I mentioned my plans to design a wrist brace to support my daily activity.
Originally, I was going to go with a similar style as the decorative sleeve I made a while back. It’s simple, easy, and doesn’t take a lot of material. The only issue I have with it is that it’s like a glove, encasing my hand, which means I have to remove it every time I want to wash my hands. That’s annoying, so I envisioned having something I could easily pull back.
I looked at various examples online from weight-lifting accessories to gymnastic braces, and I found I liked the design of the Tiger Paw, because it covered the back of the hand and the wrist. I used the wrap around and attach idea with my first attempt at a support brace, combining it with my existing kickboxing wrist wraps design. My husband suggested I reinforce it with spines, and since I had some lying around from previous corset crafting, I sewed them in.
Unfortunately, the spine closest to my thumb was too close and rubbed uncomfortably on my wrist bone. Not to mention, it wasn’t terribly pretty to look at. I’d chopped up an old canvas bag I got for free to use as my straps because the pleather is stretchy and I felt it wouldn’t provide enough support on its own.
So I set aside that idea and mulled over other options. I wanted something that wrapped the wrist and stretched up the back of the hand to anchor it in place. I also wanted something that looked nice. I dug out scraps from old projects including brocade fabric, lacing that used to belong to my husband’s hoodie, and some fusible interface. The interface made the stretchy pleather not so stretchy and more supportive. I debated between using Velcro or something else to cinch it down. It took some thinking, but I eventually figured out a design that would work. Accent it with some fancy buttons, metallic paint (my husband’s idea), and–of course–gears, and you’ve got my finished project.
This model lets me slip off the lacing to easily wash my hands without removing the whole brace. Plus, in my opinion, it’s rather pretty. The strap is sewn to the backside, loops around the wrist, and then slides through itself to loop around again. The lacing at the wrist goes through a loop attached to the opposite end, and folds back around to hook on the button.
My mom thought it was nice enough that I could make a shop to sell them. Unfortunately, it’s tailored to my wrist and hand size, so it’d be hard to make it one-size-fits-all. Plus, my sewing is good enough for me (and my daughter who conscripted me to make her a skirt amidst all of this since the sewing machine was out already), but I’m pretty sure consumers might complain about the uneven stitching or where I missed the fabric on one of the folds. Plus, I think I’d rather be writing, if I’ve got time to spare.
What projects are you working on lately? Do you like steampunk-styled accessories? If you could design a brace, how would you decorate it?
I LOVE it! I agree with your mom – you should sell these (although I get your reasons why you won’t). If I didn’t already know you needed a brace, I’d think it was some cool steam punk accessory. Seriously. Doesn’t even look like a brace.
Nice job girl!!
Clever! It does look really cool.
I’ve never had to wear any kind of brace and hopefully I never will. But if you must then it’s kind of neat to get creative with it. I guess if I were designing my own I’d want it to look kind of inconspicuous. Maybe for special times like when I’m around grandchildren I could have one that is colorful and fun.
You might have a marketable idea on your hands. (no pun intended, but I realized what I’d done after I typed it).
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
That is awesome.
Very clever. You’d be surprised how few people complain about even stitching, especially for something handcrafted. (It’s all in the marketing.) What you could do is offer it made to order, so someone could give your their measurements first. But you’re right, it would be a bit of work when you could be working on other things.
It’s kind of Wonder Womanish! I love it.
I love that brace. It looks great!
That looks great! I’d never be able to make something like that, especially not on a whim with no solid pattern to follow.
Your brace rocks and so do you! I absolutely love it. I wish I possessed a tiny bit of your talent. I’m with your mom, you could sell these. I could picture you on Shark Tank 🙂 Although I understand the difficulty of trying to get the right fit for each person. Also, I’m with you, if there’s spare time to be had, I’d rather be writing too.
Elsie
Definitely cool looking! And functional!
That is so awesome! You’re such a creative person.
How fun! I wear one at night but I’d wear one during the day if it looked like that.
So clever and creative! 🙂
It looks fantastic! A kinda steampunk style to it. Nice. I’ve been having a good writing week. I do sew to repair things at home, and my stitching is horrible!
Quite crafty you are! My recent project efforts have been distressed finishes on wood furniture plus I’m almost ready to decoupage the top of my coffee table.
I love the steampunk design. MS makes my left wrist weak so I could do with a brace. It would be great if there was a way to make them for others – sell the design perhaps? Use the proceeds to fund the writing. Wish I had your talent.
That looks awesome!
If you have to wear a brace, wear it with style. That is awesome and clever and cool and wow!
I like the steampunk look of the brace.. Adds style.
My daughter and I have been working on creating potion bottles to display in my writing office. It’s a lot of fun.
I love that brace! I like to wear a wrist warmer when I work on my computer or laptop. This looks neat, enough of a brace to support your wrist. I’d buy it. 😉
That is so pretty, Loni! You’re so talented. I love the steampunk flair of it. Well done.
That’s cool. It looks like something from Roman times. Hope it works well for you.
Those bracelets look awesome! We have a steampunk festival every September here in Twain’s Town. Those would sell out for sure.