How to Braid Leather

Trick Braiding Leather with Three Strands

Cut a 1 inch wide leather strip. Determine the length of braid you need and add 1/3 more material to that measurement before cutting. The process of braiding will shorten the material by the time you have completed braiding, so cutting extra leather will make the braid the proper length once you finish. Use sharp scissors to cut the leather strip to the desired length. A good length to practice on is 9-10 inches.

Make 2 parallel slices down the middle of the strip, but don't cut the very ends. Your strip of leather should be divided into 3 equal parts. For the following steps, the individual strands will be referred to as 1,2, and 3 from left to right. Be sure that the two cuts are evenly spaced from each other. The spacing between the cuts should be about 1/3 inches. Stop the slices at 3/4 inch from the vertical ends, leaving the strip intact. This technique requires the strip to remain as a single piece, as opposed to braiding hair or string. If you decide to make your cuts with a blade, place a piece of cardboard, wood, or other protective board under the leather to protect the surface you are cutting on.

Grab the lower end of the strip and bring it up and toward you. Pass it between strands 2 and 3. Pull the end of the strip down from the other side so that it is back in its original position. Looping the strip through strands 2 and 3 will bend it, making it so that the individual strips are twisted and easier to braid. If done correctly, your strip of leather should have a kink throughout the middle and should not lie flat. You should also be able to see through the slits you made earlier.

Pass strand 1 over strand 2 starting at the top of the leather strip. Insert strand 1 into the slit between strands 2 and 3. If done correctly, strand 1 should rest behind strand 3.

Move strand 3 over strand 1. The top of your strip should now resemble a woman crossing her legs as she sits.

Pass strand 2 over strand 3. There should now be a gap between strands 2 and 3 at the bottom of the braid.

Bring the lower end of the strip up and toward you again. Loop it through the gap between strands 2 and 3 and pull it back down. Doing this "un-loops" the kink you made earlier in step 3 and completes 1 braiding cycle. The braid itself should now be kept to the top of the strip.

Repeat steps 4-6 for braiding the individual strands. Make sure you pass the lower end of the strip through strands 2 and 3 to complete the braiding cycle, as demonstrated in step 7. If you opted to braid a 9 inch x 3 inch leather strip, you should be done braiding after 2 cycles total.

Making a Round Four-Strand Braid

Cut 4 separate strands from a leather strip. Leave a little more length at the end of the strands as this technique will utilize more leather. Remember that you are using 4 strands now, so the braid will be considerably thicker than the previous methods. Think about cutting the width slightly thinner than before. Using 4 strands will also form a round braid rather than a flat one, hence its name.

Tie the top ends of the strands similarly to the previous methods. For the following steps, the 4 strands will be referred to as A, B, C, and D from left to right. Since you will be working with many strands, try tying the ends to a key-chain ring and putting the ring under the leg of a chair. This will keep the strands secure so you can focus all of your attention on this slightly intricate process. To help you keep track of each strand, consider practicing with colored yarn first. It can become very easy to lose track of which strand is which. Alternately, you could tie-off different colored strings of yarn to the end of each strand.

Take strand D and move it left over both strands B and C. From left to right, your strand order should now be A, D, B, C.

Pass strand B over strand D, also moving left. Your order will now be A, B, D, C.

Move strand A right so that it passes over both strands B and D. The strands will now be ordered B, D, A, C.

Cross strand D to the right so that it passes over strand A. Your strands should now be B, A, D, C. If you've done the previous steps correctly, strands D and A should be in the middle, respectively. Strand B should be on the far left side and strand C should be on the far right.

Take strands B and A into your left hand and strands D and C into your right. Pull the two strands in each hand away from each other to tighten the braid.

Pass strand C to the left over both strands D and A. Strands should now be B, C, A, D.

Move strand A left so that it passes over strand C. Strands should be as follows: B, A, C, D.

Cross strand B to the right over both strands A and C. The strands should now be arranged A, C, B, D.

Take strand C and pass it to the right over strand B. From left to right, strands should be ordered normally: A, B, C, D. You have completed 1 cycle of the braiding process. Tighten the braids in the same manner as you did in step 7. You will need to do this after each braiding cycle to ensure that your braid is tight and won't come apart.

Repeat steps 3-11 until you have used the desired amount of leather. Since this process is very detail-oriented, it is suggested that you start with shorter length strands.

Tie the end of the braid once you have finished. You might tie the remaining loose strands to another key-chain ring, similar to the top end. This is an easy way to adjoin the opposite ends to make a bracelet or necklace.

Using the Hair Braiding Technique

Cut 3 strands of equal width from a leather strip. You can leave one end intact so that the 3 strands dangle at one end, or you can cut both ends and make 3 separate strands. Remember to take into consideration the same length and width factors as before. For a thicker bracelet, make the strands wider. For a necklace, cut the strands longer than 9 or 10 inches.

Secure the top ends. If you chose to cut 3 individual strands, you can tie the top ends all together or wrap and tie a cord around the ends, leaving about an inch tail. For the following steps, the strands will be referred to as "left," "center," and "right." Be sure that the ends of the strands line up. You want your braid to be as even as possible.

Pass the left strand over the center strand. The two strands should now switch places so that the left becomes the center and vice versa.

Take the right strand and move it over the new center strand. Now the right and center strand will switch places.

Alternate moving the left and right strands over the center strand. Continue doing this until you have reached the desired length or until you reach the end of the strands. If you find that you want to make a bracelet but have too much leather at the end, use scissors to cut the excess strands.

Tie off the ends about an inch up. You can use a similar technique as securing the top end by wrapping and tying a cord around the strands.

Crafting Braided Leather Jewelry

Fashion a bracelet from your braided leather. This can be achieved in multiple ways, some more fancy than others. As outlined in the 4-strand braiding method, you could tie the opposite ends of the braid to key-chain rings and connect the rings afterwards to form a bracelet. While this method is easiest, it may not look the most appealing. Alternately, you could take the trick braided leather and puncture a small hole in the intact, 3/4 inch ends. Run a regular strand of leather through each hole and tie the ends off into knots. Adjust the size of the regular leather strand to better fit your wrist. To make a high quality, professional looking bracelet, hold the ends of your braid together so that they line up (this won't be necessary for the trick braid). Take a pinch crimp — which can be purchased at most jewelry shops — and place your braided ends inside of it. Use a pair of pliers to squeeze the pinch crimp shut over the ends. Now you're bracelet has metal ends like store-bought jewelry!

Make a necklace using the same end connections as the bracelet. Though your necklace will differ mostly from your bracelet length-wise, you can add other accessories to customize it. Find some beads with holes that run through them. You could run the braid through a single, tubular bead so that it sits in the middle, almost like a pendant. Or, you could fill the entire bottom portion of the braid with various colored beads so that only half of the braid is showing. Instead of beads, put a locket on your braid. Place your picture inside and give it to a special someone as a token of your friendship. Or, you could find letter pendants and use them to spell your name across the bottom of the braid. The possibilities are virtually endless!

Use a tiny braid as a leather ring. Once you become an expert at braiding normal-sized strands, challenge yourself by braiding even smaller ones. Use the hair braiding method to weave black and brown strands together. Make a standard length braid and then cut it to ring-size once you're done. Fit the ends with pinch crimps and wear the ring on your finger with pride.