How to Make a Leather Camera Wrist Strap

I may have had a close call dropping my camera recently and while thankfully it was ok, it inspired me to design and make a leather camera wrist strap that quickly attaches to the camera’s eyelet and your wrist to provide a little extra security while shooting pictures or video. Here’s how I made it.

Tools Used (Affiliate Links):

· • Leather Working Starter Tool Kit

· • Leather Rotary Cutter

· • Inexpensive Mallet

· • Leather Marking Pen

Materials Used (Affiliate Links):

· 1/8th inch nylon paracord – approximately 42 inches

· 7 x 2.75 inch piece of leather – preferably 3.5oz thick leather or less (link is similar to what I used)

· Double spring cord fastener

· Thread

· EcoWeld Adhesive

Cut the leather down to size - For the length of the leather, I found 7 inches worked best for my wrist, but that can easily be adjusted to fit your wrist size. For the width, we are going to be folding the edges into itself to make channels for the rope, so I found that 2 and ¾ of an inch minimum worked well

Next I cut a piece of paracord long enough to have plenty to work with (approximately 42 inches long) and then used a lighter to melt the ends to keep them from fraying

I then threaded each end or paracord through the spring fastener and pulled it all the way to the middle

We will need about 9 inches play of paracord before the leather starts, so I measured nine inches and then added a few macramé knots with another piece of paracord to act as a stop.

To tie the macramé knot, I took the right string and placed it over the double strings.

Then I took the left string, went over the right string, behind the double strings and then up throw the loop formed by the right string.

Then I did the same process only I alternated and started this time with the left string

Once complete, I cut the excess rope and again melted the ends to prevent fraying and to keep the knot from coming apart

As I mentioned earlier, I needed to create channels for the paracord to pass through in the leather and I found that using a bone folder to help crease the bends helped, but this could also just be done by hand

To glue the two edges of the leather to the middle to create the channels for the rope, I used Tandy’s EcoWeld which is by far my favorite adhesive for leather

Using a foam brush, I laid a thin line down the middle of the leather and then a thin line down each edge, leaving a strip with no adhesive in between

Next, I laid each strand of the rope on the section without adhesive, folded the edges over them attaching each side to the center strip of adhesive

To hold it in place while the glue dried, I used a few spring clamps

After a couple of minutes, I removed the clamps and moved on to making the stitching lines

To make the stitching lines, I started by measuring in ahalf inch from each side at both ends and made a mark with my Tandy leather marking pen

Then I used a ruler and a scratch awl to scratch the stitching lines from end to end

Next I used a set of inexpensive leather stitching chisels to punch the stitching holes

To ensure the spacing between each hole stays consistent as I work my way down the line, I always make sure to place the stitching chisel point furthest to the left in the last hole of the previous set of holes I punched

Next I used a standard saddle stitch to reinforce the adhesive and add a little hand stitched look to the wrist strap

Start by attaching two needles to opposite ends of the same thread and stitch through the first stitch hole at one of the ends

Now there are a lot of videos out there on how to stitch to get the best results, but what I’ve found is easiest is to just pick a sequence and then stick to that

For example, I always start using the right needle to stich from the back and then stitch the left needle from the front into the same hole but in front & under the right needles thread.

If you continue this sequence, you’ll get a very nice looking stitch pattern in my experience

With the stitching done, I moved on to connecting the paracord from the top of the strap to the bottom – this is what will allow it to loosen and tighten

Using the free ends of the rope we made channels for, I again used a few macramé knots around the double string to create a stop at the bottom of the strap and then cut the excess paracord off

And with that the strap is done – all that’s left is to attach it to your camera using the camera’s built in eyelets

Thanks so much for following along with this project! I’d love to know what you think. Leave a comment below and don’t forget to watch the video on my channel!

See you on the next project!