As I am off on my travels this week, I wanted to make something that is not only practical but stylish too and this chunky camera strap is the perfect travelling companion. Not only does it keep my camera safe and at hand ready for those spur of the moment shots but it doubles up as a bright colour pop necklace too.
If you fancy making a strap like mine keep reading to see how I made this diy crochet camera strap…
You will need:
Yarn
Crochet hook
Sewing up needle
Scissors
Lobster Clasps or Hooks
This project is perfect for beginner crocheters, all you need is chain stitch and double crochet stitch, but even if you don’t crochet its easy to pick up!
Ok, so you might know I am a bit in love with Wool and the Gang, their yarns are amazing and come in the coolest range of colours, you should check them out here. For this project I chose one of their Jersey Be Good yarns in a peacock green, which is made from recycled t-shirt off cuts from factories. It is super soft and stretchy making it perfect for a quick project like this.
I used a 12mm crochet hook as my yarn was so chunky, but you can choose a hook suitable to your yarn and depending on how thick you want your strap.
My clasps where from Ebay and you can find similar here just make sure they fit your make and style of camera.
Start by making a loop in your yarn and passing it through the top of one of the lobster clasps. Then grab your crochet hook and hook it through the loop.
Make a chain stitch from this loop…
1. Wrap the hook around your yarn over the top of the lobster hook.
2. Pull through the first loop.
3 & 4 repeat to make a chain as long as you want your strap to be. Mine measured 110 cm approx and I used my original strap as a guide.
Once you have made your chain as long as you want the strap to be, take your crochet hook out of your work to leave a loop. Then grab the second lobster clasp and feed this loop through the top as you did before.
Reinsert your crochet hook through the loop at the other side and do one chain stitch to secure the clasp.
So that’s, wrap around the yarn, pull through to create a loop.
1- 4 above
Chain two before passing the loop back through the clasp.
Above:
1-2 Chain one over the top of the clasp.
3. Insert hook into second hole back along the strap.
4. Double crochet
Continue back along the strap
Once you get to the clasp at the other end, pass the loop through the top of the clasp towards the back, cut off yarn then pass the yarn through the loop to tie off.
Finish off by knotting the ends together and using a large sewing up needle, weave the ends back up through the strap to secure. Cut off any long ends that are left.
I attached my strap to my Olympus Pen using the small triangle links that come with my camera, the clasps fit perfectly into them and mean my camera still has room to swing and move around.
I can’t wait to take this DIY camera strap away with me, the soft jersey material means it will sit comfortably around my neck which is especially helpful in hot weather.
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial! I would love to hear what you have been making or DIYing this summer, leave me a comment below or tweet me @madeupstyle.
Happy holidays!
Anna
x