It’s week 4, and we are wrapping up this Take-Along Sew Along! This week, I’m going to show you my take on a colorful guitar-style strap for this tote!
Here are the previous posts in this series, in case you need to catch up:
- Week 1 – customize the bag flap
- Week 2 – add your own pocket features
- Week 3 – bag finishing tips
The Take-Along Tote is designed to take along when you are off on a full day of shopping, doctor’s appointments, or what have you. The tote converts from a generous shoulder bag to a walker or wheelchair tote. This means that the caregiver can conveniently carry the tote for the day, or your loved one can attach it to a walker and have all the essentials at hand! The bag is made with foam - specifically Bosal’s In-R-Form Plus Fusible Foam to protect your belongings.
Did I mention I just love working with the vivacious Delightful Dreams collection from QT Fabrics?
And just a reminder: 50% of the proceeds for the sales of Delightful Dreams will be donated to Quilts for Kids, a non-profit dedicated to bringing comfort through quilts to kids like Josie with cancer and other illnesses and challenges across the country.
This week, we riff on a guitar-style strap in place of the shoulder strap (the pattern includes instructions for a fabric shoulder strap. I am making a strap that includes webbing just for something a little different! The supplies I used: 1-1/2” webbing, (2) 1-1/2” snap hooks and (1) 1-1/2” slide adjuster. I am going to add fabric to the center of the webbing for added color and pop!
I started with cutting the webbing around 55” long. The webbing I used is cotton, so I treated the ends with Fray Check seam sealant. Since my webbing measured 1-1/2” wide, I wanted the accent to end up at 1-1/4”, so you see just a smidgen of the webbing. Double that and I have the width I want!
Tip: I joined the strips diagonally and pressed that seam open to keep the strip flat. I folded strip in half and pressed in a center line., then opened the strip and bring raw edges to meet in the center. The strip now measures 1-14" wide.
I centered the folded strip on the webbing and held in place with Wonder Clips.
Topstitch using a walking foot; it helps me when topstitching to find a reference point on the throat plate and keep the edge of the strap at that point. I stitched down center- optional but since I had a center line right there- I followed it!!
When adding hardware, I started with the strap adjuster. Thread one end of strap through the slide adjuster.
Fold strap end under adjuster and stitch. in place. To reinforce, I stitched the rectangle twice.
I fed the loose end of the strap through one snap hook and fold back to end with adjuster.
Bring remaining free end of strap up and through slide adjuster. Thread strap under then over middle bar of slide adjuster
Pull free end of strap through adjuster until you most of the strap free.
Add remaining snap hook to free end, and you have a fun and creative shoulder strap!
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I hope you enjoyed the Take-Along Sew Along – share your creations on Facebook and Instagram, and don't forget to tag us! (@poorhousequilts on Instagram, and @Poorhouse Quilt Designs on Facebook)
Until then, keep on stitching! -Kris
