covered

I have been in the sewing room making goodies for friends and family. Camera straps are a quick and easy gift. Here are a few that I have made lately.

I used a mixture of tutorials, but really all you need to do is find some fun scraps in your stash, some felt and your imagination. Measure out 26x5 inches of felt (this is for the 'backing' and to give the strap a bit of padding, you could also use padded interface if you have it around) Then mix and match fabrics to measure the same length and width (so 5 inch wide scraps combined to equal 26 inches long when sewn together). Make sure to iron the seems open flat so they lay nicely for the next steps. Place the fabric wrong side down on the felt or interface (you will have the right side of the fabric showing and the felt/interface on the back)and fold down the ends over towards the felt/interface and secure with your sewing machine. This will make for a smooth and clean finish to the ends of the strap cover. I then did some free form 'quilting' and sewed the lengthwise along the strap, up and down about 3 or for times. This adds a nice detail and also secures the felt and the fabric together. Turn the whole thing so that the felt or interface is facing out and sew the sides together along the long edge to make a case. Turn right side out and then iron so it lays flat and neat. Slip it over your existing strap and there you go! a custom strap cover. Easy, no?

The next round I make will have a little pocket to slip my lens cap into- I am always loosing it, setting it down or sticking it in a random pocket of my pants or jacket. It would be great to have a designated spot for it to go. I even found a tutorial today that beat me to the punch of this idea on Craft Gossip.