Camera Strap Make-Over with Tutorial

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I've been seeing cute camera straps lately. They are all the rage. Etsy sellers have anything from the $6 (on sale) Camera Strap Cover to the $39 Recycled Seat Belt Custom Camera Strap. Honestly, I had a strap (and it wasn't trash - just not cute), so I just couldn't justify a cute custom strap. I could easily make myself a strap cover, but that wasn't the look I really wanted. So when I was in Joann's looking at the big bin of grosgrain ribbon spools and saw some really cute ribbons I envisioned a quick and easy project immediately.

This is so easy anyone with sewing capabilities will be kicking themselves for spending money just to have a cuter strap than the one they already own.

Before:

Here's the strap that came with my camera back in February. I finally pulled it out of the packaging last month.

1. Choose the ribbon. I used grosgrain ribbon because it's strong, looks good and had several cute styles. My strap is 1.5 inches wide, so I got 1.5 inch wide ribbon. Pretty simple. At first I wanted a really cute pink with white polka-dots and brown ribbon. But my strap is black and red and the way it would all be put together the red would still show a little on the edges. Pink and brown didn't really go with the black and red. So I opted for a white ribbon with black and red flowers. It cost $2.50 for a 4 yard spool. I have tons left over.

2. Cut the ribbon to the length of the strap. This is the length between the two leather pieces plus about 1 inch to be able to tuck in the ends.

3. Pin the ribbon to the strap. This is a little difficult if the strap is thick, but it will help as you sew. Tuck the ends of the ribbon under just before the leather sections. You can see how this is done in the picture just after Step 5 if you skip ahead. I tried very hard to line it up the best I could so it's not too obvious.

*The rest of my pictures are taken after I put the strap on the camera, hence, the quality is not as good because they are taken with our smaller camera. Sorry.

4. This is a really important step. Match the upper thread on your machine to the ribbon and the thread in the bobbin to the back of the camera strap. I used white on top and black underneath. This keeps the strap looking well made - if I'd had white thread on the black back of the strap it would look less professional. See - you can't tell on this side that anything was changed!

5. Sew the entire perimeter of the ribbon and strap, close to the edge. Remove the pins as you sew. If you are worried about the ribbon not laying flat, sew down both edges from the same end then sew the widths on either end. I didn't need to do that with my strap though. Here you can see how that red from the strap shows - I'm so glad I chose a coordinating color!

6. Put your new strap on your camera and enjoy!

While this wasn't really trash to begin with I think it's safe to say the make-over has significantly improved the strap! Once again I'm linking up to Trash to Treasure Tuesday. Kimm's post this week was a good reminder to me of life's lessons and how we just need to keep going and remember God even when the unexpected happens.