I like to make jewelry, and my newest favorite style is steampunk. So when I challenged my sister to make a design with my steampunk gears/clock faces/whatever else I keep in my steampunk bucket, I ended up making it. So, here we are, one funky, leather, steampunk cuff bracelet. I hope you enjoy this project!

Have fun crafting-

-Nene

Supplies

I used:

A 1.5"x7" piece of 1/16" piece of leather for the base(don't worry about it being nice, non-scratched leather, if it isn't scratched already, it will be by the end of the project.
1mm dia leather(or hemp, or nylon, whatever looks best) cord for stitching on the clasps
Nylon string for stitching on the gears
Small screws for attaching moving parts(if you don't plan on having any spinning gears or clock hands you don't need these)
glue
Three gold lobster clasps(I used 1/2" long ones, it might work better to use larger ones)
Assorted watch faces/gears/watch hands
Leather punch with assorted sizes of holes(I used the 5mm and 1.5 mm punches)
Hammer
Awl
Leather needle for enlarging holes before actually doing the stitching
A normal needle for actually doing the stitching
A wood block for hammering on(or a workbench that you don't mind beating up)
Tape measure
And of course, parentheses(for adding your own notes)

Step 1: Preparing the Leather Base

Use the leather punch to make three evenly spaced 5mm holes on one end of the leather base and four evenly spaced 1.5mm holes in the other side. Be careful to not to cut the holes too close to the end of the leather, I have had a hard time with the edge of the leather breaking if I cut the holes too close to the edge. Once you have the holes cut, use the leather(or whatever) cord to stitch the clasps in place as shown above.

Step 2: Adding the Gears

Once you have your base made, you can start the fun process of adding the design. Lay out the design you want on the leather, I don't always lay out my designs before I start, but in projects like this it is a good idea to make sure all the design will fit before you start making (more) holes. After you know where you want everything, use the gears etc. as a guide for poking the holes you want with an awl. After you have a few holes to start with, use the leather needle to enlarge the holes before stitching on the gears. I tend to do this a few holes at a time so that I can readjust the gears as I go on and not be stuck with a whole bunch of holes I don't want(although you could either just cover then up with the design or turn them into their own design). This is a long, tedious way of stitching gears on, but I personally feel that the result makes the effort worth it.

Step 3: Adding the Moving Parts

Once I have the stationary gears etc. in place, I like to add a few moving parts to add some action to the scene. This is where those tiny screws come in. I personally get my screws from tearing apart watches and cameras and the like. Once you find a screw that is small enough to fit in the hole and large enough to not fall out of the hole(and long enough to fit through the gears + leather etc.) use the awl to make a hole where you will want the screw. You do NOT want to enlarge the holes with a leather needle this time, as the main holding force of the screws is a snugly fit. After you have a hole where you want it, place a drop of glue in the hole and hammer in the screw. I like to use jewelers pliers to hold the screw in place while I hammer it in.

Step 4: You're Done!

Ta-da! You have just made your very own steampunk cuff bracelet! I hope you enjoyed it! Now for the very important step of showing off your work to your friends with the rest of your awesome steampunk outfit!

-Nene Granato