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Brace Yourself

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Loni Townsend

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?

23 thoughts on “Brace Yourself”

  1. C.G.Coppola says:
    February 28, 2018 at 11:43 AM

    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!!

    Reply
  2. Alex J. Cavanaugh says:
    February 28, 2018 at 12:31 PM

    Clever! It does look really cool.

    Reply
  3. Arlee Bird says:
    February 28, 2018 at 12:51 PM

    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

    Reply
  4. Aldrea says:
    February 28, 2018 at 5:19 PM

    That is awesome.

    Reply
  5. Liz A. says:
    February 28, 2018 at 7:06 PM

    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.

    Reply
  6. C. Lee McKenzie says:
    February 28, 2018 at 8:11 PM

    It’s kind of Wonder Womanish! I love it.

    Reply
  7. M.J. Fifield says:
    February 28, 2018 at 9:19 PM

    I love that brace. It looks great!

    Reply
  8. Shannon Lawrence says:
    March 1, 2018 at 1:06 AM

    That looks great! I’d never be able to make something like that, especially not on a whim with no solid pattern to follow.

    Reply
  9. Elsie says:
    March 1, 2018 at 5:42 AM

    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

    Reply
  10. Melissa Maygrove says:
    March 1, 2018 at 6:12 AM

    Definitely cool looking! And functional!

    Reply
  11. Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor says:
    March 1, 2018 at 9:51 AM

    That is so awesome! You’re such a creative person.

    Reply
  12. L. Diane Wolfe says:
    March 1, 2018 at 11:01 AM

    How fun! I wear one at night but I’d wear one during the day if it looked like that.

    Reply
  13. Madeline Mora-Summonte says:
    March 2, 2018 at 6:41 AM

    So clever and creative! 🙂

    Reply
  14. Christine Rains says:
    March 2, 2018 at 8:44 AM

    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!

    Reply
  15. Jeri says:
    March 2, 2018 at 10:57 AM

    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.

    Reply
  16. Roland R Clarke says:
    March 2, 2018 at 3:44 PM

    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.

    Reply
  17. Tara says:
    March 3, 2018 at 5:04 PM

    That looks awesome!

    Reply
  18. H.R. Sinclair says:
    March 5, 2018 at 9:28 AM

    If you have to wear a brace, wear it with style. That is awesome and clever and cool and wow!

    Reply
  19. chemistken says:
    March 7, 2018 at 7:57 AM

    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.

    Reply
  20. Chrys Fey says:
    March 10, 2018 at 2:46 PM

    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. 😉

    Reply
  21. J.H. Moncrieff says:
    March 14, 2018 at 1:08 AM

    That is so pretty, Loni! You’re so talented. I love the steampunk flair of it. Well done.

    Reply
  22. Sherry Ellis says:
    March 27, 2018 at 11:22 AM

    That’s cool. It looks like something from Roman times. Hope it works well for you.

    Reply
  23. Jennifer Hawes says:
    May 2, 2018 at 1:44 PM

    Those bracelets look awesome! We have a steampunk festival every September here in Twain’s Town. Those would sell out for sure.

    Reply

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Welcome to my blog. I post here on Wednesdays most of the time, but you can find me on social media any day of the week. My topics include my stories and writing, life at the Town's End, creating and tinkering with graphics, things I learn and think might be helpful to others, and the occasional amateur photo. Thanks for stopping by! I hope to see you around.

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