Are you looking for a stylish way to add a little bit of bling to your outfit? If so, you’ll love this Valentino Nuage inspired cuff bracelet! This chic accessory can be worn with anything, and it’s a great way to show off your style while keeping your outfit practical. In this guide, we’ll show you how to make this cuff bracelet perfectly, step by step.
Today’s bracelet is a fabric cuff bracelet inspired by the Nuage Straw Lace Tote by Valentino. I saw this bag at Neiman Marcus and it stopped me in my tracks. It was inside a glass case so I couldn’t touch it, making it even more covetous! The body of the bag is made with peach-colored straw and covered with lace, accented with patent leather details. Instead of straw, I used peach cotton fabric, plus lace with a similar scalloped edge and a bow made from a thrifted make-up bag that I cut up!
Here’s how I made my Valentino-Inspired Lace and Patent Bow Fabric Cuff Bracelet!
Valentino Nuage Inspired Cuff Bracelet-Materials:
- Peach cotton fabric
- Lace (2.5 inches wide, not gathered)
- Patent leather (actually PVC) fabric. I cut up a thrifted make-up case, but you can also purchase this at the fabric store.
- Scissors
- Snaps and snap tools: I used KAMsnaps (you’ll need 4 caps and 2 of each cap ends, plus an awl to poke a hole (not shown)).
- Rotary cutter or fabric scissors, ruler/straight edge, and self-healing cutting mat.
- Not shown: tape measure, fusible interfacing, sewing machine, coordinating thread (I used both black and peach), iron and ironing board, glue gun, basting glue, water-soluable pen, needle and thread.
Valentino Nuage Inspired Cuff Bracelet-Directions:
Determine the final dimensions of your bracelet, to determine the dimensions of the fabric to cut. Things you need to consider are your wrist size and the width of lace you are using. My lace was 2 1/4 inches wide, and I want the peach fabric to peek out over the lace about 3/4 inches (which is approximately 1/3 of the width of my lace…I think that is a good proportion). So my final width of the bracelet is 3 inches. Then I measured my wrist with a tape measure, so I get my exact wrist size. So don’t squeeze too hard, and don’t leave room either. My wrist is 6 inches, and I want my bracelet to overlap about 1 inch at the ends, then I don’t want it to be totally tight. So I added 3 inches to my wrist size, making the final length of my bracelet 9 inches.
So in summary, your final dimensions are determined as follows:
- Bracelet width: the width of your lace plus 1/3. So for me: 2 1/4 inches (lace) + 3/4 inches (about 1/3 of the lace) =3 inches wide.
- Bracelet length: your exact wrist measurement plus 3 inches. So for me: 6 inches (my wrist measurement) + 3 inches (for overlap and wiggle room) = 9 inches.
- => My FINAL bracelet dimensions = 6×9 inches
Now to determine the fabric dimensions (as well as the interfacing and lace), using the final dimensions.
Fabric length: add 1 inch to the final measurement for a 1/2 inch foldover at either side = 10 inches.
Fabric width: multiply your final width by 4, because the bracelet is made of 4 layers of fabric in the end for oomph = 12 inches.
Interfacing: 2x finished width by finished length.
Lace=final length + 2 inches
=> So my final cuts are:
- Fabric: 10×12 inches
- Interfacing: 6×9 inches
- Lace: 11 inches
Ok sorry that took FOREVER to explain!!!
Now we’ll fold down the peach fabric into the final dimensions, ironing on the interfacing, and attaching the lace. First, fold our fabric down the middle and crease with an iron, to mark the middle line.
Open it back up, and fold in one side to the middle.
Then fold in the other side to meet it in the middle, and press.
Open it up again and fold the top and bottom (i.e. the long edges) 1/2 inch and iron.
Then take your interfacing piece and tuck it into one side, underneath the 1/2 inch folds. Iron it on, following the manufacturer’s directions.
Then fold the two sides back in again, keeping the 1/2 inch fold. Then finally, fold it down the middle, to give you a 3×9-inch piece of fabric.
Now center the lace over one side of the fabric. It will overlap 1 inch on either side, which you’ll tuck in between the folded fabric. You can use basting glue (like Aleene’s No Sew) to keep the lace in place.
The straight edge of the lace will be about 1/8 inches above the opening of the fabric. The scalloped edge will be 3/4 inches from the fold.
