Some bags are great no matter what and some need a little help. Sometimes that help can be as easy as swapping out a strap. My current rave fave is the guitar strap. I mean, c’mon- how rock ‘n roll can you get! Now for the kosher music people out there, this guitar strap has been modified a bit to make it useful on a bag. Normally the leather ends have a small aperture to fit over pegs or similar on a musical instrument. I have swapped that out to add swivel clips instead. This makes the strap removable and bag friendly.

I am going to be referencing my new Verona Saddle Bag (link coming super soon) for this tute. It is a cute every day bag with heaps of features and IMHO, what has lifted it from a regular (and a bit boring) mommy bag is that strap!

Best of all, the strap is pretty easy to construct. Now the pattern gives all of the deets about sizes and what to cut when so this tute is all about a deep dive into how to put it together.

First up, what do we need?

• the webbing for the strap. Guitar straps are pretty wide so 1 1/2″ – 2″ is ideal
• the decorative trim. I have chosen a 1″ wide woven Indian cotton ribbon which has the right vibe and it fits perfectly onto my 1 1/2″ webbing
• the leather or vegan leather end tabs. Your pattern will show you what to do here
• a rectangle ring to suit the webbing
• 2 swivel clips
• 1 bag slider
• glue and matching threads for the webbing and the ribbon, Fray Stopper (optional) and double sided tape

The first thing to do is to prepare the webbing. This stuff can unravel really badly so on one end, treat with either Fray Stopper or clear drying glue. I actually just use a PVA glue and I use it sparingly and carefully. When it is dry, trim any stray threads.

The ribbon is deliberately cut a couple of inches longer than the webbing because on the treated end, the ribbon trim will wrap over the end. More on that later but be aware that when you put the trim on in the next step, the overhang is all on one end.

Now lay the ribbon trim onto the webbing and centre it really beautifully. I find that double sided tape is the best way to get it to stay put. Pins and clips don’t work that well and it is easier to topstitch if it stays where you put it.

Now topstitch the trim to the webbing making sure that you have thread to match the ribbon trim in the top of the machine and a different one to match the webbing in the bobbin. Backstitch at the beginning and end of the topstitching.

On the overhang end, trim the overhang to about 1 1/4″, wrap the extra bit over the end and add some glue to help it stay there. I always do this because the overhang wrap is neater and stronger and it also helps to support the webbing end and stop any unravelling. You cannot have too much help with this!

Time for some hardware! You need the slider. Take the wrapped end of the strap and thread it through the middle bar of the slider. Give it about 1 1/2″. I use another dob of glue to hold it in place.

Machine or hand stitch that end. I prefer hand stitching. It is every bit as strong and so much neater. But if your superpower is machine stitching, go for it!

We can leave the strap for a bit and get on with the leather details.

Next shape the leather ends. The idea here is that many swivel clips are about 1″ wide and the leather tab is 2 1/4″ wide in this case. This means that we need to create a ‘waist’ of 1″ in the middle so that it will fit over the clip without scrunching up. The pattern has the measurements for this and a nifty drafting trick too.

Next we do some preliminary stitching. Whether you choose real leather or vegan leather (your personal choice and it will not affect the outcome), we are used to seeing stitching on ‘leather’ items. So the next step is to stitch the ‘waist’ area only. We have to do this first because once the swivel clip is on, we cannot reach this area anymore.

Don’t be tempted to stitch all the way around at this point because we are going to topstitch everything together at the end and if you do it twice, it can look really clunky.

Time to complete one of the ends. We will start with the end containing the rectangle ring. We need a swivel clip, the tab and the rectangle ring. We don’t need the strap just yet. Actually, this is a great use for an orphan rectangle ring. Mostly bag making requires two of everything. It is super refreshing to find a use for leftovers!

Put the swivel clip and the rectangle ring onto the tab and fold the tab in half

Slide the ring down a bit and align the top edge of the tab. Stitch right across backstitching at the beginning and end. Bring the rectangle ring hard against that seam. It needs to be right up there touching it and I actually like to use my zipper foot to get in nice and close for the next bit.

Topstitch the tab closed with a classic ‘X’. This X will be a slightly flattened one compared to the other end. This is usual though and to be expected because the rectangle ring takes up some room.

We can add the strap in now! Firstly take the free end and bring it through the rectangle ring from the bottom up.

Now take that free end through the bag slider. My slider is a really tight fit (not a bad thing because it cannot slip) A bit of wiggling is needed to get those thick layers through.

Make sure that you have enough free length to work with and we can finish the free end. We need the other swivel clip and the other tab. Thread the swivel clip onto the tab and settle in in the centre as before. Lay the end of the strap onto the tab 1 1/4″ in from the edge. I like to add a small amount of glue here.

Close the tab (more glue) and clip it until it dries.

Sew the same X as you did on the other tab.

And that’s it! You can clip this to any bag that has some tabs and either d-rings or rectangle rings to clip it onto. Mostly you can swap the straps that are suggested in a pattern for this one just as long as it has something there to clip it onto.

By the way, before I go, you are also more than welcome to make these in small quantities to sell at markets and online. I am super happy for you to earn money with them as long as you acknowledge me as the designer and don’t make them in the millions.

Have fun and happy sewing. See you next time!

Debbie xx