I admit, I have a soft spot for these braided leather straps. I think they look so nice, and on top of that they are easy to make and doesn’t need any sewing in leather. Perfect, right? You can use this technique on straps, belts, decorations, harness etc.
This braided strap is made for the Ronja Bag. If you only want to learn how to braid, skip the first part where I prep the holes and edge.
The closed braid can be made with 3, 4 or 5 strands, and more! But let’s keep it basic and do a 3 strand braid in leather, without any cut ends.
Start with cutting up a nice leather strap, and make it around 10% longer than the finished strap needs to be. The braiding will shorten the strap a bit, and the drying may also shrink it a little. My leather strap was around 70 cm long, 3 cm wide and 1,5 mm thick.
Leather strap cut and ready.
Leather working is very much a “more tools makes it easier and better” craft (if you compare it to handsewing) and you will need a sharp knife, a cutting board and some other basic things for this, but I use pretty simple things and make do. A good hole-puncher is very handy, though.
I often use a regular pen to mark out holes and lines that will not be visible on the finished item, here I mark where to punch holes.
You can mark where the middle of the hole should go, but I find this method easier; mark out where the outer edge of the holes need to be.
I wanted to have a rectangular hole, with rounded short sides. Since I only own a regular hole puncher and a cutting knife, this will do. Punch both holes, and then use the knife to cut between these.
New hole made! I also wanted to make the ending a little bit narrower than the strap, so I cut it down a bit. This is very optional.
Tip: Remember to hold the knife blade on a straight angle while cutting. If the blade tilts to one side the edge will be uneven.
Now the edges (for fastening) are done, and the rest of the strap can be cut up for braiding. I always like to plan what to do with the endings before, so I know where to start cutting.
Here begins the braiding art!
I use a regular ruler and a pencil to mark out where I want to cut. Using a pencil instead of a pen gives you a more discreet line, and you can erase and move it if needed. Mark 3 strands, or 2 lines, and when you are happy with them you cut them with a knife.
I like to start and finish the cut with a small hole made with the hole puncher. It looks smooth and it is easier to start the braid.
Next step is letting the leather strap soak in luke warm water for around 15 minutes. Wipe off excess water, and then you are ready to start braiding!
Why soak the leather in water first? Wet leather is easy to work with, and it can be stretched, pressed and shaped and then dried to hold the shape given to it when it was wet. This works best with vegetable tanned leather.
Start braiding any strand you like, and make a regular 3 stranded braid.
After braiding 6 times (passing with one strand over another is one braiding) you will notice that the strands yet to be braided starts to tangle. You will need to untangle these now; follow the strands to the bottom and loop the other edge in between them until the unbraided strands are untangled.
Untangling needs to be done after every set of 6 braidings, and that is the whole secret to making closed braids: Braid 6 times, untangle, repeat. Make the braid as hard as possible, and don’t bother about a perfect braid yet.
The 6 times rule apply to a 3 strand braid, if you chose to make a braid with more strands, you will need to braid double that number before you untangle.
At the end it will look like this, and to even the braid out I will start to adjust the braid from the bottom up. The loose section will be readjusted into the hard braided section.
Working my way up by arranging the strands a bit more loose than before.
Done! Now it is time to arrange and dry the braid.
To finish of the braid, stretch it as hard as you can and put it down flat on a table. To make it flatter, you can use a hammer and beat the leather for additional shaping. Use a cloth for protection to avoid hammer marks on the soft leather. When you are happy with the look, leave it to dry.
The braid is finished! Grease or oil the leather before you use it.
Which leather to use? Use vegetable tanned leather, it is better for the environment than modern alternatives and easier to reshape with water. It is also possible to dye. The thickness depend on what you want to use the strap for, but 1,5-3 mm is useful.
I’m so happy you wrote this! I have always wanted to know how to make these and I don’t work well with videos, so this looks like a perfect way for me to learn! I’ll send you a picture when I do it. 🙂
16/10/2024 at 14:05
I’m so happy you wrote this! I have always wanted to know how to make these and I don’t work well with videos, so this looks like a perfect way for me to learn! I’ll send you a picture when I do it. 🙂