6 easy steps to making a strong strap with webbing for a crossbody bag

This week on QUILTsocial I’ll be making a crossbody tote bag to take along on my vacation to Ireland. I’ve got some amazing products that I’ll use to waterproof the fabric, make a hanging zippered pocket, make the strap super strong and lots of different hardware to finish off the bag details. Today I’ll use UNIQUE Webbing 25mm x 10m (1″ x 11yd) – White and some cotton fabric to make the strap for my bag. By covering the strap with fabric you get the best of both worlds; strength and stability from the webbing and the beauty of the fabric that coordinates with your bag. I’ll also make my strap with my Oliso Pro TG1600 Pro Plus Smart Iron and UNIQUE QUILTING Clever Clips Small – 12 pcs.

Later on this week I’ll use other products such as Odif OdiCoat Gel Coating – 250ml,   SEW EASY Freezer Paper for Quilting and Applique – 12.1m x 38.1cm (13.2yd x 15), Best Press Starch Alternative, my Oliso M2Pro Mini Project Iron, BOSAL In-R-Form Single Sided Fusible Foam Stabilizer – 45.7 x 147.3 cm (18″ x 58″), UNIQUE SEWING Slide Buckle – Metal – 25mm (1″) – Silver – 2 pcs and other types of bag hardware.

First of all – read the pattern

Since I’m not the most experienced bag maker, at a recent quilt show in Ottawa, I spoke with Brenda Miller of Among Brenda’s Quilts and Bags and she gave me one of her tote bag patterns to review. The Ellipse Bag pattern was just what I was looking for. This tote has a crossbody strap, a zippered inner pocket, and many outside pockets for a cell phone, sunglasses, and a guidebook. The first thing I’ll do is read the pattern to get an idea of how this bag is put together.

Step 1 Cut your strips of fabric.

I’ve got the fabrics for my bag selected so the first thing I’ll do is cut my strap fabric into 3″ wide strips. The number of strips you need depends on how long you want to make the strap – I’ll need two strips to make my strap, so I’ll sew them together end to end. The strip is 3″ wide because my UNIQUE Webbing is 1″ wide.

Step 2 Fold over and press.

Now I’ll fold over about ½” of fabric along both long sides of my strip and press with my Oliso Pro TG1600 Pro Plus Smart Iron. This will make centering the webbing on the fabric strip much easier.

Step 3 Insert the webbing.

Now I’ll insert my piece of webbing so that one edge lines up with one of the folds in the fabric.

Step 4 Fold over the remaining edge.

The next thing I’ll do is fold over the remaining edge of the fabric strip so that the webbing is enclosed. You can pin the folded edge down, but I prefer to use UNIQUE QUILTING Clever Clips as the webbing is difficult to pin and these clips are super easy to use.

Step 5 Tuck in the ends.

To make the ends of the strap look finished, I’ll tuck under about ½” of fabric on both ends then I’ll refold the sides and clip them in place again.

Step 6 Topstitch along the folded edge.

Now I’ll use my sewing machine with a SCHMETZ #1793 Topstitch Needles Carded – 90/14 – 5 count to topstitch down the folded edge on the back of the strap. The UNIQUE QUILTING Clever Clips keep everything lined up for sewing.

Here’s my finished strap. I love how it turned out!

Now that my strap is made, tomorrow I’ll start cutting out the pieces of the tote bag and I’ll show you how to use Odif OdiCoat Gel Coating – 250ml, to make the fabric waterproof – see you tomorrow.

This is part 1 of 5 in this series

Go to part 2: 2 ways to make fabric waterproof with Odif OdiCoat