There are some bag making techniques which simply lift your project into the covetable realm of ‘artisan’ or ‘handmade’ and straps fall squarely under this heading.

You can of course, and we often do, leave webbing flat and just add it as a pretty quick handle for just about any bag but did you know that sewing the shaped webbing straps that you often see on high end bags is actually not difficult?

To begin with, you need a cotton webbing. I really don’t like the feel of the nylon ones and they just end up looking tacky to my eyes – a bit like seat belt material.

And you will need something to plump the shaped strap out with. I love cotton cord. It is a thick, waxed sort of cord like the one used for old fashioned clotheslines. The sort that you can sew into those tricksy little baskets is the usual one but literally anything will do and here is a case where you CAN use a thin nylon rope because you will not see it when we are done.

So how do you check for fit? This question is not a silly as it may seem. remember that we are flying blind here because the combinations are endless – I have used windscreen wiper hose in a handle. Literally anything round (ish) that will help the handle to keep its shape is good to go.

But you have to marry the size of the cord just right with the size of the webbing.

Have a look at these pics. In the first, the webbing is too narrow and you have no room to stitch

The second, the cord (or filling) is too narrow and there is too much webbing left over. This will lead to a floppy handle.

This is the Goldilocks zone! The webbing is 1 1/2″ and the cord is about 3/8″. This leaves us just enough space to get in there and sew the edge.

So basically the golden rule is, don’t think that if your cord is really thin that you can go for a thinner webbing. Very narrow webbing will not bend so well. You need webbing around 1 1/2″ wide and the sweet spot for the filling is then about 3/8″. You can scale both of them up of course and the important thing is to have a play with what you have.

And one more point before I show you how. We need to use a zipper foot even though there is not a zipper in sight. I prefer this because you can get up good and close and sew beautifully.

So we need the handles and the cord and your zipper foot at the ready. Add a water soluble marker into the mix and a nice sharp pair of fine scissors and we are ready!

To begin with, find the centre of your webbing and mark it. Do the same on the cord. This only has to be a line using your marker.

Now match those two marks up. The reason for doing this is that now the handle shaper will be bang in the middle of the handle and it will be perfectly balanced.

Now we need to roll the webbing over the cord to form the handle. I like to clip it with Wonder Clips. I would not use pins and if you do not have any Wonder Clips, consider hand basting instead. Pins just get in the way.

Set your machine up with the zipper foot and matching thread for your webbing and then sew from the beginning of the cord filler to the end, backstitching at both ends to keep everything secure. I mark this for accuracy.

Now trim the threads and take a look at your work. Pretty schmick huh? That is actually all there is to it would you believe!

These handles look great anywhere you might use a flat webbing handle on a bag and you can easily customize by following these general instructions to improve the pattern that you have.

Best of all, the shaped handles are more comfortable to carry. They fit into your hands nicely and don’t bunch up.

The bags that you have seen in this post are both Available from my Etsy shop as instant download sewing patterns. The mustard coloured one is the Albany Project Tote and the green one is my newest, the Saratoga Tote (link for this one coming very soon).

See you next time and have fun sewing!

Debbie

xx