cut 1/2" greater than the size of your wrist to allow space for snaps to be applied.

3. 
   placements of snaps

   Apply the snaps to the leather cuff with hot glue. This is how your cuff will stay on you, so again, measure your wrist and mark with a white pencil so that you place the snaps in the right place. Attach two snaps along the 1/2" margin at the ends of the leather cuff.

4. 
   leather material

   Decide how much decoration you want to put on your wristband. Some Gothic bands have one large design on the top of the band, while others are decorated all the way around.

5. Look at your materials and design your wrist band. You may want to use chaining as a border along both sides of the wristband or create a traditional Gothic cross ( a four tipped cross) with studs or spikes.

6. Hot glue or Superglue your materials onto your leather wristband. Use the glue sparingly so that it doesn't show on the leather. If you are unsure, lay the design out on paper first before you start applying to the wrist band.

7. Create additional bands of leather in different widths to add a more interesting touch to your wristbands and add a layering effect to your accessories. Vary leather colors and amount of adornments on each as they go up your arm.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are handy, use a leather hole punch and apply spikes through the leather. Use wide dog collars and add additional chaining to make a wrist band quickly. You can also dye tennis or workout terry cloth wristbands black and use as a base for a Gothic wristband. Simply sew on adornments or patterns and it's ready to wear.
• Be sure items are secured to the wrist band each time you wear it as hot glue may dry and crack with time.

Resources

• ebay.com Spikes and Metal Gothic Decorations for jewelry
• Online Oriental Jewelry