Recently I invited Liz Schaffner from Moments to do a guest post for me, on making straps, since her straps always look so darn perfect! LOL I must admit to being tickled pink that she accepted as she has such a beaut sense of humour and her blog posts are always such FUN to read! 🙂 So it is with great pleasure I hand this post over to Liz:
I have had a few people
ask me how I get my purse straps so straight and even…I will admit it ….I
cheat !!
In Germany we have this
product called Vlieseline Bundfix .. ( I don’t know if you have it in
other countries??) It is used for the waistband in skirts & pants. I love
it since it is “idiot” proof…
I iron it on my fabric ….( ignore the yellow
edges…yes I scorched it !)
It comes perforated so you know exactly where to
fold….iron the short sides in…..
then iron along the middle line….
viola …a perfectly folded strap !!!
Top stitch, first along
the open edge…
then along the folded
edge…
…a perfect
strap…fast & easy !!!
Now that you have a
perfect strap…comes the hard part…deciding how to attach it to your purse.
Normally we sew the
strap to the side of the purse…but once in a while we have to get more
creative.
If my fabric is to
thick… I will attach my strap to the side of the bag…like I did on my messenger bag …this avoids the super thick seam and
needle breakage ( I do use #100 jean needles but even they have their limit !)
Or you can add the
straps to the front of the bag like I did on my Paris
bag ??
When I don’t have the
right side rings…I improvise…these are curtain rings….would you have know
if I hadn’t of told you ???
You don’t always have to use what the pattern
calls for…for example….Christine used these cool oval Eyelets on her Lombard Street iPad Bag pattern.
Since I couldn’t find them ….that didn’t
stop me from making the bag…(Actually I begged Christine to let me test
the pattern but don’t tell anyone I told you …its our little secret!) I ended
up making a tab & an adjustable strap.
Needless to say I am very happy with how it
turned out !
( I use Christine’s Tutorial for an adjustable strap)
I hope you liked my little tutorial on how I
make my straps…and hopefully I have inspired you to try different things.
Hugs,
Thank you for sharing how you make your straps with us Liz….I just HAVE to get some of that stuff! LOL
Liz tells me it comes in different sizes, being 25, 30, 35 mm finished size…in white &
black! Having done a quick internet search from what I can see, it’s called “Vilene Waist Shaper” here (Australia) BUT I have yet to look to see if I can actually get it! LOL Does anybody else know of it or use it? Or have any other nifty tricks to share for making great straps? Please let us know in the comments below!
Hi Christene,
BirchHaby have a similar product (sold under the Birch brand) called Interfacing Waistband 35mm. Its on the wholesale site so I guess its a case of finding a retailer with it.
M
Great post! I love seeing new ways of doing things. Thank you! Janelle
Great tutorial. try this link for the interfacing:
http://www.sewingandcraftclub.com/?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=2215&category_id=18
I’ve used something similar before, but I don’t think it had the slots. I do remember that it wasn’t a great product for waistbands, but it would sure be good for straps! Perfect!
I enjoyed this post. I love how some people, such as you and Liz, have the ability to bring humor through in your writing. It makes you very relatable and also makes your writing fun to read.
Takes any guess work out of making straps… each side would line up perfectly. I’ll be on the lookout for this or a similar product.
Thanks Margo….I’ll check it out! 🙂
Me too Janelle! 🙂
Oh that is a good link for those in the US! Thank you Marsha!
Thanks Krista…BUT I have to say my Hubby doesn’t always appreciate my sense of humour….particularly since he is devoid of any himself! LOLLLLLL
Yes that is the good thing about it Pam…..sooo easy to get it an even size all the way through! I HAVE to locate some! LOLL
It is so cool to know that we have something you don’t …usually you have all the cool products !! LOL
Over here in the U.K. it is available as Vilene Fold-a-Band (Bundfix)from minervacrafts.com or Vilene Fuse and Fold from jaycotts.co.uk or there’s Foldaband iron-on waistband from macculloch-wallis.co.uk. in 25mm, 30mm or 36 mm widths!
