APfE v.2 Progress: Handles and Straps

I spent Sunday working on the A Place for Everything bag. I despaired at making any progress, because the handle instructions didn’t seem to make any sense.I know part of this was that I had lost momentum. It makes me think I need to make the Take A Stand bag that has been on my list while I am in tune with ByAnnie bags.

Fortunately, ByAnnie has a series of Handles and Straps videos, which were very helpful. I’d like to see a list of the projects that use the techniques included under the various videos. There may be a list, but I haven’t found it yet. It took me some time to sort through them to find the one I needed. I used:

APfE: Adjustable Strap
APfE: Adjustable Strap

I finally got the adjustable strap made and am pretty pleased with it.

I am also super pleased with the triangle hardware. I have known about them, but don’t think I have used them before. This won’t be the last time! They are great, because they don’t roll around after installation  like D-rings. I am in the process of installing them on the bag pockets. Once the bag is finished I will be able to clip the adjustable strap to them.

Webbing ends show
Webbing ends show

I didn’t follow the handle and strap making directions, because I decided to use the new Tula Pink webbing. I ran into a few problems. First, I ended up making handles from fabric and Soft & Stable, because I didn’t have enough of the webbing. Second, there were no instructions on finishing the ends of the webbing. The webbing frays/shreds like crazy, so some kind of sealing process needs to take place. I couldn’t find any tutorials or even any pictures of what others have done. I ended up using Aleene’s Tacky Glue** on the edges of some of the pieces and L’Oreal Miracle Base Coat** on others. I wanted to see the difference. I considered burning the edges, but was reluctant because of the smell and, also, I didn’t want the edges blackened at all. The webbing edges will show, regardless, and I wanted them to be as neat as possible.

Both worked well. The glue took longer to dry, but I worked on other things while it dried. I would recommend cutting the end and sealing it immediately. The cut end seems to spontaneously fray. I covered my work surface with wax paper**. I like the wax paper because one side is slippery-ish. It is covered in wax and while the glue sticks it doesn’t bond to the wax paper. I haven’t tried it, but parchment paper** would probably work as well.

In general, I found the webbing easy to work with. I was able to sew through two layers plus fabric and Soft & Stable pretty easily. I did put in a new needle and sewed slowly.

This bag takes a long time. Stay tuned for more progress!

 

 

 

 

Resources:

  • ByAnnie A Place for Everything v.2 pattern**
  • Tula Pink video on how she deviates from the pattern to make more design decisions
  • Tula Pink video on applying ribbon to cover ‘connections’
  • #5-Making an Adjustable Strap Using a Widemouth Slider : Watch step-by-step as Annie shows how to attach a widemouth slider to make a strap adjustable for carrying over the shoulder or for carrying cross-body
  • #6-Making a Detachable Strap : Learn to attach the necessary hardware to make an attachable/detachable strap

 

 

 

 

 

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Author: JayeL

Quiltmaker who enjoys writing and frozen chocolate covered bananas.

2 thoughts on “APfE v.2 Progress: Handles and Straps”

    1. Thanks! I got the idea from Tula and the colors of the webbing fit perfectly. I wish there were ‘hack’ documents for the ByAnnie patterns like there are for the Sew Sweetness patterns. I would like better instructions for fussy cutting than the brief ones Tula provides in her Tula Tuesday video. Also, it would be great if someone could give instructions on using webbing rather than the covered webbing that The ByAnnie pattern tells the maker to use. I know this adds to the complexity, but I can wish as much as I want.

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