I must confess, I love jcrew so much. I even love the bags! (Hate to throw them away.) Then it hit me: why not make a rope bracelet from the handles?
Here’s how I did it in just a few steps. (It took longer to write this up than it did to actually make it!)
First, remove the handles from the bag. Fold one of the handles in half and place it on your work surface, then place the second handle next to it so that the ends are lined up. Place a clothespin near the top. You’re going to use the clothespin to hold the handles together so that you can braid them, and the folded handle will make a loop so for your bracelet so you can hook it together. (My loop is about an inch long.)
Braid your bracelet, then use another clothespin to hold it in place.
Now for the only tricky bit. Remove the top clothespin near the loop, then wrap the piece that is hanging off to the side around it once loosely. Wrap around again, and this time tuck the extra piece under the first wrap. Add a dab of glue where it meets the bracelet and trim closely after the glue has dried. (I used fabri-tac — it holds really well and dries fast for the impatient like me.)
Here are some closeups of the knots so that you can see them better.
Now to finish it up, take the piece of the handle that you trimmed and knot it around the other end, then remove the clothespin. You can add a drop of glue under this knot before you tie it completely. (But I forgot and it seems to be holding up okay.)
Then you can tidy up and trim off to even things up.
To wear, just slip the big knot into the back. (You can loop the handle over it twice if you have room, it was a little big on me.)
That’s it! (The only problem? Now I want to make more for friends! Looks like I’ll have to do some more shopping at jcrew, oh darn.)
I think it’ll go great with all my striped shirts this summer — I have a major stripe obsession going on right now! Do you have one too? Join Holly over at decor8 for Stripe Mania Party! It’s all about bloggers wearing stripes, can’t wait to see who joins in the fun!
xo,
Just love the eco friendly idea and it look simply nice!
Hey Lisa what font are you using on your pics? Looks great!
Just made one from a bag with silvery rope handles. Instead of a knot I adhered a gem to the end of the braid. Love love love!
Haha I gotta say, I thought I was the only one. Well to be honest I didn’t get that far. I’ve wanted to make one of these since J.Crew changed their bags. I love your post since I don’t know the first thing about making bracelets, but I have been collecting the cords every time I shop at J.Crew, with that in mind.
Here is a picture of part of my collection (approximately 30 bags worth).
Well keep up the good work..
That is a ton of bags!!!! :)
I love love love this!!! So creative and a great idea for my tween to make! Thank you for being such a creative kitty~!
Brava, clever girl! Love your ingenuity and clearly written instructions! Another landfill item averted!
WOW..I am very impressed…..#1 that it would even occur to someone to make a braclet from a shopping bag handle and #2 that you made it so well and last but not least #3 that you were sweet enough to share with those of us not creative enough to come up with this on our own! Thanks! (but ya should have sold this idea to J Crew…ha….they will probably get a hold of this idea and sell them in stores!!)
bracelet**not braclet…..it’s really early here and I’ve had no coffee!
I made one of these from the handles of a Juicy Couture shopping bag my wife had… she loves it! Thanks for the idea!!!
I love your bracelet! I live in a very small town in Georgia! We have only WalMart as our BIG store. What other cording or whatever, could I use?
Hi Jill! I think any cording you like would work! I just picked this one because it looked like the fisherman’s bracelets that have been so popular lately. The only thing that I would check is that it’s not too slippery and it’s flexible — that way it will be easier to work with and won’t come apart. Hope that helps! :)
Im thinking, why does it have to be a J Crew bag? Many shopping bags have pretty and/ or interesting handles. I save them for gift wrapping and such. Now a new use!
Hi ClaudiaC! I agree and I said it before in the comments — it doesn’t have to be a Jcrew bag, you can use twine, cording, other bags, etc .
I like the JCrew bag though because it looks like a fisherman’s rope style bracelet. (I’ve seen these for sale for around $40, yikes!)
Well, and it’s no secret I like JCrew! :) :)
Great idea. I’m thinking why limit it to J Crew bags? Many shopping bags have pretty and/or interesting handles that would make wonderful one-of-a-kind bracelets. And I’ve saved many, for gift wrapping and such. Now another use!
Awesome! I’ll try this! :)
Lisa,
This is AWESOME! I am beginning a new project in the upcoming year where I promote ideas with recycling and repurposing. I would love to include a link to your project or put it on the blog. Please contact me with either permission or that you are interested in your idea being promoted.
Julia
Hi Julia! I emailed you, thanks so very much for asking. :)
That’s awesome, and it looks really easy to do! I might have to try this!
What a great idea!! Yet one more excuse to buy something from my favorite store…for the bag!
You don’t have to have the handles on any bags. You can purchase this style of cording at any fabric store. The only thing you did’t mention was the length of the handles. I would guess .. 10″-12″ (two lenghts each). My granddaughter would love this….she is definitely a nautical girl.
Hi Lorraine! Yep, I said the same thing in the comments. You can use whatever length you like to suit your wrists. :)
Lands! Tis perfect gift and you are brilliant! Brilliant! Thanks!!!
just made this! it turned out great! thanks for the wonderful idea:)
Hi Emma! I’d love to see your bracelet! Glad it turned out! :)
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thank u sooooo much!! this is such a cute idea! i love both of my bracelets (i made two) one is green and the other one is normal! it was so easy and i now feel creative! :) i’m so excited to show my friends! :)))