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Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Baseball String Bracelet

I've got a great idea to share with all of you for a super easy and cute way to make a bracelet out of the strings of a baseball.  My college girl friends and I all made these to wear when we went to games...and I still wear mine to the Diamondback's games every chance I get. 

It's a great way to show your love for baseball!


Supplies you'll need:
Baseball (you can get 2 bracelets from each baseball)
Xacto knife


First you will need to cut out the stitches all the way around the baseball.  It's hard to see in the picture below, but there is a tiny line tracing the stitches from where I cut the leather.  Try to get your cuts as close to the stitches as possible without cutting them.  But don't worry, you can always trim off any uneven parts when you're all done.  You will have to apply a fair amount of pressure, and maybe even got over each line twice to cut all the way through the leather.


Once you have cut all the way around the stitches you'll need to remove the leather pieces.  The leather is stuck onto the ball inside with some adhesive, so it could take a little elbow grease to get it off.


Once you take both leather pieces off you'll need to remove the strings.  They will still be in once piece and should be easy to pull off.

Here's is what your baseball should look like at this point:


You won't need the ball or leather any more for this project.  Locate the point on the seam where the stitching begins/ends, this is where you should cut the remaining leather.  Be careful not to cut off the excess string, you'll need every inch!  What you should have now is one long seam with two ends that look like this:


Find the middle of the seam and cut it in half.  Each piece should be around 8 inches long.  Begin unraveling the stitching at each end of the bracelet until you have about 4 inches of string unwound.  This should leave about 1 to 1 1/2 inches of leather sticking out.


Cut off the excess leather without cutting the strings.  You should now have two ends that look like this about about 5 inches of seam in the middle.


The best closure I found for this bracelet is simply tying the two ends into a knot each time I wear it.  To do this you will need to braid each of the loose strings and secure with a knot.  The strings will be gummy in the beginning from the adhesive used to attach the leather to the ball, but this will go away after you wear the bracelet a few times.  You might prefer to make a loop and bead closure, or come up with something else unique.

If you notice that the leather is twisted from it's shape on the ball, don't worry.  You can stretch the bracelet and gradually force it to hold a straighter shape.  And as the adhesive wears off it should loosen up a bit.

You can also trim the leather at this point if they are uneven from your cuts with the Xacto knife. 

And that's all there is to it!  In only a few minutes you have two authentic baseball string bracelets!  I love wearing mine and I hope you can find the time to make one!



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78 comments:

  1. Okay, that is seriously too cute! What a great idea!

    Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! I loved your comments. We must be food twins if you love Jimmy Johns and Joe's :) My husband and I used to live in Chandler and miss it SO much, especially Joe's Farm Grill. We are back in Kansas now so we can be closer to our families.

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  2. What a totally cool idea! I would love for you to share this at my Tips & Tricks Tuesday linky party.

    I would like to also invite you to visit the cottage, and join in on the fun for all three of my linky parties:

    ASK THE YANKEE - MONDAYS
    TIPS & TRICKS TUESDAY
    TIME TRAVEL THURSDAY

    You can get the details here:

    http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/2010/06/brambleberry-cottage-linky-party.html

    Hope to see ya there!
    Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage
    http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

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  3. What a cute idea! So clever!!

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  4. I have done this with our deflated basketballs but never thought of a baseball! I am already thinking of how many baseballs I need to buy to make these for all my baseball mommy friends!

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  5. Cute idea. If's a baseball from Grandpa's attic, however, it might be a good idea to find out that it isn't like a World Series ball given to Grandpa by the winning pitcher. :-)

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  6. What a great idea! I love it! I'm passing it on to my friends that have kids in baseball. They'll love these!

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  7. OMG! What a FUN idea!
    Thanks for linking up with Sugar & Spice.

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  8. I love it! And I actually think my husband would wear one too! Thanks for sharing!
    Maria

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  9. This is so cute I totally want one!

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  10. What a great idea!! My son's little league team just won the championship and their end of season party is coming up. I might try to make one for each of the players for such a great season!! Thanks so much!!

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  11. What a cute idea! This would be a great gift for a baseball lover.

