Sew An Adjustable Vinyl Crossbody Strap

[@jenniferreinke9898]

Your instructions are spot on. thank you for you attention to detail.

[@OKSew474]

You are very welcome!

[@susankeller5557]

I deeply appreciate your teaching technique. You are thurough and precise. I learn so much. You give me confidence to make purses! Thank You!!

[@GloriaHasberry]

Fantastic way to make a beautiful crossbody strap with all the hardware needed to be stylish!

[@siamese35]

Excellent video.

[@OKSew474]

Thank you Brenda 🥰

[@kathywright7191]

Excellent video - as usual 😊

[@OKSew474]

Thank you Kathy!

[@michellem.131]

Thanks for another great tip ❤

[@EbonGra13]

Do you have a recommended brand of vinyl to use? I'm new to bag making and am still getting my head wrapped around best practices for materials.

[@cynthiasymons]

I’d like an answer to this question, too!

[@OKSew474]

I may need to do a video on different vinyls and the things that I like and don't like about them, there is a lot to say but I will do my best to give you an answer here. There are a few things to think about, but in my humble opinion the main things to consider when starting out are cost and user-friendliness. When I was first working with bags my main concern was with keeping my costs low as I was practicing and building up my own skillset. Unfortunately, some of the cheaper vinyls available are a little trickier to work with and can present problems that you won't have with other options, which can result in frustration and ends up in a false economy situation. My favorite vinyl to work with is Mora Faux Leather from Emmaline, which is a Canadian based shop, but unless you are in Canada the cost of shipping may be prohibitive until you are certain about your future in bagmaking enough to make the investment. A good US-based alternative is myhandmade space. You are looking for vinyls that are "faux leathers" or "faux suedes", preferably non-textured as those tend to be thicker, and nothing too shiny or shimmery as those are harder to work with. Anything with a more matte finish around 1mm is going to be a good starting point. You may also have luck with faux leather and/or lychee grain vinyls from suppliers on Amazon to give you a feel for working with vinyl without having to shell out a lot of money to get started, I would opt for ones with reasonable reviews and as with the others about 1mm thick and avoid glitter in any form.

[@EbonGra13]

@@OKSew474 This is incredibly helpful, thank you so much for the information!!

[@flowersfam3462]

What's the length of the long piece of vinyl you cut for the crossbody strap? 4" by ?

[@OKSew474]

I generally do 54-60”, whatever the width of the fabric is. If you need longer you can join two lengths but most rolls of vinyl fall within that range and it seems to fit most body sizes and when shortened fully can be worn on one shoulder rather than crossbody without being too long.

[@paulahutt4116]

What brand scissors do you use?

[@OKSew474]

I have a few different brands in my regular rotation (I have about a dozen on my table). I like Gingher, I have a couple of their 5” pairs that are my most used scissors. My embroidery scissors and my duckbill scissors are Tula Pink, the embroidery ones are nice & sharp for snips and the duckbill ones are great for trimming. For my bigger shears I have a more affordable but still good quality Livingo pair, and also a 6” pair in the same brand that is my “utility” pair. I also use this brand around my house & sewing room for non-fabric scissors. I do have a bigger set of Gingher shears but they are quite heavy and I just never find myself reaching for them.

[@patriciascott6741]

Can you say where you get your hardware?

[@OKSew474]

Hi Patricia! I get it from a few different places depending on the finish and size I need. I like craftmemore on Amazon, My Handmade Space, Emmaline Bags, Purse Supplies R Us on Etsy, and for longer rivets and the larger sliders I use Gold Star Tools (with the caveat that I have found there is a lot of variability in their hardware quality and I only buy those two harder to find items from them as a result).