Simple Felt Cuff Bracelet

My toddler has broken more than one beaded bracelet, lucky for us my MIL makes jewelry and has been able to fix each one. Since she likes to take them on and off over and over again, I decided to make an alternative to string and bead bracelet that would hopefully stand up to busy little toddler hands.

(I noticed after uploading the photos that our kitties must have wanted to be on the blog more, as one of them left a bit of themselves on the felt, sorry about the cat hair! Will try to take new photos during naptime!)

Begin by using a measuring tape to measure around your child's wrist and add a bit of length so the bracelet won't be too tight and so there is a bit of extra for attaching the hook and loop Velcro.

I made mine eight inches long which gave me plenty of length to add Velcro and made it long enough so she can just wiggle her little hand out of it. Later on, when her wrist grows she can use the Velcro to take it on and off. The felt is 8x1.25 inches, in the future I'd make it at least two inches wide so it's easier to cut straight with my pinking scissors.
Cut sides with pinking schears to give the felt a decorative edge, you could also leave sides straight. Cut ribbon slightly longer than the length of your felt. Pin in place and sew on, folding ends under and attaching with some stitches. You could also hand stitch in place or use fabric glue. I didn't use hot glue because I was afraid that then the bracelet wouldn't be pliable. If anyone tries that and it works let me know, cause then it would be a super easy no sew project.
Attach bracelet decorations, I die cut a flower with my Sizzix machine, added a little bit of hot glue around the center of the die cut, and then sewed on a button. You could also freehand draw a simple shape or use one of the patches I've seen at craft stores.
Attach hook and loop tape, i.e. velcro to ends. I hot glued it on. The blue line was made by my water soluble pen to help give me a guide for velcro placement.

Enjoy squeals of delight when your little princess sees it and puts it on for the first time. This really was really easy and quick, seriously only ten minutes max if all your supplies are laid out and ready to go. I think they'd make great quick little party favors and you could change the decoration to match your party's theme.

Please be careful when using materials such as buttons if this is going to a young child as they can be a choking hazzard. My daughter is two and a half and leaves that kind of thing alone.

UPDATE: Whoohoo, just heard from Rachel over at One Pretty Thing that my bracelet is going to be featured in today's Kid's Valentine's Day Roundup! It's my THIRD feature on One Pretty Thing! Click on over to check out the best crafting compilation on the web!