Handles and shoulder straps

Fun and simple ideas to make shoulder straps and handles for bags

As for me it’s always been the hardest (and most boring) part – to make shoulder straps and handles for bags. For sure anyone of us knows how and is able to sew some simple straps, but we all are looking for easier and better looking options.

I would like to share some of my experience of how to make some fun and simple shoulder straps and handles for bags. Hope this will make your handmade handbag project much easier. This photo tutorial contains easy instructions and clever tips too.

Use a belt!

Yeah, how simple and fast that is! Fasten the belt and cut giving enough length for the buckle to be not too far away from the bag and not too close to it either. Cut exactly like on the picture below to get it right!

Another great thing about this strap is that it is adjustable!

But do choose a belt that is rather soft, so that it is comfortable on your shoulder.

If the belt you have chosen for your handle is made of strands braided together, don’t hurry to cut it! The strands will fall apart and make it very hard work to insert into the bag! There is a simple trick – sew across the belt in two places (where you will cut after) to hold it together and then cut between the stitches! (Another option is to use a sticky tape, see further down)

How about belts with d-rings?

Where to cut if the belt has no buckle but two rings instead? We can still make an adjustable belt with it, but it requires a bit more thinking.

On the picture below take a note where the rings are and which direction the loose end is pointing (adjusting):

When choosing a belt for your strap, make sure it is long enough. Of course if it’s a shoulder bag – any belt length will do, if it’s too long it can be cut shorter. But if you are aiming for a cross-body bag, the strap must be long enough. It all depends, but for those slouchy that I make, the belt must be minimum of 100cm/40″ (for a smaller person).

Make the strap out of jeans leg

This is most common way. If you have enough denim, this is a great approach to match the strap to the bag exactly.

Cut two long pieces out of jeans leg. Keep parallel with the grain on the denim (texture lines). The length depends on your needs and denim availability. For the bag above I had 55-60cm for the length. For the width of the strap – keep in mind that you will have to turn it right side out after it’s sewn, so the wider it is – the easier it will be to turn out. I find it good enough 4-5 cm wide strap, meaning 6-7cm wide pieces including seam allowances.

When sewing along the long side – sew only in the same direction. Having more experience with sewing you’d notice that the sewing machine always stretches slightly the upper layer of fabric. So sewing in the same direction on both sides of the handle will prevent the diagonal creases or lumps.

Now turn inside out using your fingers. Yeah, it takes a while 🙂

Trying another way

Another way might help to turn the handle right side out: sewing a string to one end before sewing up the whole thing. I have tried that too and I would say that both ways are a bit tricky with the heavier denim and both ways are good enough.

Now push the seams out (wet fingers work best), press flat and top stitch the long sides. I always stitch twice at each side, I like the way it looks on denim! Don’t forget, again, all the top-stitching should be done in the same direction! You can use a contrasting thread for a wow effect!

Top-stitching along the sides of the strap in the same direction is quite important especially with thin and stretchy fabrics. Look at the picture below – we don’t want our bag strap to look like this 🙂

Handbag handles from jeans leg

Handles for a handbag are narrower than a strap for cross body so I am making them in a slightly different way. You will need four pieces of denim 5-6cm x length of a handle. It can be anything from 45cm for a short handle and 60cm for a long one.

Iron each strap folded in the middle.

Place one on top of another, hold in place by clips and stitch along at both sides. You can even go twice at each side leaving a 3-5 mm gap between the stitching lines, so that you will have 4 lines in total). If you use a contrasting and thick thread you can make it looking even better! But if you are a beginner and not so familiar with top-stitching, keep it safe and use a matching colour thread.

Here we go – some durable plain denim handles for your tote bag are finished.

You can see that the ends are left raw. This is because the handles are inserted into a bag in such way that the ends are hidden between the layers of the bag’s body, usually at the top.

Another way to these handles

There is another option for pretty much the same handles. This is probably faster but the handles itself is thicker along one side.

Cut out two (not four) long strips of width 6cm plus seam allowances. Iron the seam allowances inward.

Then fold in half lengthwise and iron again. Stitch along both long edges and you are done!

Shoulder straps and handles from jeans waistband

Shoulder straps or handbag handles look very cool when they are made from jeans waistband. But not every waistband is suitable for sewing here. How to choose and how to detach – all about it you will find here >>>. I explain there how to make straps really neat. Just because this page was getting too long, I decided to give waistbands a separate page >>>.

What about the ends?

If you need the handles to be sewn ON (not IN), you can try making it this way – iron the ends inwards before top-stitching. However, denim is quite tough fabric and having so many folds might make it impossible to sew through. So think about it early – while designing and planning your denim bag or try the stoppers from the next idea (N6).

Woven handles with belt loop stoppers

Sometimes we need the handle to be sewn not within the top of the bag but onto the body. There are very pretty woven strapping available but you will notice that it frays badly. Don’t let it to stop you! Yes, it is nearly impossible to fold under, but jeans loops make a great “fray stopper” and a “raw edge hider”. It also works great with handles made from jeans waist band.

Here is the trick – wrap some sticky tape around the end to stop it falling to pieces. Place the tape slightly higher than the strap’s end to be able to stitch belt loops later and remove the tape.

Pin everything in place and stitch. First tack in place the strap itself, then add the beltloops. The stitching here will be tough, so go slow, rotate the machine wheel by hand.

Adjustable strap

If you wish to use webbing to make an adjustable strap, here is a quick guide. It’s really is easy. You will need 1.5meters (1.64yards) of webbing, a slider/adjuster and an oval or rectangular ring.

Cut off 10-15cm (4-6″) from one end, fold and stitch the ring in it. Take the long piece of webbing and feed one end through the slider, loop to the inner bar and stitch too.

Feed the free end of the long webbing piece through the ring of the short piece and then through the slider just like on the picture below. Pay attention on the right and wrong sides of it.

This is it! Now you know how to make an adjustable strap.

I will be happy to hear from you if you’ve tried any of the shoulder straps and handles for bags above or if you have other ideas to make easy shoulder straps or handles for bags. I hope I was helpful 🙂 Check out more lessons about using old jeans >>> here >>>

And take a tour through some project ideas of what you can >>> make >>>