Camera Strap

I have a Nikon D2500 and have been meaning to make a camera strap for a long time since I hate the black Nikon strap that comes with it. This strap is pretty, sturdy and really easy.

What you will need:

• Your choice of coloured cotton
• Thick lace trim
• 1/2 m of thick calico
• 2 woven bag handles
• 12″ of ribbon
• Matching threads

To start, remove your original camera strap from your camera and lay it out flat. Cut 2 strips of your thick calico using the wide part of your camera strap as a guide for width and length. Sew these two together. There’s no need to finish the edges. 

Cut a strip of cotton that is the same length as the strip of calico, only a little bit over double the length. Fold the cotton over the calico, lining up the edges of cotton. Then, secure the calico inside the cotton with a line of stitch next to it. To finish the edges fold the raw edge over twice then sew it down next to the fold and next to the edge of the strip. To make it even stronger and secure, do two more stitch lines on the opposite edge. 

Change your thread to match your lace and sew it on. 

On your original camera strap, there are sections of leather that secure the wide strap to the thin fabric that secures the strap to the camera. To replicate these, I have used a thick calico and cut it  into 4 shapes that are a little bigger and wider than the ones on the original strap.

 

To sew them on, fold the raw edges underneath and sew the top edge down on both sides of the strap. Then, fold the sides and sew them down. Before sewing the bottom edge, insert the end of the old bag handle into the bottom and sew down well. Repeat on the other side.

Next, measure how long you want your camera strap to be and cut the ends of the old bag handles accordingly. As the handles were too thick to get through the gaps in the camera for the camera strap, I used a ribbon that could fit through easily. Again, cut two pieces of ribbon to double the length that you want your camera strap to be. Place one end of the ribbon on one end of the camera strap and do lots and lots of machine stitches to secure it. Pull the ribbon through the camera and sew the end to the camera strap, securing well. Repeat on the other side.

 

Finally, to hide this stitching, wrap another piece of ribbon around it and hand stitch it down. 

Done!