***WARNING: This Instructable has a (gentle) BDSM slant to it. If for some reason you are intolerant of or bigoted against BDSM, you should probably not read this. I accept no responsibility if you read this and get squeamish about the idea of cuffing someone up.***

My motivation for making these draw-string wrist cuffs is simple - I needed some way to restrain my lovely sub girl who had unfortunately bust my cheap cuffs when she fell over (I also have a strong sturdy pair of old-time Derby handcuffs, but they are heavy, and worse, slow to get her in and out of). Since more decent restraint gear can be expensive to get a hold of, I decided to make my own.

I was inspired by cuff/bracelets made by member Fungus Amungus, link here: https://www.instructables.com/id/Leather-Bracelets-from-Recycled-Belts/

but I couldn't get snaps to fit through the leather belt that I was cannnabilizing. So I bust out my long-serving eyeletting kit and put eyelets through instead, so I could tighten or loosen the cuffs as desired (also gave me an excuse to include something rainbow-ey in it). Another good thing about these cuffs is that you can put a length of rope between them and so adjust the distance the hands can move to (or indeed whether or not to attach the hand in question to the other hand at all)

Naturally, these have other uses too, such as tying up bad men once you have defeated them on your nightly superhero(ine) escapades and leaving them for the baffled police to find.

I hope that these are made by someone else and enjoyed.
NB: pverviously I asked that people be gentle with criticism, but that actually seems counterproductive now that I think about it. Please just be constructive if nothing else.

You will need:
Ingredients:
a belt to cut up (any colour you like)
some eyelets and washers (enough for four eyelets and a few more in case of mistakes)
some shoelaces or similar
some rope (optional)

Tools:
A scalpel (or X-acto knife)
An eyeletting device and hammer, or eyelet pliers
A steel rule (helpful)
a robotic helper (optional)
A measuring tape for wrists (though you could manage with approximate measurements with a ruler)
Some manly muscles

Step 1: Measure Your Wrists or Those of Whom the Cuffs Are For

My wrists are 16cm ( about 6 1/2 inches) around. I decided to leave a little more room too, so I am going to cut a 20 cm (about 8in ) section from the belt. This is actually not very important as the cuffs are very adjustable

I measured my own wrists because my lovely sub girl was in Canadia at the time of making these.

Once the length was cut I cut off the corners using the help of the squares on my cutting mat, don't really know why though, it just seemed like a good idea at the time. You don't have to if you don't want to.

Step 2: Marking and Making the Eyelet Holes

I marked the holes for the eyelets 2.5cm (1 inch - ish) from the ends, dead centre. I then made the holes with the leather punch tool on my Leatherman. I then turned the tool over and over to 'drill' a hole through and widen it.

Then comes the scalpel again, widening the hole further with the same drilling action. It is a good idea to slightly bevel the edges of the hole to make them cleaner for the eyelet. Make sure you do both sides good.

The trick is to not widen the hole too much, though, as otherwise your eyelet won't stay in very well. Just go slowly and do a little bit at a time and keep checking it against the size of your eyelets. My eyelets are 5.5mm in diameter (dunno what that is in inches, about 1/4 inch).

By the by, that is my iPod playing Love To Hate You by Erasure (clearly a song about kink). I find music while working increases productivity.

Step 3: Getting the Eyelets Right

Ok here's nearly done

Your eyelet should be on the outside, as this will be the more attractive facing. The washer should be on the side that will be against the skin, as that side will look a bit mangled. My robot helper Robbie helps me demonstrate.

Step 4: Rivetting the Eyelets On

Get out your rivetting pliers (or the hammer powered version) and put on your man-trousers (or man-pants if you are from across the pond). You're going to need a wee bit of muscle. The washer bit goes with the pointy bit of the pliers, the eyelet itself goes in the material.

This is where your man-trousers (pants) come in. Plier like you mean it!

Step 5: Congratulations!

You now have a pair of cuffs that are sturdy enough (unlike Ann Summers toys) and suitable for most types of play and/or crimefighting!

Add your favourite type of shoelaces or other string-like stuff (leather thongs perhaps) and do a last double-check that every part is smooth and not sharp (particularly the metal bits - if not, then file away or cover with tape any sharp bits.Remember that the safety of the sub is absolutely paramount), then you are ready for some fun with your girl- or boy-toy!

I used soft cotton magicians' rope to link the pair, because I have a whole bunch of little lengths of it lying around. You could even tie the laces togther (I used a Square, or Granny, knot) if you don't have lots of rope handy like me. By the by, that is in fact used shoelaces that the cuffs are pictured with - I certainly will be getting clean new ones before play, just in case anyone is wondering.

I don't really know how long this takes to make as I was stopping often to take pictures and type this and talk to the little lady via email, but I guess you could do it pretty quickly, probably less than an hour.

Step 6: Decoration: an Addendum

It's optional, but I like to do it, mainly just because my lovely sub girl loves pink decoration.

I painted the BDSM Pride symbol in pink acrylic paint, first as a solic disc, then scratched out the design with my trusty scalpel.
At least that's what I would have done if it had gone to plan. I messed it up, and so just painted it in with black paint over the pink.

I find it really helps to mark the centrepoint first when doing circle based designs in any medium.