One day our maid comes to me and sadly tells me that Diplo Dog’s soft bag (the one made of cloth and foam) was stolen. She laid it down on the park bench while walking around the park thinking that no one would steal it because it was in her line of vision and she was familiar with the neighbors. It was stolen from right under her nose!
She normally has to hide him in a bag to take him for a walk because pets are officially not allowed in building, though this mostly means DOGS because cat owners freely flaunt their cats. We do have unofficial permission from our landlord who has also informed administration. However to be sensitive to the Muslim tenants religion, we have to hide him in a bag, cover him with a towel and pass through the basement to take him out. Remember the super cute, sturdy and easy to clean new bag? It has only one disadvantage the straps are not soft so hurts the shoulder. So I decided to sew a BAG HANDLE COVER to give it a little padding for her.
Bag handle cover DIY
MATERIALS:
- Sewing machine with thread matching your fabric
- Scissors
- Measuring tape
- 2 pcs of whatever fabric I had (how to measure below)
- Foam/batting
- Velcro
Measure the circumferences of your straps and add on inch on all. Decide how long you want the strap to be and also add an inch.
(1) Cut fabric and batting and pin together right sides facing, (2) batting should be on the under part.
Sew three sides of the fabric together (half an inch from the edge). On the forth side make sure to leave 2-3inch opening so (3) you can turn your fabric right sides out. Also remember to cut your corners, by doing so it will make your corners pointer and flatter.
Sew the opening of the fabric together using a strait stitch. (4) Continue around all four sides to give a finished look and it give more strength to you covers.
Cut the Velcro to size and pin to fabric making sure they close and over lap on the correct sides. Try to sew as close to the edges of the Velcro as you can see.
Then sew horizontal lines across the entire thing to make it stronger. Then I was done!
These were my references for DIY bag handle instructions. I sorta just combined what I got from all of them. The same instructions can also be used to make luggage handle covers and seat belt covers. I think I’ll look for some sturdy red fabric and make one for our luggage to make it easier to distinguish it from the rest of the black luggage!
I just couldn’t resist taking a picture of my sewing threads. They are so colorful and pretty all (semi) sorted out! So what did you think of this sewing project? =)
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(eye)candy says
July 6, 2011 at 10:32 PMIs there anything you can’t do??? 🙂 I want that woven basket/bag too!
diplomaticwife says
July 7, 2011 at 8:41 AMHonestly if I could build my own furniture I would! Haha! DiploDog loves it too coz he fits so perfectly in it…shall we have a tug-of-war? =P I can already imagine the determination of DD’s face LOL!
ocmominmanila says
July 12, 2011 at 1:34 AMI think you should rename yourself to “The Filipino Martha Stewart”.
diplomaticwife says
July 12, 2011 at 5:16 PMhahaha thanks oc mom! i am tickled pink by your compliment! =D
khoLEEN says
July 21, 2011 at 11:00 AMI love how you organized the sewing threads! I got inspired to organize mine too. Everything was just stuffed in one box. This is more convenient. Thanks. 🙂
diplomaticwife says
July 21, 2011 at 4:54 PMThank you. Happy to inspire! I think my container is getting too small. Would love to see a pic of how you organized yours!
Melany. says
September 22, 2011 at 1:30 PMSuch a cool idea 🙂 That would really make seatbelts look a thousand times better. So pretty!
diplomaticwife says
September 24, 2011 at 3:09 PMThanks Melany! Do you sew as well? =)