Inner Tube Rubber Bracelet Core

For a workshop I will give this weekend I was teaching myself how to make "survival" bracelets. The problem for me with the bracelets that I found on this site, where the clasps, buckles or whatever method they had to close the bracelet. This problem was solved by using an inner tube from a bike as the core of the bracelet. Ideally the diameter of the tube would be the size of your wrist, but we don't live in an ideal world so I had to work around that.

You will need

• wire, rope of string
• old inner tube
• hole puncher
• scissors

If your tube is the good size for your wrist, you just cut of 1 cm (1/2 inch) of tube and your done. In my case I wasn't so lucky.

• Cut a piece of tube long enough to go around your wrist plus 2 cm (1 inch) extra.
• Cut it lengthwise
• Cut of a 1 cm (1/2 inch) strip

I know 1 inch is not exactly 2 cm but doesn't come so close.

• Measure the size of your wrist.
• Punch a couple of holes in both sides of the rubber strip so it will fit around your wrist when you put the holes on top of each other (I liked 3 holes)

Look carefully where the holes will come. You want to have them in the centre of the strip and spaced evenly on both sides.

Use two colors of rope for a nice effect. You will need about 1,5 m (5 feet) of each color.

• Put the two ropes through the first hole, from the inside out.
• Stick these same ends through the second hole, again from the inside out.
• Put the ends through the loops that where created by going around.
• Go through the last hole. Again from the inside out. 
• Pull everything tight (let 5 cm, 2 inch, stick out)

The stitching goes the same as shown in many ibles on this site.

• The UNDER line (in my case the orange) will go through the bracelet, leaving a loop on the side where it started. It needs to lay over the OVER line (in my case red) on the other side.
• The OVER line will go over the bracelet through the loop of the UNDER line on the other side.
   
• Pull everything tight and do it exactly the same only the other way around (left becomes right)
• Repeat until finished.

When you stitched all the way around you will make one more stitch over the lose ends from the beginning.

• Cut off the excess wire, leaving 5 cm (2 inch) to finish it off.
• Knot het two UNDER wires together
• Knot the two OVER wires together

You will end up with a bracelet that looks cool and that is easy to take off and still won't fall of out of itself.