in our ongoing quest to customize every object we get our hands on, we’ve tackled all sorts of random things around our home (ikea furniture, curtains, bedspreads…) so it’s about time that we finally got crafty with one of the items we spend the most time with: our camera. don’t get us wrong, we’re not ashamed if people know we use a canon, but we don’t feel the need to advertise it like we were nascar drivers. hence our desire to cover up our logo-heavy strap with something a little easier on the eyes.
have fun!
derek & lauren
CLICK HERE for the full project after the jump!
here’s what you’ll need:
a pre-existing camera strap that is begging for a facelift
a small piece of fabric that is at least 23” x 4”
scissors
measuring tape or ruler
sewing machine
rubber band
1. choose your fabric
2. measure your existing camera strap. these instructions are for a standard dslr strap with the fabric portion measuring 20.5” long by 1.5” wide.
3. cut your fabric to 22.5” x 4”.
4. fold in the short ends 1/2” and press. fold over another 1/2”, press, and stitch down with your sewing machine.
5. with right sides together, fold your fabric in half lengthwise and stitch down the entire length, 1/4” in from the raw edges, forming a tube.
6. turn your tube right side out (using a handy loop turning tool if you’ve got one).
7. press open the seam.
8. slide the strap cover over the existing strap. the vinyl piece at each end of your camera strap is a little wider than the fabric part, so you’ll need to fold it in half as best you can and secure it with a tight rubber band to make feeding it into your new fabric strap cover a little easier.
80 Comments
That is a genius idea! I’m going to do that for my Canon, for sure! Thanks for sharing this great post!
Love it! I’m doing that this weekend. The texture of the strap drives my neck nuts and this is WAY more fun.
brilliant!
This is so fun. I love the bright colors. Reading about it I had another idea. Why not use an old neck tie for the strap? And what a great idea for Father’s Day! Upgrade Dad’s camera strap. A fun twist on the gift of a tie.
very pretty…I’m proud of my Nikon strap though…I’d probably only use the pretty strap if it matched my outfit! HA!
Great idea! Another version could be with a vintage mens neck tie. :o) Thanks for the idea!
Looks like steps 6 and 7 are in the wrong order…you should probably press open the seam before turning it right side out.
OK, seriously? I was going to sit down to figure out how to do this TODAY! Now I don’t have to go to the trouble of measuring or anything (granted, this would have been minimal). Thanks so much for the quick and easy tutorial!
This would also be a great avenue for some self promotion at events! Just screen print your logo onto your fabric! This is such a great idea!
I love the idea of personalizing everything. It makes life MUCH more fun! What a great idea! (now to go get a decent camera)
Smart! I was wondering how I could customize my camera just yesterday! I’m going to make this a soon as possible!
I love it! I would like to do this for my camera-strap. It looks fairly easy too!
What a great idea- I’m definitely going to do this! I hate the big logos on my camera strap.
you geniuses! i’m making one! :)
Super idea!! I hate walking around with all the other tourist and our matching bright yellow and black Nikon straps, grrrr. This is a great solution. Now the hard part, what fabric to use??
LOVE! Such a great idea.
Now I just need to decide which fabric to use!!
What a wonderful tutorial!! I personally don’t enjoy advertising my blatant Sony dSLR strap, and this is a wonderful way to make it much more discrete and personalized.
A.MAZ.ING.
Love it. And totally doing it.
So smart! Definitely putting this on my craft queue.
I can’t wait to make this for my mom! She’ll love it! Gorgeous!
Can wait to do it myself!
Lovely!
=)
genius!
Flippin’ BRILLIANT.
love it! How great is this for being able to match your strap to your outfit! I was planning a similar project with dog leashes and collars for next week, but I may have to try this one first. Thanks!
Awesome! I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, but having a tutorial now is great!
Thanks :D
Excellent! Love it!
I have bags and bags of fabric and a canon that i use aaallll the time and I’ve never liked it’s strap!
Now if we can just come up with a nicer bag that isn’t so bulky but can house, protect & look interesting at the same time (without a big price tag attached!
Oh that is too good! Bookmarking for the future so that I can rock one of these when I get my new Canon.
Brilliant.
Will spray mine with Scotch Guard to make it more dirt resistant and easy to clean. :)
I was wondering what the rubber band was for….
what a fun idea!!
nice work – i just did this to my camera strap a couple months ago – i love my canon but i don’t feel the need to advertise “canon digital” everywhere i go. thanks for the nascar comparison, very fitting.
very funky, a great idea i think.
That’s a BRILLIANT idea because I’ve got two vintage Pentax Spotmatics (one my dad’s, the other an eBay backup) & I’m using the backup without a strap, just kitchen string. Since I bring it everywhere, it’s been carving a ridge in my neck. Will try this – thank you!
p.s. I thought it was a man’s tie – my husband has tons – I’m going to do the lazy way, and use one of his.
very nice idea! you can also use an extra large safety pin – or if you have one, an antique diaper pin – to turn the tube right side out.
great idea now I just need to learn how to sew :) this looks like a easy enough project and for cute!
