Custom Leather Watchbands

I replaced the watch bands for two of my watches with custom leather bands. It's hard to find watch bands that fit my wrists, so I decided to make new ones in the length I needed. When I was 9 years old, my father taught me how to make the one-piece strap band seen on the rectangular watch and I used some of those techniques to make the two-piece band of the round watch. Both designs use the hardware from the previous watch bands.

Leather (2mm and 4mm thick)

Hardware from original watch bands

Leather Rivets

Leather Sheers

Utility Knife

Pencil

Leather Punches: Oval (15mm) and Round (2mm, 4mm)

Mallet

Razor Blade

Rivet Tools

Ruler

3/4 in Binder Clips

Cutting Pad

Craft Glue

The one-piece band is actually two pieces in this example, but you don't have to make the wide leather piece.

Start by removing the band from the old watch by weaving the thinner leather strap out of the thicker piece.

Trace the original band pieces on the underside of the leather, adding 3cm to the length of the strap for the buckle. For this piece I used the same thickness leather and shaved it down to 2mm with a razor blade, it would save time to purchase a swatch of leather 2mm in thickness. You will need the extra length for the fold over that holds the buckle in place (about 34cm long, 15mm wide). In my example, I made the length another 6cm longer to accommodate my larger wrist and to make a comfortable fit. The wide piece I left the same size because it fit well (just under 19.5cm). Then make marks for the oval cutouts; mine were centered at 4.5cm and 8cm from one end and 2.5cm and 7.5cm from the other end.

Cut out all the straps carefully using a utility knife. Don't cut the ovals out yet.

In addition, cut a 1cm x 34cm strap out of the 2mm leather. This will be used for the holds for the strap ends.

Cut the buckle out of the old band, then line it up in with the end of the 2mm strap. Fold it over the bar of the buckle so it is about 1.75-2cm, enough that it will hold the buckle and accommodate a small rivet. Mark the center of the fold with a dot (this is where the tongue will go through). Now punch a hole with your 4mm punch centered on the mark you just made. Next, fold it back over making sure the center of your hole is on the edge of the end of the strap. Hold the fold in place and mark where the rivet will go. Once the placement of the rivet is marked, check it with a rivet making sure there is 1-2mm of leather after the rivet. Using your 4mm punch, make a hole through both completely. Unfold, set the buckle in, noting the curve of the tongue is orientated with the finish side of the leather. Apply craft glue to the inside of the fold and line up the rivet holes. Set the rivet by placing the rivet and cap through the hole and hammer it in using the rivet tools. Now make the strap end holder by cutting a 7cm piece off of the narrow 2mm piece of leather. Fold the piece around the band just under the buckle so it overlaps the width of the band. Make sure it is snug but loose enough to slide the strap in, cutting down if necessary. Mark the center of the of the overlapping area. Make a hole with the 4mm punch through the two overlapped ends to set another rivet. Glue the overlapping pieces together so the holes line up then set the rivet. This can be tricky because you have to fold over the looped band to line up the rivet tool. I suggest lining up the holes and let the glue set first, before setting the rivet.

*If making a simple one-piece band, continue to the step 6 for punching the buckle holes and you will be done.

Now you can get the wide strap and double check all of the marks. Using the oval punch centered on each mark, punch out each hole.

Weave the narrow band through, starting at the end with the hole closest to the edge. Go from the top under and then back up through the watch (making sure the buckle is at 12 o'clock) and going back under the wide band. The watch case should rest on the wide band, not the narrow one.

Mark the end without the buckle just past the end of the wide strap. Then from there make evenly spaced dots until you reach just over 1cm from the end. (Do not go less then 1cm from the end). I used the strap from my old watch band to set my marks. Using the 2mm punch, centered on each mark, then punch the buckle holes.

Using the 4mm thick leather, trace the watch band of the complete watch adding 2.5cm to accommodate the fold to hold the buckle. I added an additional 3cm to make my band longer totaling 28.5cm. My watch band measures 20mm wide at the case and 18mm wide at the buckle. To account for this, I lined up the ends of my old band to the ends of the leather strap to trace and cut the taper.

Mark a line across the strap at 11.5cm. The short half will be the half with the buckle, so on the short side of the line mark with a B. On the other side mark with an H for holes. Cut the strap in half at the line. Fold over the ends marked with letters at about 1.25cm, then fold over the other end of the B piece at 1.5cm. On the underside of the 1.25cm folds, use a razor blade to shave the area that overlaps, about 1mm, being careful not to cut yourself or through the leather. Do the same under the 1.5cm fold. Fold back and mark punch holes for rivets on the 1.25cm ends. Then using the 4mm punch, make holes. Because my watch band hardware has quick release pins, I also had to cut holes for the quick release mechanism, which are the additional offset holes in the picture (you don't have to do this for normal pins). Apply craft glue to the end of the 1.25cm side of the straps, making sure there is a hollow unglued spot for the pins to move freely. Then use the same procedure from the previous instructions to mark the holes for the buckle. Align the holes and glue in place. With this type of buckle, you can set it once everything is dried and riveted. Place the binder clips on the ends of the folds, applying pressure to the glued areas which will hold them in place until they dry.

Cut off two pieces of the 1cm wide leather strip at 7.5cm long each. Measure, fold and punch those two pieces according to your band measurements, using the same methods as with the previous band. Line up the hole and glue the same way as well, making sure to only set a rivet in one after the glue dries. The other strap end holder will be attached to the buckle rivet. Once the glue has dried, align the strap end holder without the rivet with the buckle rivet hole and then set the rivet. Slide the loose strap holder onto the band rivet side down. Set the remaining rivets.

Assemble the buckle and attach the watch band. Mark the punch holes using the same technique as the previous band. Your watch is now ready to wear.