Two color straps for bags

In case you have webbing that is not proper for your project but you still want to use it for straps, here is another way to make beautiful two-color straps for bags.  You have to cover the webbing with the desired cotton fabric.

Here is what you need, for 1” wide straps with 1/4” wide black accent strips along the edges:

• webbing – measure its width (mine is 1” wide); use synthetic webbing, do not waste the cotton webbing on this technique.
• narrow strip of fabric  (the pink strip below); its width must be equal with the width of the webbing
• main strip of fabric (black fabric), wider than the first strip; calculate its width in this way: width of webbing + 1  1/4” (or just a little more, depending on the thickness of your webbing) – you will learn more about this width at the end of this tutorial. Stitch the narrow strip on top of the webbing as shown below. Sew close to the edges (closer than my seams!). Start from the same end for both seams- to avoid puckers. Or even better, apply  double sided adhesive tape (or glue) on webbing and then place the fabric strip on top.

Place the black strip (wrong side up) on top of the webbing, aligning the right edges; sew at 1/4” from the edge. Finger press the seam.

Fold the fabric under the webbing; fold the excess fabric in half as shown below.

Finish the strap as shown below; topstitch close to the folded edges (see the yellow marking lines), using longer stitches.

The width of the strips depends on the width and thickness of  your webbing, so always test it first. It is better to start with a wider strip and if it is too wide, adjust its width.
Fold the strip as shown below, finger press the folds well…

… then fold it again over the webbing. You can use glue to keep the fabric in place.

The crease you made on fabric shows the seam allowance you have to use when attaching the strip fabric to the webbing –  see the yellow marking line.

I hope this helps!!

Do you need bag and pouch pattern ideas? Check out my patterns below:

Happy sewing!