Cool idea…i will love matching this with my outfits I wear to weddings and cordinatling it with my new jill-e camera bag as well….I can find the perfect match now!
Thanks for the great idea! I always feel very self-conscious advertising my tourist status with the giant Canon strap. This idea is so simple and cute I can’t believe I never thought of it before.
That’s so cool, I was just thinking how I want to cover my strap – thanks!
J’adore! Je n’y avais pas pensé
Oh this is awesome! I can’t wait to try it. I really don’t like my strap…
great idea! i am quite tired of that huge yellow NIKON staring at me…time to use some ikea fabric!
Love it. Am kicking off my summer crafts must-do list with it-thanks!
So in love!
*runs and makes several in different colors*
made mine in 40 min with ikea fabric – THANK YOU!
http://twitpic.com/7r81l
This also seems like a good way to prevent accidental “theft”. Nice tutorial with clear pics!
Did they change the standard length for a Canon DSLR strap? The fabric portion of my Canon DSLR strap is 23.5 inches. I thought for sure since they were talking Canon I would be good to go, so I’ve made it and it is a full 2+ inches short! So, if you’re going to try this, make sure to measure you camera strap to be sure!
Great idea! This comes just in time for vacation & wedding season.
i recently bought myself a DSLR. i found this tutorial today, ran out+bought fabric and whipped one up: http://twitpic.com/82043. the first try was wobbly, the second was as close to perfect as i’d ever be able to get it. yeah!
Fantastic! this will make the strap more comfortable around the neck, too!
awesome. I think i’ll make several so I can chop and change for all occations. Thanks!
adorable
Cannot WAIT to try this!
Brilliant idea! I love my camera and couldn’t wait to personalise it. Here’s the finished product, http://www.flickr.com/photos/39765966@N07/?saved=1
I made this last night and it turned out GREAT! I ended up sewing the cover to the strap itself, at each end and down the whole side. It makes it look a little more finished and keeps it from bunching up.
Thanks for a fantastic Xmas idea for my impossible-to-shop-for photojournalist brother. Now I just have to find the perfect fabric.
Has anyone tried quilting the strap to give it extra padding? Just thinking it might make it even more comfy for him to wear for long periods of time.
I have a ton of photographer friends this would make a great gift for them!
I’ve been looking for a tutorial for a camera strap cover that gives a tight professional looking finish for ages. Too many were baggy and looked homemade, but this one is excellent. made my already and I LOVE it!
LOVE this idea! can’t wait to try it out. thanks for the tips.
This is such a great tutorial! I’ve seen these around and thought they were a great way to personalize your camera… thanks for the instructions! I can’t wait to do mine… now the hard part- picking out fabric!
Made mine today. Can’t wait to make some more.
Thanks for such great instructions!
I had customized my strap already with ribbon, but now I can change as often as I like.
i made 2 today and i love them!
thanks so much for the easy tutorial!!
This is my next project! Getting a new camera on Wednesday so I need to welcome it in style.
Thanks, I made mine today for my son. thanks for the tips.
Thanks for the tutorial. I whipped one up this summer and posted about it here
http://craftevangelist.blogspot.com/2009/11/camera-strap-cover.html
Great idea. I just got a new Canon and attached the strap today. Although I do like the strap and I am proud to be a Canon user…I was thinking how dirty/beat up looking it was going to get. This is a great way to protect my Canon strap and keep it new looking….thanks for a great idea. Now if I only had an embroidery machine I would sew a Canon logo on my strap cover…
I love it! Just wondering though, since it’s not attached to the strap itself, will it slide and bunch a lot? Any suggestions on keeping it in place before I make one? Maybe snap buttons? That way you can still change it out for different outfits! Think that would work?
I am a novice crafter but I do have a sewing machine and some extra fabric lying around. Just bought DH a Canon for Valentine’s Day (okay, it’s really for me…) and can’t stand the strap. This looks easy enough to try. Thanks!
Just made one for my own camera strap and it’s awesome!!! I’ll be making them for my sis and friends. So easy and really takes care of the unsightly strap plus the abrasive edges of the stock camera strap
its awesome!!! cant wait to make a fashion strap for my camera that fits to my mood.thanks a lot.
How wonderful of you to teach us how to do this ourselves. I’m so tired of seeing gorgeous straps for sale for $30 or more….waaay out of my budget! :)
Corinna
You guys posted this a year ago and I finally did it today. LOVE IT! Why did I wait so long?
Have finally got around to doing and re-posting this. Thanks for the tip, love it!
Thank you so much for these instructions! I just inherited a beautiful vintage camera, with a not-so-pretty strap, I will need to spruce it up, and this seems like just the trick! Thanks so much!
What kinda of Canon is that?
Can’t wait to make one for my Nikon.
Just made this! i love it! It was my first project EVER using a sewing machine. Thanks for the tutorial! :)
great tutorial. My son had this idea for his girlfriend’s gift who is into photography. Will be making this weekend. Sounds simple enough.
Someone else mentioned this already, but be sure to MEASURE your strap! I also made the mistake of taking the canon camera strap measurements for my own, but it seems the newer cameras have straps a few inches longer. Great tutorial, I’ll have to try again to get the correct length.
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