How to Braid a Leather Pocket Watch Chain

Braided leather is easy to make and looks fantastic; once you have perfected braiding pocket watch chains, you can apply the skill to make belts, bracelets, and other leather accessories for your outfits. Start with a long strip of leather; the longer the strip of leather is, the longer your chain will be when the braid is complete.

1. Use a sharp knife to cut two identical, parallel slits along the length of leather strip. Do not cut the strip into three smaller strips; leave both ends of the leather uncut. These three sub-strips are the A, B, and C sub-strips.

2. Cross the A sub-strip above the B sub-strip. From left to right, your strips will be arranged B, A, C.

3. Cross the C sub-strip above the A sub-strip. From left to right, your strips will be arranged B, C, A.

4. Cross the B sub-strip over the C sub-strip. From left to right, your strips will be arranged C, B, A.

5. Take the lower end of the leather strip and thread it through the loop between B and A. The leather strap will twist.

6. Cross the A sub-strip over the B sub-strip. From left to right, your strips will be arranged C, A, B.

7. Cross the C sub-strip over the A sub-strip. From left to right, your strips will be arranged A, C, B.

8. Cross the B sub-strip over the C sub-strip. From left to right, your strips will be arranged A, B, C.

9. Take the lower end of the leather strap and thread it through the loop between A and B. The leather strap will untwist itself.

10. Repeat steps 1-9 until you run out of space on the leather strap. When the leather cannot be braided any further, use your fingers to gently pull the braids and extend them to twist the entire length of the chain.

11. Use the awl or leather punch to punch a small hole in both ends of the leather strap. Thread one key ring through each of the holes. Attach the watch to one end of the strap with the key ring and attach the other end of the chain to your clothing.

Tip

Make tight braids until you run out of leather, then gently pull the braids into place for a chain with lots of texture.

Warning

If you do not have enough room on the strap to complete all of steps 1-9, do not begin a new set of braids with the same leather strip. The leather will end up twisted and the chain will look bad.