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  12. that looks cool! Happy Transformation Thursday <3

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  13. HOW CUTE!!! I don't go to any ball games, but my brother is the coach on my nephew's team - DEFINATELY making this for my Sister-In-Law!!

    Stopping by from New Friend Friday! new follower too!

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  14. Pretty! And unique! And easy! The perfect bracelet!
    suchakingdom.blogspot.com

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  15. this is SOOOO cool! i want to give this a try :) thanks for posting such an awesome tutorial!

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  16. How absolutely adorable!! Love love love it!

    Found you on New Friend Friday :)

    Also, like how you spell your name -- me too! I think us Kathryn's are the minority!

    Katie P
    Food, Wine, & Mod Podge

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  17. Wow what a creative idea. I love it!

    Thanks for sharing at Saturday is Crafty Day!
    Laura @ along for the ride

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  18. Thanks for this terrific idea. I'll be hitting garage sales and resale shops to find some old baseballs. I'll be linking on Facebook.

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  19. This is so cool! What a great party favor for a baseball theme party. My little guy would love this since he thinks he's Benny the Jet Rodriguez (The Sandlot).

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  20. Love this!!!!!
    I heart baseball...this is amazing!!
    =)

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  21. What a cute project...I don't know how you came up with this!

    Thank you so much for linking up to Fab Friday.

    Cheers!

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  22. This is a fantastic idea! Super cool! Thanks so much for joining The Sunday Showcase Party. I greatly appreciate it! Hope you have a wonderful week! ~ Stephanie Lynn

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  23. Hi Kathryn! I'll be featuring your bracelet tomorrow. Stop by and grab a featured button if you like! Thanks again for linking up to The Sunday Showcase! ~ Stephanie Lynn

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  25. that is really cute! thanks for sharing the details!
    gail

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  26. I LOVE this! I can't wait to find some baseballs to try my hand at this.

    After reading the other comments, now I'm wondering how I would make a bracelet out of a basketball.

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  27. That's fun and so creative, cute, too.

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  28. hi, i'm back with a question :)
    i actually scored a 25-cent baseball at a garage sale and xacto-knifed just like you showed, but my stitches are obviously in the shape of the ball, as in, not just a straight line that will curve over the wrist, if that makes sense. how did you straighten yours out? i don't know if i'm explaining it right... :/

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  29. @Sarah

    When you get the long seam off the baseball it will be all curled up and in a figure 8 sort of shape. Once you cut it in half to make both of the bracelets you can start pulling on the seam and stretching it into a straight line. I do this quite a bit to get it as straight as possible, but I think they will always have a bit of a curve to them. The bracelet I made in college is still a tiny bit curved.

    If it really bothers you, you could probably get the seam wet and really start pulling and stretching it to a straight line. You might want to try this on only one half of the seam first in case the water discolors the leather.

    I wish I had a better answer than "muscle it into submission", but that's all I got! :)

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  30. Seriously? I love you - this is great! You will be seeing this on my wrap up for sure :)

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  31. I can see this being another bracelet "craze"! So fun! Thanks for linking it up to Modern Craftswoman Monday! Rory

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  32. Wow! I have never seen this before. Super Cute! I will be giving this a try. All my baseball moms are gonna love these.

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  33. This is so VERY cool and I've never seen anything like this! AWESOME! Glad I saw the link on keeping it simple!

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  34. BTW, something about this screams SUMMER and JULY 4th!

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  35. This is just too cool! My son is super excited and he's not the biggest baseball fan either. I am linking back to you tomorrow so come by for a visit!
    mommaskindacrafty.blogspot.com

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  36. That is so clever. I know so many people who would love a bracelet like this...myself included. Thanks for linking to Tickled Pink

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  37. So cool! I think I'll make a couple for myself and my son's girlfriend to wear to his games.
    Thanks for sharing! I'd love for you to share on my other blog, It's A Blog Party, every Monday is craft day.
    http://itsablogparty.com
    ~Liz

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  38. This is such a cool idea!! My son's always asking me to make him stuff and I'm clueless when it comes to boys. I'm going to have a go at it this weekend and I'll be featuring it on my blog next week. I'm now following :0)