Then on the other side, fold in the edges at a diagonal if needed, so they don’t stick out.
Here’s what it looks like from the side, with the lace edges tucked in.
{NOTE: You can make the bracelet no-sew, by using a more permanent fabric glue (like Aleene’s You Can Wash It) to glue down the lace at the edges, and then gluing the fabric closed. Then skip down to making the patent bow and adding the snap clasps.}
Now to sew. First we’ll open up the fabric, sew the lace onto just half of the fabric, then we’ll fold it up again and sew it closed. So first thread your sewing machine with black at the top, and peach in the bobbin (which you will use throughout). Sew the lace along the bottom straight edge. I used a regular ol’ straight stitch, and switched to a transparent presser foot.
Then sew along the scalloped edge.
Here’s the stitching on the other side, which will be hidden inside the bracelet.
Now fold up the fabric, so the lace edges and the stitches you just sewed are now hidden on the inside. Top-stitch just the sides of the lace, through all the layers (remember you still have the black thread on the sewing machine).
Now to sew the bracelet closed. Switch the black thread for peach thread at the top. Starting at the bottom edge of the lace, sew along the 1/8 inch to the bottom corner, pivot around and sew along the bottom edge to close it. When you get to the other corner, pivot around and sew up the remaining 1/8 inch to the bottom edge of the lace.
Then starting from the top edge of the lace, sew up to the top corner, pivot around and stitch all the way across to the other corner, then pivot around and sew down to the top edge of the lace.
All done with sewing! Note: if you used glue instead of sewing, you’ll continue with the instructions here.
Time to make the bow. It’s just a fake bow made with two pieces of the patent leather/pvc.
I cut off one side of my make-up bag and trimmed it to a rectangle. The result was about 3×6 inches. I cut it in half lengthwise, so you have two pieces of 1.5x 6. Take one and fold it in lengthwise, meeting in the middle. Crease it with your fingernails, and add a bead of hot glue to keep it folded.
Now fold the short edges in to the middle and glue with hot glue. These will be the loops of the bow.
To make the “knot”, take the other piece and fold it in lengthwise again, as you did the first piece, but overlap the edges in the middle so that the resulting width is a little bit smaller than the first one we folded.
I trimmed it but you don’t have to at this point, to make it easier to work with. First, glue the 2nd piece perpendicular to the first piece, on the back.
Then, pinch the first piece, so that the fold goes towards the back, if that makes sense.
Then wrap the 2nd piece as tight as you can, keeping the fold you just pinched in the first piece. Glue the 2nd piece in place in the back and trim. Your resulting bow is 3/4 inches by 3 inches.
Now glue the bow onto the fabric. Center the bow on the peach part of the bracelet, overlapping it just slightly over the edge so that a little bit of the peach fabric peeks out, and you can still see the scalloped edge of the lace.
Add a bead of glue to the center of the bow. You don’t want to add it too far out to the sides of the bow because then your bracelet will not bend around your wrist. You can add more glue if there is still some room.
The final step is to add the snaps for the closure.
If you have peach or black snaps, then you can skip this step. I only have white, so I covered mine with scraps of the peach fabric. Basically you’re making a yoyo with a needle and thread…
…and before you pull it closed, you’ll insert the snap…
…then pull it closed and knot it. You might need to trim the edges down so the point of the snap is sticking out (don’t cut your stitches).
The two ends will overlap by an inch, so I drew a dot for each of the two snaps about 1/2 inch in and 1/2 inch down from the corners.
My KAMsnap kit came with an awl to poke a hole through the fabric.
Then I used the pliers to fasten the bottom piece.
For the snaps that will be on the inside, you don’t have to cover them. But they will go on the opposite side of the fabric snaps, if that makes sense.
All done with the snaps
And all done with the bracelet!
I know it seems like there are a lot of steps to make it, but it’s mainly the determining of the fabric dimensions that took me the most time. After that, it went fast.
The gang’s all here! I had so much fun making these bracelets, inspired by such beautiful bags. Hope you enjoyed the tutorials, and let me know if you make one yourself!
The Valentino Nuage Inspired Cuff Bracelet is one of the trendiest and most popular pieces of jewelry in the world. If you are looking to add a little bit of luxury and vibrancy to your outfit, then this is the perfect accessory for you! Follow our simple guide below to create one that will make heads turn! Thanks for reading!
