Leather Mini Dragon Scale Bracelet

This is a fairly easy project that takes advantage of free leather samples that I acquired. They came from a company that does custom furniture and they get rid of a whole bundle of samples every year.

This Bracelet is actually a scaled down version of full arm bracers I made. The "dragon scales" on this bracelet are much smaller than the ones I made for the bracers.

It is a straightforward project and I hope you enjoy!

You will need some simple leather working tools and a couple other things for this project.

Tools and Materials Needed

1. Ruler
2. Leather Working Mallet
3. Awl
4. Leather Punch
5. Leather Scissors
6. Tacky Glue
7. Rivet Setter
8. Handful of Mini Clothes Pins
9. Leather Samples
10. Scale Pattern
11. Pen
12. Anvil/stone surface
13. Cutting Matt
14. Bracelet
    • I bought the Bracelet cuff at Hobby Lobby for a buck or two I think. It came green so I made dragon scales to match. It would be simple enough to make your own. Its not a complicated cuff. It just requires a snap or two installed which is no more difficult than riveting leather.

Make Scale Pattern

1. This isn't too difficult. I eyeballed mine originally. I then copied them on a printer and laminated them to make it so I could reuse them.
   • On this project I needed a pattern with SIX scales and one with SEVEN.

Trace Patterns On Leather

1. Using a pen, Trace three rows of the Seven Scale Pattern on one piece of leather.
2. Trace two rows of the Six Scale Pattern on the second piece of leather.

Cut Out Rows

1. Using the leather scissors, cut out the five rows of scales.
2. Be sure to cut cleanly otherwise the finished product won't look as nice.
3. If necessary, use an Xacto Knife to cut into the corners.
4. I laid them out in the last picture to give you an idea of what it looks like before the next step. You could skip the next step and rivet them like this to the cuff if you like the look better than what I did.

Glue the Tips of the Scales

1. Squeeze a dab of Tacky Glue onto the tip of each scale on the rough side of the leather.
2. Pinch the tip and clip it with the Clothes Pin to hold it tight while the glue dries.
3. Repeat this on all 33 tips.
4. Let the glue fully dry.

1. Carefully remove each Clothes Pin.
2. They may stick a little, so be sure not to rip open the pinched section.
3. Stack them up so you can see what the finished product is going to look like.

1. Lay down the top row of scales and be sure to overlap it some with the top edge of the cuff.
2. Using the Awl, poke a hole in the middle of each scale as shown in the picture to mark where your holes for the first row of rivets will be.
3. Separate the layers, and using the mallet and leather punch, punch the holes in both the cuff and the scale row.

1. It is time to rivet down the first row. Pictured you will see the tools I use. Also, here is a link to Tandy's youtube on how to use their rivets: How to set leather rivets
2. Poke the rivet base up through each hole of the cuff and then through the scale row.
3. Cap each rivet.
4. With the leather sitting on top of the stone, use the rivet setter and mallet, and give each rivet five good taps to set rivet good and tight.

1. Repeat process from previous step with each of the following rows.
2. The second row will sit with the scale tips resting between the tips of the first row.
3. Awl and then punch your holes.
4. Rivet.
5. Do this for each row.

Once you reach the final row, make sure the bottom of the scale section lines up with the bottom edge of the cuff.

• Rivet it down and you are done!

Pictured you will see two different cuffs. I made a different one in different colors so you could get an idea of what it would look like in colors other than green.

Using the snaps, you can wear it as a bracelet.

Show it off to your friends!

All Game of Thrones fans will love it!

As Always, If you have any questions about this instructable, please don't hesitate to ask me.

Thanks!