Friday 29 April 2016

Faux Leather Mystery Braid - FREE Cut File

Faux leather mystery braid with free Silhouette cut file by Nadine Muir for UK Silhouette Blog
Hello, Nadine here with a tutorial making mystery braids using Silhouette's new faux leather paper.

This paper is remarkable stuff - starts as a thick, fibrous card, but transforms to a soft and strong leather-like fabric when washed.  In this tutorial, I washed it by hand in the sink with some dish detergent, but I have also machine washed and tumble dried it too.

A mystery or magic braid is a plait that is closed at both ends.  Rather than separate strands, it is made from a single piece of leather with evenly spaced slits.  This is particularly handy for belts, bracelets and hairbands, as it creates a stronger and neater finish than a regular plait with loose ends.

The free file includes mystery braid templates with for 5 and 7 strands.  There are three bracelet designs,  one with a button closure, one with plain ends that can be used with snap closures and a 7 strand one that can be fitted with a jewellery clasp.  I have also included a longer design for a headband.  The roll is 152cm long, so if you have the longer 24 inch mat, you can even make a child's belt!

What you’ll need:

 

STEP ONE: Prepare and Cut the Design

Download the Silhouette compatible free cut file, and open the file from within Silhouette Studio. Select your chosen design and resize as required.  It's worth noting that the plait will make the final piece about 5-10% shorter depending on how tightly it has been braided.
Using your stickiest mat, make sure that the faux leather is well stuck down.  I used the default blade settings pre-set for faux leather and the cuts were great, but always do a test cut when using new media.

STEP TWO: Wash the Faux Leather

Wash in the sink or washing machine.
Washing the Faux leather paper for the mystery braid tutorial by Nadine Muir for UK Silhouette Blog

STEP THREE: Uncover the mystery

Here's a short video showing the trick to creating the mystery braid.


STEP FOUR:Fasten

Use a button, snap fastener or jewellery clasp to make the bracelet closure.  For the headband, I threaded  some fold over elastic (scretchy ribbon), through the loops and tied a flat knot which will sit at the nap of the neck.

 THE FINISHED PRODUCT 

7 strand faux leather mystery braid with magnetic fastener by Nadine Muir for UK Silhouette Blog
7 Strand Mystery Braid Bracelet using a Magnetic Clasp

5 strand faux leather mystery braid with wooden button fastener by Nadine Muir for UK Silhouette Blog
5 Strand Mystery Braid Closed with Wooden Button

5 and 7 strand faux leather mystery braid bracelets by Nadine Muir for UK Silhouette Blog
Silhoutte Faux Leather Mystery Braid Bracelets - 5 and 7 Strand

Mystery braided braceletes with snap fastener, magnetic class and wooden button closures by Nadine Muir for UK Silhouette Blog
Mystery braided braceletes with snap fastener, magnetic class and wooden button closures.

Mystery Braid Hairband with Button Bow and Pink Elastic by Nadine Muir for UK Silhouette Blog
Mystery Braid Hairband with Button Bow and Pink Elastic

Mystery Braid Hairband using Fold Over Elastic (FOE) with a flat reef knot bow by Nadine Muir for UK Silhouette Blog
Mystery Braid Hairband using Fold Over Elastic (FOE) with a flat reef knot bow

Mystery Braid Hairband using Fold Over Elastic (FOE).  Faux leather plait and bow, decorated with a hotfix rhinestone by Nadine Muir for UK Silhouette Blog
Mystery Braid Hairband using Fold Over Elastic (FOE).  Faux leather plait and bow, decorated with a hotfix rhinestone



PRODUCTS USED:

Light hold cutting mat for Cameo


5 comments:

  1. Great tutorial Nadine! I've got to make myself some of these!

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  2. They are dead easy, I'd totally recommend it. I even made reigns for my neice's rocking horse!

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  3. Great tutorial Nadine, thank you for the file and the video. I bought some of this and wondered what to use it for I didn't want to just use it for making flowers

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    1. It really is the most amazing stuff, what colour did you go for? I have white on my wishlist as you can colour it with a sharpie :) I hope that you have fun with the plait and make sure that it is well stuck down to the mat so it doesn't move when cutting
      :)

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  4. These are great and will be having a go at making them!

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