Camera Strap Tutorial

I love the new camera strap covers I have been seeing everywhere on ETSY. After looking at them, I decided I didn't need to pay $14-$33 for a camera strap when I could make my own. I love how it turned out too. =)

Now, all camera straps are the same width. Most of the DSLR cameras have a wide strap, but my new camera came with a narrow 1" wide strap. The part you want to measure is the actual strap, not the width of the little leather piece that encases the strap and the little narrow strip that actually attaches to the camera. That leather piece will be showing after the strap cover is on your camera strap.

After you have measured your strap, you are going to want to cut a piece of fabric. For mine, I cut a piece 3" wide. For the length, I only cut off the selvage at the end of the fabric.

Next, on the WRONG side of the fabric, you are going to turn in the SHORT ends of your fabric by a 1/4" and press. Then, turn it in another 1/4", sew, and repeat for the other end of the fabric. This will give you the finished edges so there is no unraveling of the fabric when applying it to your strap, or removing it from your strap.

Now you are ready to create a tube. This is done by folding the fabric in half length wise with RIGHT sides touching. (At this point you can pin it, but I prefer not to pin if I don't have to.) After folding in half, I pressed the fabric. This was sufficient to keep the pieces in place so I could sew it. I stitched the length of the fabric using a 1/2" seam.

Now you are ready to turn your camera strap cover to the right side. For this step I had to use a turning tool. If you do not have one, you can use a chop stick or an unsharpened pencil...something that will help you to push the fabric. This step may take a little while depending on the width of your strap cover. The more narrow the cover, the harder it is to turn right side out.

Now that you have your camera strap cover finished and turned out, press it again with the iron to get a crisp edge. Take your time putting it on the camera strap. It may be necessary for you to fold over the leather part of the camera strap which attaches the actual strap to the smaller piece that attaches to your camera. The strap will be longer than your actual camera strap. This is what gives the gathered effect once you get it on your strap.

This is what your finished strap cover will look like. Now attach your camera and you are ready to go.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, I will be happy to assist you with anything you may have trouble with.