    Rachel
    www.sewambitious.com

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  39. really cool. I love it. Lezlee

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  40. So original and very boy-friendly too. Thanks for linking to Craftastic Monday:)

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  41. Wow, what a great project! Your blog is so fun, I look forward to checking in more often (glad I found it!). I just started one two days ago...total newbie! Any advice would be great! Thanks.
    ~Kelli

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  42. I found this on Hope Studio and I am so glad it was there. Love the idea and I have a baseball nut friend or friend who is a baseball nut......you know what I mean......and I am going to make it for her birthday! Thank you and I will be following!
    reallyrosey

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  43. This is a great idea, who knew you could do this? I forwarded your link to my sister who sent it home to her husband, a Little League coach. He whipped out 3 or 4 of the bracelets yesterday before she got home from work and he forwarded your link to everyone on his son's all star team.
    Thanks for posting this, it's great!

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  44. I love this idea...I am going to do this with yellow softballs for my granddaughter and the girls on her softball team....Thank you

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  45. I'm sorry but this is amazing!!! I would never have thought of this and it's so CUTE!
    I'm your newest follower!
    pathb4me.blogspot.com

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  46. Love the idea! My sister loves unique bracelets so I'm sure she would love to try making this one. Her latest collection and interests include bracelets made of paper, seashells bracelets and silicone wristbands for sale. I'm so grateful for sharing the tutorial!

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  47. I love this, but don't have time to make one as a gift. Does anyone know where I might be able to purchase one ?

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  48. Dear Anonymous, this is Kathryn from I Can Find The Time...thank you for your comment!

    I would gladly make you a Baseball String Bracelet. I actually just started making some to post on my Etsy site, so your timing couldn't be better! Please feel free to email me at Kathryn@icanfindthetime.com and we can work out all the details!

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  49. LOVED this! What a great idea! :)
    Shared it with friends: https://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Hodgepodge-Crafter/113804315353534

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  50. This is just fantastic ... I saw it on Pinterest and had to make one. My son thinks it's awesome. Thanks so much for sharing!

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  51. Thank you for this awesome tutorial!! I made one myself & featured it on my blog!
    http://formamas.blogspot.com/2011/09/diy-baseball-bracelets.html

    Chrissy @ ForMamas

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  52. Love it, we used softballs and they are awesome!

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  53. I made my own version and linked back to you. I think yours is a bit neater, but it's a start! Check out my version:

    http://tastybliss.blogspot.com/2011/12/some-crafts.html

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  54. Hello,
    I'm the owner of hand made/personalized jewelry shop. Can you contact me at your earliest continence at spotlightjewels@gmail.com
    Thank you very much for your time.

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  55. Having some luck straightening them out by rolling in a damp washcloth, then using binder clips to fasten it crosswise across a clipboard while it dries (leaving it by the woodstove to add a little heat).

    This is really a neat idea. Giving one to my friend- mother of 3 ball players.

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  56. I made one of these bracelets tonight using a pink and white softball....it came out so sute! I used a clasp on the end so it's easy to get one and off.....Great idea, so cute and easy!

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    Replies
    1. How did you straighten it out? Mine is so twisted!

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  57. Making mine right now! Turning out awesome!! (;

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  58. Baseball bracelet, really wonderful.

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  59. @Kathryn, don't throw the remaining leather out. Collect 3 or four pieces and join them together in the middle with a button and they make a cute flower to adorn a bag or hat or make a pin.

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  60. Mom of 6 sporty boys? What a joke why you have picked that name?

    Shamballa Bracelets | Bracelets for sale

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  61. Oh my, I just have to make one for going to games.

    GO DIAMONDBACKS! :)

    Michelle @ On A Wing And A Prayer

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  62. So amazing! I love the ones with the older loved baseballs! They have so much more character :) This is an incredible idea. This would be the perfect coach gift! Thank you for sharing such a fabulous idea. I found you @ 30 Handmade Days. Krista @ A Handful of Everything

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  63. Hi there! I was wondering how you cut the seem to make it into TWO different bracelets? Wouldn't you have to cut the string, which would then unravel?

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