My musician friend Erin (of Mix Tape) celebrated the big 3-0 this weekend. I made her a little gift so she can coordinate outfit to instrument on stage. I like the fact that it’s functional (a guitar strap for her fancy-schmancy guitar) but also homemade (a cover made with a teensy bit of a gorgeous fabric she actually gave me for my birthday).
This simple DIY works for camera straps, guitar straps, or any sort of strap. I think it would even work for a BELT! Think of it, you could have ONE belt with a bunch of covers to match all your cute outfits. How prudent.
Get the full Guitar / Camera Strap Cover DIY after the jump…
DIY Strap / Belt Cover Tutorial
You’ll need 1 strap and some fabric ( I used Heather Ross Far Far Away Unicorns in Blush). Some fusible fleece would make it extra cozy, but I didn’t have any and was unmotivated to drive around searching for it. Here is the guitar strap I bought at guitar center:
1. Wash, iron and cut your fabric. Measure the length of your strap and add one inch, measure the width of your strap and add 1 inch. My pieces were 24″ X 5″ for a final size of 23″ X 4″:
If you’re using fusible fleece, cut pieces the same size and fuse it on now.
2. Fold the short ends under 1/4″ and iron, then another 1/4″ and iron:
Then sew in place with a complimentary thread (you’ll see this seam).
3. Fold the strap cover in half the long way with right sides facing and sew up the side. You can serge the edges:
Or fake serge by using a zigzag stitch (if you are going to do this, cut your fabric 1/2″ smaller for the width so you can catch both edges):
4. Turn your tube inside out (if you need help figuring out how, use the safety pin method I walk through in the DIY Booster seat post for the straps), then iron it flat with the seam in the middle of the back side:
5. Slide it over your strap. It’s going to be snug, this part is kind of a pain. If you wrap a rubber band around the end of the strap that helps it hold this shape, which makes it easier to slide on:
You’re done!
Make a few different ones:
Wrap in a cute package and give to friend:
ooooo. lucky Erin! What a perfect gift! A brilliant idea… and I covet that fabric! I want a unicorn camera strap!!
So many exclamation points!!! I must love this guitar strap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
I love exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love love love it so much!!
i knew it would be amazing. you are crafting genius!
so so cute!! love it 🙂 i wish i was crafty like you 🙂
how fabulous! i can also use this DIY to create my DSLR camera strap! thanks for posting!
Love it, i should make one for the husband!!!
I love the idea of covering a belt!! I blogged your tutorial over at Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-sew-a-guitar-strap-or-belt-cover/2010/02/09/
–Anne
So prudent!!! I want an "origami" fabric belt cover.
That is so cute! Happy birthday to Erin. I love that fabric!!!
Love it! Come link your cute tute at my party: Thursday's Treasures!!
http://treasuresfortots.blogspot.com/2010/02/thursdays-treasures-week-9.html
Where do you find all these wonderful fabrics?
martina! that one my friend got me at Home Ec here in Silver Lake http://www.homeecshop.com/ but i also love ebay, etsy, harts fabric, purl soho and reprot depot!
How do i make this to accommodate the bulk of the adjustment thing.(No idea what the name for it is…but the thing that slides up and down to adjust the length of the strap?) I love this idea and bought my sister one today to make for her birthday, but now I realize that that plastic thing is totally in the way.
It looks to me like she made the cover only go to the adjuster, not over it or past it. The last photo still shows lots of leather strap, and her length measurement is way too short to be the full length of the strap… for example, mine is around 48″ total when adjusted for me.
what a great idea – i've been on the search for a perfect belt for a particular without success, you've just ended my search – I'll make a cover!
Thanks for a great website full of ideas
I bought some awesome Alexander Henry Tatsu fabric last year but wasn’t sure what to do with it, lol. My husband requested a guitar strap but I have been unable to find out or figure out how I would do that. Tada! Here you are! Thanks for the great idea!!
I’ve thought about making a camera strap cover before but always figured it would have to have velcro in there somewhere. This is a great idea, no velcro required!
“measure the width of your strap and add 1 inch”
I need to double the measurement first, right? For a 2.5″ wide strap, I would need to cut the fabric 6″ wide.
This is so cute! I love the unicorn, it’s a great detail. My sister is turning 13 in a couple weeks and is really into the guitar. I didn’t know it could be so easy to make personal guitar straps but now that I do I am definitely going to make one for her. Thank you for sharing! http://www.leather-guitar-straps.com/en/
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