Stroppa produce rope and leather camera straps which may superficially resemble the cheap copies you see online, but in fact each one is hand produced by Mateusz with pride, from only the very best materials. The polypropylene silk cord is sourced from top quality producers in Poland and the United States. The ends are hand stitched using traditional Italian veg-tanned leather and Italian waxed thread. Even the stainless-steel split rings are handmade by a machinist friend of Mateusz.

I think a camera harness is one of the safest ways to keep your camera close to you and safe. Buying a camera harness from a store might be overly expensive, however, this tutorial would teach you how to make one for yourself using certain materials. The making process takes some time to complete. 14. How To Make A Leather Camera Wrist Strap Prior to the invention of 35mm cameras such as the Leica, cameras were too heavy to use a wrist strap. But as 35mm cameras and smaller medium format cameras appeared, smaller wrist straps became a viable method of preventing drops and damage. But the best and most ubiquitous material for camera straps is leather (unless you’re ethically opposed – which is a fair position). It’s natural, durable, stylish, and develops a beautiful patina with age; however, it is generally heavier and more expensive. Leather comes in a variety of types, the most commonly used being cowhide, pigskin, suede, calfskin and lambskin. Buffalo, horsehide, cowhide and pigskin are the toughest and most hard wearing but take some time to break in and soften. Suede, Calfskin, Goatskin and lambskin are beautifully soft and comfortable (these were the traditional material for the best gloves), but they are more expensive than ordinary leathers. Colour-transference can be a problem with the leather used on cheaper wrist straps, this is where the color used to dye the leather can stain clothes. The camera strap is started by taking our 4 pieces of paracord. We line them up with the two shorter, 6.5 foot long strands in the middle and the two longer, 11 foot strands on the outside, one on each side.Stroppa’s wrist straps are available in three versions Active, Duo, or Flex, and they come in twelve different rope colors, and twenty-five different stitching colors. Similar straps which are mass produced are much more expensive. In the next few months they will also be producing a solid Shell Cordovan leather strap as well. – SHOP The geometric patterns on this camera strap were actually painted on it. Finding this exact color of cotton webbing might be impossible. For this guide, the creator was able to make the geometric patterns using paint and a few other tools. 9. DIY No-Sew Sequin Camera Strap Disclaimer : Of course, I didn’t buy 21 wrist straps to compile this review, and I have gone off each manufacturer’s descriptions and pricing to compile this list. As I said, a big part of including a strap in this list was if they were handmade or produced by small companies. All prices are in United States Dollars, and do not include the postage prices. Arte di mano’ means ‘Art of Hand’ in Italian, but these beautiful straps are handmade by Sejun Kim in Seoul, South Korea. Sejun makes a very unusual, waxed cotton wrist strap using the very best material such as Italian leather, Spanish waxed cotton and waxed linen thread made in Germany. The company also makes custom made wrist straps in a dizzying variety of rare leathers. This is a premium product with absolutely top-quality workmanship, which is evidenced by the fact that Arte di Mano has collaborated with Leica, BMW, Samsung and a host of other high-end companies. – SHOP

For this DIY project, you won’t need to make a strap from scratch, rather, you’ll only have to cover the already existing strap. Most cameras come with a strap, this tutorial will teach you how to make a camera strap using your favorite piece of fabric. The making process is quite easy to follow. 3. DIY Camera Strap In modern times people forget about traditions. Everything is being mass-produced for the sake of profit. At Stroppa we do not want to follow this trend. We do not treat Stroppa as something subject to globalization and mass production. Our philosophy is different. Stroppa straps are handmade, following centuries-old traditions of artisans. Each piece of leather and rope is carefully transformed from raw material into a precious object that is meant to withstand the test of time.” There is a dizzying array of choices when it comes to wrist straps. Personally, I abhor the fact that we have become a throwaway society and the whole concept of designed obsolescence makes my blood boil. Far too often our purchasing decisions are based purely upon what product is the cheapest, rather than its quality, craftsmanship, history and provenance. The beautiful video above by Trillo & Sons in Fort Worth, Texas in the United States of America shows the craftmanship which goes into the products I’ve selected.Macrame has also been one of my favorite things to DIY, in this DIY guide, the creator will show you how to make a beautiful macrame camera strap. If this is your first time trying out macrame knots, feel free to pause the tutorial and replay if you are having a hard time following up. 22. Making A Leather Camera Strap I hadn’t seen this strap prior to my research but included it here because the design is very classy, and it is made of ultra-soft lambskin leather, which is one of the most beautiful leathers to wear against your skin. Lambskin is a very fine-grained leather with a smooth buttery texture, and has been used in high-end leather goods such as handbags made by French fashion houses like Hermes, Dior and Chanel. Viv Vante is the brainchild of Scott Morvay, a Leicaphile and photographer who saw a segment in the market for the very finest quality camera bags and straps. About the Bengal Unleashed strap he writes… “A lot of research and development went into the design. The Strap not only looks unique but can safely support the weight of the camera entirely. Our braid is also the most stylish on the market and it looks like a bracelet when wearing.” – SHOP In this DIY tutorial, the creator was able to make a professional camera wrist strap that you would probably love. It is 90% made of leather and 10% made of metal. For the making process, you will need a couple of tools to put the camera wrist strap together. 16. DIY Dual Camera Strap Harness Once both sides are complete, cut and melt the ends as close to the knots as possible. Finally attach the two key rings. The earliest wrist straps appeared in the 1930s, and probably the most beautiful was released with the Voigtländer Virtus and Prominent, 6×9 folding cameras produced between 1933 and 1935, and seen just below this paragraph. These cameras came with a heavy-duty plaited leather strap which connected to the lug mount.

