Desperate to get your hands on your own version of Ms. Marvel’s bracelet for you or your pint-sized superhero?
Well, like me, you are going to have to make it yourself. Because Disney don’t seem to have realised they’ve just released a new movie, or indeed that it’s the 21st century, where little girls might like to dress up as superheroes too. I can’t think why else their own web store, on the opening weekend of The Marvels, would have not a single female hero costume for sale, let alone one for their new film.
But never fear, girls, Disney will make sure you can always be a princess.
So if you want Thor’s hammer, Rapunzel’s tiara, or Captain America’s shield? The Disney Store have got you covered. But for Ms. Marvel, I’m afraid you’re going to have to stick with us. Don’t worry though, your DIY Ms. Marvel bangle is going to be even more Marvel-lous than anything you could have bought!
Not got much time or just want the bullet points on how to make these? Click here for the Quick Read Instructions on how to make Ms. Marvel’s bracelet.
Ms. Marvel and The Marvels
We are huge fans of the Ms. Marvel TV series in our house, so were really excited about the release of The Marvels, which sees the all-female team-up of Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, and Ms. Marvel herself – Kamala Khan.
We loved the warm, colourful, and authentic portrayal of American-Pakistani culture, and the exuberance and relatable charm of Kamala Khan in the TV series, and she is the only superhero my 9-year-old daughter has ever shown the slightest enthusiasm for (well, other than Peni Parker and Gwen Stacy in the Spider-verse films).
So as The Marvels release date was set for the weekend after her birthday, we girded our loins and shepherded half a dozen excitable pre-teen girls (and one chill boy teenager) plus a gaggle of parents to the cinema.
I will spare you the detailed movie review as we’re here to craft, but I will say the whole group thought it was great – exciting, fun and funny. It was fast-paced (thank god for not another 3-hour plus dour epic), with fantastic characters, a passable plot, and – mini spoiler – kittens! Bravo, Marvel, bravo.
It being a birthday outing, I would have loved to have gotten the girls (and boy) something Ms./Captain/ Professor (you’ll get it when you see it) Marvel-themed, but there is nothing – not even paper plates or party bags.
So, wearing our ‘girl power’ badges, my daughter and I decided we’d make up for it by creating our own Ms. Marvel bangle. It was, you’ll be pleased to hear, very easy and (bar drying time for the paint) quick to do.
How to make Ms. Marvel’s bracelet
Ms. Marvel’s bracelet is a wonder of intricate metalwork, gorgeous bling, and green stone that somehow glows purple. Ours is going to be sooo similar. Well, okay, intricate scrollwork and actual gold might be beyond us, but our impressionistic take has its own charm, and I promise you will love it.
Mini-me and I used bits and pieces we found around the house to make ours, so hopefully you’ll also have a lot of what you need. In the instructions, I’ve included ideas for alternative materials to help you avoid spending much dosh – save it all for those cinema tickets!
This post uses affiliate links, which means I receive a small amount when you click through to a link and buy. You can find out more on my ‘about affiliate links’ page.
Materials needed to make Ms. Marvel’s bangle
- A cardboard tube. We used a tube from wrapping-paper, but you could use kitchen roll or toilet roll tubes too.
- Gold paint. This is a must. No getting around it – we need to make it bling!
- Glue – we used a combination of PVA (white school) glue and hot glue. Either or both will work.
- Ribbons, lace, and thick cord or wool.
- A stapler (optional)
The ribbons, lace, and string are to add texture to the bracelet, and mimic the intricate patterns and raised areas on the real thing. We used bits and pieces we already have, and there are lots of alternative materials or methods you could use instead. See further down for some ideas!
Instructions for a DIY Ms. Marvel bracelet
We’re going to use a cardboard tube to make ms marvel’s bangle. Whether you use one or two will depend on the diameter of your tube, and the size of the wrist that will wear it. For young children, you can probably get away with one, but adults and older children will need to use two.
Ours is made with two, so you can skip the steps where we join them together if you don’t need to do this.
Measure twice, cut once…
If, like us, you are going to add ribbons to add texture and pattern to your bangle, then before we begin actually making it, we will need some measurements.
Ribbons and lace
Measure the width of your ribbons and lace, and decide how you want to arrange them on your Marvel bangle. This will tell you how long your bracelet needs to be.
If you look at a picture of Ms. Marvel’s bracelet, you will see that it has intricate bands of pattern and script, separated by raised bands of gold, and with some of the bands being green.
So for our bangle, we used one wide ribbon for the middle band, and a gold lace ribbon to make bands on either side. We put a green ribbon underneath the lace, but we could just as easily have used paper, fabric, or paint for this green colour. These bands were separated by thick cord, to look like the thicker bands of gold on Ms. Marvel’s own bangle.
Our cord was 1cm wide, the lace was 2cm, and the ribbon was 3cm. Once laid out in the pattern we wanted, we had a total length of 11cm, as shown in this picture.
Once you know how long your bangle needs to be, you are ready to start making Ms. Marvel’s bracelet.
Cut your tube to size
1. Start by cutting a long slit down the length of your tube. This needs to be a little bit longer than your actual measurements, to give you a bit extra for trimming and tidying up the edges later on.
