Saturday, June 23, 2012

DIY Scarf Camera Strap

In effort to take more pictures, I've been trying to carry around my camera. I've been using the original strap that came with it which I never liked because the words "Nikon" were printed all over it--I felt like a walking advertisement! A web search yielded some awesome results, like my original inspiration, this scarf-turned-camera-strap, or this one that my Mom sent me that uses fabric strips and dog collars.

The most difficult part of this project was how the heck was I going to attach my strap to my camera? I loved the look of the first tutorial, but there was no way I could use metal D-rings because Nikon uses a thin buckled strap made of webbing to connect to the camera. The 2nd link seems more on mark, but I didn't see the tutorial until after I had already made mine. Using dog collars to connect the strap to the camera is clever!

In the end, I created a scarf from fabric I loved, gathering both scarf ends into a leather tube I made from leftover scraps. I cut thin straps from leather the same width as the original webbing, flattened my leather tube, then tapered the tube end to fit my leather straps. To secure, I sewed around the perimeter of the leather tube and in a "X" shape to hold it all tight. I did recycle the plastic buckle from my original strap and used leather because I didn't have webbing the right width on hand, but if I was to do this again, I would follow the tutorial above with the dog collar.

Here's a picture of the fabric I used. It's this lightweight silky floral print on a black background that I think is from the 70s? I don't know, but I LOVE IT! :-) I picked it up for a few dollars at Amvet's thrift store:

 Here's a picture of the strap in action. The length is long enough to wear it around my neck, or sling the camera across my body. It's not perfect, but I really like it! :-) And sorry for the blurry morning mirror picture!!
   

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