So I have this camera. But it's not
really my camera. It's actually my parents'. And it's actually a pretty nice Camera (Canon Rebel T2i), and my parents let me use it just about as much as I want. In fact, all of my photography posts on this blog so far have been with my parents' camera. Although I would LOVE to own my own camera someday soon (time to start saving more $!), for now I'm blessed to at least be able to use such a nice camera. When I saw that my friend had posted a
DIY camera strap cover on her
blog this past winter, we decided together that we would sew the covers as a project together. Since I am not a seamstress
at all, we went to her house to sew the camera straps. My parents made sure that I didn't pick out any fabric that was too girly, but I ended up LOVING what I picked out anyway!
So, you might be asking:
why do I need a camera strap cover anyway? And why go to all the trouble to make one? Well, if you've ever been on a long trip or just out-and-about taking a bunch of pictures, you know that camera straps can be uncomfortable. Although there are plenty of already-made camera strap covers out there, with this tutorial, you have the option to customize it yourself, plus it's cheaper! The total for my fabric (and fleece) came out to the 'huge' sum of $8.50. That's it.
Now do you want to make your own? Of course you do! Oh, and did I mention it's
easy?
You will need:
- A sewing machine (optional, but works and looks best with one)
- 1/4 yard patterned fabric
- 1/4 yard plain fabric
- 1/4 yard pellon fusible light fleece interfacing
You will not need all of the fabric, but this is a good start, and it leaves room for mistakes.
- scissors
- iron/ironing board
- camera (strap)
- thread
- marker/pencil/pen (optional)
- ruler/tape measure
Begin by taking the strap off of your camera.
Next, measure the width of your camera strap, and add on about an inch to that number. This will be the width of the fabric for your cover. Mine was 2 5/8 in.
Then measure the length of your strap, adding about an inch to either side, which will be the length of the fabric for your strap. I ended up cutting out 27 in. in length.
Now remove any excess fabric, and measure out your fabric, according to the measurements you just made. Mine was 2 5/8 x 27 in.
If you want, you can use your original measurements for the second strip of fabric, or you can just lay out the first strip over the second, and either pin it down, or just cut around it. Then place the strips of fabric back-to-back, and begin pinning along one of the longer sides.
Now sew along the edge of the fabric where you pinned, taking out the pins as you go. for the first side, it is safe to sew closer to the edge rather than father, so that you have room to adjust on the other side.
Now heat up that iron and get to work! At this stage, all you need to iron is the seam. Lay your fabric face-down on the ironing board, and spread out the seam. Iron the sides down.
Lay your fabric over-top of the fleece, and cut close to the edges. Then place the fabric face-down onto the side of the fleece that is scratchy or bumpy.
Place the fleece onto your ironing board, and spritz with a little bit of water.
Then iron the entire surface a few times, pressing down instead of sliding. Once your done, try to separate the fabric from the fleece. If it comes off, then you need to iron it again, until it sticks.
Now for the edge. Fold over the amount of fabric you want, depending on the desired width of the edge. (If you want, you can fold this down twice, but it might end of being too thick.) Pin the edge of the fabric, and sew close to the edge. For a special touch, sew another straight line down the middle.
Repeat this process for the other end.
Fold the fabric on 1/2, long-ways, so that the fleece is on the outside. Pin the open edge and sew along it. This is where you get out your camera strap, and measure where you want to sew the edge. Make sure you cut off any excess fabric when you are done.
Now comes the hardest part: turning it inside out. You can use a pen or whatever works best for you. Once you've done that, go ahead and 'thread' the strap through the cover. {You know that feeling when you finish that last stitch or in this case, pull the camera strap through the cover? Yeah, that's a pretty nice feeling.}
Here is my completed cover! I absolutely love the way it turned out!
And...ta da! Just attach your camera strap back onto your camera, and model for a few pictures! (Just kidding, you can skip the whole modeling part, but it is fun to show off your new project.)
By the way, you might have noticed that the t-shirt I am wearing is from another recent tutorial of mine. See how to refashion this t-shirt
here.