At the top of the slit, cut around the circumference of the tube to remove it from the rest.
2. Once your bracelet piece has been cut out, try it on the person who will be wearing it to see if you need a second tube. They should be able to separate the long slit to open it up and put it around their wrist, and the tube’s natural tension should then spring it closed so that it is secure.
If the tube doesn’t close completely around their wrist, you will need a second piece. Cut it in exactly the same way as the first, so that you have two identical tubes with slits all the way down the length. You will join them together later.
Paint it gold…
3. Even though you are going to be covering much of the cardboard with ribbon, you will probably want to give the tube (or tubes) a base coat of gold. It’s easiest to do this before you join the two together.
We painted ours inside and out, but later on decided to stick some fabric on the inside of the bracelet (once it was finished) to make it more comfortable to wear. The inside of the tube won’t be visible when you are wearing the bangle, so you can just stick to painting the outside if you like.
While the paint is drying, use some pegs to hold your bracelet closed in a tight tube, so that it keeps the tension that holds it secure when you are wearing it. Otherwise that soggy cardboard might dry in a more open, looser shape.
Join the tubes together
4. Nest the two tubes so that one of the tubes is inside the other, Use a stapler or hot glue gun to connect them along one of the long edges, as shown. You should end up with a tube that opens wider than before, and that is still slit along the length.
We used a stapler to make sure the join was strong, but you will probably need to cover any staples with tape or fabric on the inside of the tube, to make sure they don’t scratch the bracelet wearer.
Create the raised bands
5. We used white cord to make the raised bands on Ms. Marvel’s bracelet. So before we did anything else, we needed to stick on this cord and paint it gold.
For this thicker, macrame cord, we used hot glue to hold it in place as we were in a rush. But PVA glue would also have done the job (if we’d had a little more patience to wait for it to dry!).
Once the cord is firmly stuck in place, you can paint it gold to match the tube.
We could have used thick cardboard (or layers of card) to make these raised bands, so if you don’t have any suitable cord, try doing that instead. The card will also need to be painted gold once it is in place.
Add texture
6. Once the raised bands are stuck on, painted, and dry, you can move on to the textured areas in between. We used PVA glue (the liquid white glue used in schools) to stick on our ribbons and lace, as this dries completely clear.
Stick your ribbons in place, between the raised bands and fold the ends over to the inside of the bracelet. You can cover these up later with tape or fabric, but for now just make sure they are also glued down.
If you are using white glue, you may need to use your pegs again to hold everything in a tight tube shape while the glue dries.
Paint the ribbons
7. Once the ribbons are secure and the glue is dry, you can decide whether you want to paint these in the same gold as the rest of the bangle.
As we wanted to have green showing through our lace ribbon, we only painted the wider gold ribbon in the middle of our bangle. And only because it was more of a pewter colour that was noticeably different to everything else.
Again, make sure to peg your tube into a tight shape while everything dries.
Alternatives to ribbon
If you haven’t got/don’t want to use ribbon to create the textures of Ms. Marvel’s bangle, there are lots of alternatives. For example, you could use brocade fabric for a similar effect. Or glue thin string in scrolliing patterns. Check your recycling to see if you have any embossed or die-cut cardboard from food and drink packaging, or make your own by cutting holes in strips of cardboard that you can layer onto your bracelet.
Whatever you use, you’ll probably need to paint it to create a uniform colour, so make sure that paint will stick to anything you use – plastic is probably not a good idea!
Golden linings
To make ms marvel’s bracelet as comfortable to wear as possible, we lined the inside with felt. I happened to have some self-adhesive felt, so it was as simple as measuring to size and then sticking down.
If you don’t have sticky-back felt, you can use ordinary felt (or any other fabric) and stick it down with glue or double-sided sticky tape. Alternatively, you could use a layer of paper or even craft foam – anything that makes the interior look neater by covering the folded-over ribbon ends, and more comfortable by padding the staples.
Once the lining is done, your Ms. Marvel bangle is finished! Slap that baby on, and go be a superhero…
Let’s hear it for Girl Power!!
More from Rhubarb and Wren
Looking for more fun things to make and do with the kids? Check out these great activities from Rhubarb and Wren!
Pin this for later!
Want to bookmark this so you can make ms marvel’s bracelet later? Save this post to Pinterest!
Quick-Read Instructions on how to make Ms Marvel’s bangle
For when you just want to get right to the point…
Materials needed:
(these are all Amazon affiliate links – see my ‘About Affiliate links‘ page for more information)
1) A cardboard tube. E.g. inner tube for wrapping paper, toilet paper, kitchen towel.
2) Gold paint
3) Glue – PVA (white craft) glue and/or hot glue.
4) Ribbons, lace, and thick cord or wool.
5) A stapler (optional)
Method:
1. Cut a cardboard tube to the required length, then cut a slit lengthways.
2. If a bigger bangle is required, repeat with a second tube.
3. Paint the cardboard tube gold
4. If using two tubes, staple or glue them together along the long edge, to make a bigger tube.
5. Glue cord onto the tube to make raised bands. Paint gold and leave to dry.
6. In between the cord, glue lace, ribbon or other textured material. Paint gold if necessary as well.
7. Line the bangle with felt or other material, to make the bangle look neater and more comfortable to wear.