Thanks for the idea, I used some from a vintage free sample pack once, as I had run out of my usual iron-on interfacing. It was too wide and I cut it so size but never thought of buying it new in the right width! Duh!
Thanks Karen. You saved me a lot of Googling. I have now pinned those links.
Great post. I am always looking for tips to make my bags look better.
Love this strap technique, thanks for sharing with us Liz! I immediately added vlieseline Bundfix on my shopping list for when I go home to Germany for Christmas 🙂
Hi
Thank you Liz for the great tutorial for straps.
Yours always look good and now we know the secret :o)
We have it here in Denmark too.
http://www.krestoffer.dk/linningsvlies-p-1091.html
Hugs Ingrid
Samsø
Hi
Thank you for the great tutorial for straps, Liz.
Yours looks always fine and now we know the secret.:o)
We can get it here in Denmark too.
Fuse and fold Bundfix.
Hugs Ingrid
Samsø
Awesome.. need to look for this at my fabric store.
Christine that product that Liz uses is similar to the one Nancy Zieman (Sewing with Nancy PBS TV show) uses and she sells it in her catalog store Nancy’s Notions here: http://www.nancysnotions.com/product/create+a+strap+interfacing.do?sortby=ourPicks
I haven’t used it but Nancy shows it on her show when she makes bags and it looks so easy.
Great tutorial and product find. So I got myself to search because I thought I’ve seen something similar. Found that in the United States there is a similar product by Clover on their Nancy Zieman line and is called Create a Strap. It also comes in different sizes.
Great tutorial! Love learning new tips. Not only do they help you make professional looking straps but I love the thought of not having long strips of interfacing being cut from my stash and leaving behind interfacing that is not wide enough to cut pattern pieces from. Thanks Liz and Christine.
LOLLL actually being in Aus I miss out on a lot of COOL products too….either that or have to pay exorbitant shipping costs to get it….which I sometimes do if I am desperate! LOLLLLL
LOLLL…that sounds like something I would do! 😉
Me too…..can’t have too many tips….which is like fabric….can’t have too much of that either! LOLLLL
Lucky you Anna….I haven’t been to Germany since I was almost 8…..a very LONG time ago! Somehow I don’t think hubby will see this as a good enough reason for me to mortgage the house for a plane ticket…………unless I make it one way? LOLL
Thanks for stopping by Ingrid! 🙂
Yes I am tempted to make a special trip to see if I can get it here! LOL
Thanks for the link Daryl….I’ll check it out….I wonder if they ship to Australia! LOLL
Thanks Norma! 🙂
TRUE…Plus I love the thought of not having to cut those long strips at all! LOLLL!
What a great post – it’s made me think more about straps on my bags!! Might try something different next time!
Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
Hope you have a fabulous week!
Jill @ Creating my way to Success
http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/ >http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/
It is amazing the wonderful products that are out there to make our life easier! 🙂
Great tip. I will certainly try this!
This might be a source for the bag strap interfacing
Create-a-Strap with Nancy Zieman 1″
9502
Yes I have heard about the “Create a Strap” but haven’t found it anywhere in my neck of the woods!
Спасибо.мне очень понравилось.Это пригодится.Очень понятно.Спасибо!
http://www.nancysnotions.com sells the interfacing for bag straps at her website..
Thank you so much! I recently bought a purse that had a ‘matching’ little purse inside… so you could quickly go from larger bag to small. Wouldn’t you know — I LOST the strap to the smaller bag….. But now, I can make one… maybe not in leather — but hey — at least I can make it in something that matches and then I can USE THE LITTLE BAG instead of just feeling bad about it.
You made my day!
That’s AWESOME Pat! I am pleased you found the tutorial useful! 🙂
Christine
Thanks for your post
Fabulous!
Thanks for stopping by, Gloria! 🙂