How to Make a Woven Guitar Strap

Weaving a guitar strap sounds complicated, but it's much simpler than it seems.

The guitar strap, commonly overlooked as just another accessory, can add a lot of flair and character to the look of your guitar. There are several options when it comes to buying a guitar strap, but none amount to making your own custom woven strap. The method is simple and allows you to design a guitar strap that is unique to you.

Things You'll Need

• Inkle loom
• Inkle shuttle
• Colored cotton
• 50-string heedles
• Flannel-backed black vinyl
• Sewing machine
• Two, 2-in. wide black plastic buckles
• Template
• Graph paper
• Colored pencils
• Clamp
• Hole punch
• Scissors

Instructions

Design, weaving, and assembling.

1. Sketch and color your design. Before you begin weaving, you will first need to design your guitar strap. Take out your graph paper and colored pencils and map out the width, design and colors you wish to use for your guitar strap. Use the grid on the graph paper as a guide to keep your design aligned.

2. Pull out the colors of cotton you need. Before you begin weaving, it is important to be as organized as possible. To do so, pull out the colors you need, counting 50 string heedles for each, and separate them based on the order they appear in your pattern.

3. Set up your loom. After you have your colors picked out and separated, you need to set up your loom. To set up the loom clamp the inkle loom to something sturdy. Making sure that your loom is sturdy will prevent any accidents from happening while you are weaving.

4. Begin to weave your guitar strap. Now that your loom is set up, you can now begin weaving your guitar strap. To do so, anchor your first color to the thumbtack on the front of the loom. Then, loosen the moveable peg so it is one inch from the end of the loom. Begin taking the thread over the first peg, attach the first heedle to the heedle peg, and continue winding the heedles in the order of your color scheme or design.

5. Remove your weave. Once you have weaved all of the colors into the pattern you have designed, it is time to assemble the guitar strap. Start by removing the weave off the loom. To do this, slide the weave off of the ends of the pegs. Make sure to take your time, so you do not damage the weave while taking it off.

6. Remove the heedles and trim your guitar strap. For the next step, you will first need to remove all the heedles from your weave. Once the heedles are removed, you can then trim the ends of your guitar strap. It is important to trim to ends to prevent fraying and insure the longevity of your woven guitar strap.

7. Stitch the weave to the black nylon and connect the buckles. To make your guitar strap sturdy, it is important to stitch it to a piece of black nylon for support. Then you can thread the buckle onto the weave so you can change the length of your guitar strap to your preference.

8. Cut out two pieces of the flannel-backed vinyl. To connect your woven guitar strap to your guitar, you will need to cut out two pieces of flannel-backed vinyl. Once you cut them out, punch a hole in each end and then stitch these to the ends so you can attach them to your guitar.

References

• HGTV: How To Weave A Rainbow Guitar Strap

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish