Camera Strap TLC

Why not give your camera strap the same rock star treatment you give your photos?

A mod black-and-white camera strap cover with luxurious crushed velvet ruffle would certainly match your camera's appearance with your mad photo skills, eh?

Want an easy to follow tutorial?
(I thought you'd never ask.)

Camera strap how-to

First, make a pattern:
Remove the camera strap from your camera, fold it in half, and trace around the widest part of the neck strap (not the slim, fastening ends--those stick out from your strap cover) onto a piece of paper. Measure and draw a line 1/2 inch out from your original tracing on three sides. This will be your seam allowance. Cut out pattern.

With fabric folded in half, place your pattern on top, with the end NOT marked for seam allowance on the fabric fold. Trace your pattern with a sewing marker. With fabric still folded, cut along your tracing line. Repeat again so you have two identical strips of fabric.

Unfold pieces. Hem both short ends of each strip by pressing 1/4" toward the wrong side of fabric, then fold that 1/4" up again and press. Stitch across. Lay aside for now.

Velvet Ruffle:
Cut two strips of velvet about an inch narrower in width than your pattern. As far as length--this part is tricky. Make it SUPER long, because when you ruffle it, it will shorten considerably. After it is ruffled, you can cut it to match the length of your fabric strips.

With right sides together and using a 1/4" seam allowance, sew the two velvet pieces together on the long sides, leaving short sides open.

Turn right-side out.

Make your ruffle by bunching it together as you run it through your machine, first up one long side, then down the other. There is no exact method here, just bunch away and sew. Keep repeating my personal mantra to yourself: "Perfection is boring." (Thanks, Mary Boswell Droddy, my college roomie.)

Lay the long, finished ruffle on one of the fabric strips and cut the ruffle to fit the length of the fabric. Hem short sides of the ruffle.

Pin ruffle on top of the right side of one fabric strip. Sew on top of the lengthwise stitches already on the ruffle, also sewing across at the short ends to secure.

Pin the sewn together ruffled fabric strip to the plain fabric strip, RIGHT sides together. Sew long sides together. Turn right side out.

Nice work! Now go rock the world with your rock star strap, and remember to send me a photo!