Strap Maintenance: Regardless of material (leather, nylon, silk) you should clean your strap occasionally with a damp cloth and natural soap to remove body oils which can damage straps. Leather is a natural product and does require nourishment. I would recommend a natural product to condition your strap, Neatsfoot or Mink oil are the best, and I use Saphir Renovateur from France. For a more detailed guide see Hawksmille’s strap cleaning guide. Do you think this looks great? Well, you can easily DIY this camera strap in no time, you will need to know how to use a sewing machine, however. Here’s what you will need to make this; Your original factory-made strap, measuring tape, safety pin, a sewing machine, and a couple of other tools. The process of making this camera strap is quite easy to follow. 20. DIY Leather Camera Strap My favorite part of this camera strap has got to be the tassels and beads, it adds an amazing touch of elegance to this leather camera strap. The making process is easy to follow with the right tools handy. 24. Camera Strap Most of you won’t believe that this is a no-sew sequin camera strap till you get to see the full DIY guide. The creator was able to attach the sequin using glue. The process is pretty straightforward and can be done by anyone. 10. DIY Paracord Camera Strap I doubt there’s ever been an article as exhaustively obsessed with talking about wrist straps as this one. Here we go.Now we continue by braiding the 4 stranded round braid on each side. We braid about 10 inches (25 cm) on each side. The oldest and most environmentally-safe leather production method is vegetable tanning. I love how raw vegetable tanned leather darkens with age and develops a beautiful patina, but beware that colored vegetable tanned leather is prone to color-transference. I know that some people have ethical objections to leather, so I even found one strap made from rhubarb leather; who knew there was such a thing?

Oberwerth is German bag and strap manufacturer whose ISAR wrist strap is handmade from velvety and especially soft Rhubarb Leather®. Rhubarb Leather® is environmentally friendly and sustainably-produced in Germany with tannins from rhubarb root and is particularly friendly to the skin by avoiding chemical tanning agents. The soft interior padding incorporated into the wrist strap ensures a balanced distribution of the weight of the camera, and outstanding comfort. The ISAR wrist strap is designed to carry a load of up to 25 kg (55 lbs), and thus is particularly suitable for heavy DSLR and medium format film cameras. – SHOP Here’s something a bit different. Available in a range of primarily colors – including a surely impossible to mislay bright yellow – this strap and float combination is aimed at those who are taking a GoPro camera or phone swimming or snorkeling, and don’t want it disappearing into the beautiful brine-y. Alternatively, it could be attached to a compact pair of binoculars, or just about anything one would attach a strap to. Do you want to cover that huge Canon print on your camera strap? Here’s a tutorial that will show you how to neatly cover it up. You will need some fabric, scissors, a sewing machine, rubberband, and a couple of other tools for the making process. If you can sew a straight line, making this should be easy peasy. 7. DIY Scarf Camera Strap

Brian, the owner of Cordweaver, handmakes his classic “Cordy” camera wrist straps from genuine US manufactured Type III 550lb Paracord with seven internal strands rated to 249.4kg (550lb). Using a single length of Paracord, he creates a small eyelet at the beginning of the strap and then uses a cobra weave pattern to make each (approximately) 20 cm (8 inch) wristband. The remaining cord threads through the eyelet to form the wrist loop. Because of its high strength Paracord construction, the Cordy is extremely strong and safe to use for even the heaviest cameras. SHOP