It’s really easy to sew a padded bag handle, and I especially love making them for bags that are going to carry a bit of weight. Want to sew one with me?
What You’ll Need:
Here’s what I used. Feel free to tweak it to the strap length you need and what you have on hand.
- 1 x 125 cm x 6 cm (49.2 x 2.3 inches) Bottom Fabric (To go on the inside of the strap against the shoulder) – I used Polycotton Canvas
- 1 x 125 cm x 6 cm (49.2 x 2.3 inches) Top Fabric – I used Quilting Cotton – Mine was cut into 2 x 62.5cm pieces with a seam allowance added in the middle to join them. This way I can make sure that my pattern faces upright on both sides of the shoulder.
- 2 x 80 cm x 8cm (31.5 x 3.1 inches) Wadding (Also Called Batting) or Foam – I used 4oz Polyester Wadding. You can cut this to the same width, but I find it easier to just cut it a little wider and trim it down after.
- Polyester Thread
Want to sew along? I’ve made this video tutorial for you. If you prefer step by step instructions, just scroll past it and you’ll find plenty of photos and tips to help guide you instead.
If you wanted to use matching fabrics for top and bottom fabrics, then you might want to make a couple of adjustments. I used polycotton to give it strength and structure, and quilting cotton to keep it lighter, prettier, and not as bulky. I matched the rest of the bag like this too. If you are using thick fabric like canvas for both sides, you may need to trim down excess bulk in the seams and you may want to use a lighter batting like 2oz polyester. If you want to use quilting cotton for both, you may want to add extra strength back in by adding in some fusible interfacing, and maybe switching the batting out for foam.
How To Arrange The Fabric Layers
First I joined my cotton pieces with a quick straight stitch in the middle, so that I’d have one long strip that matches my canvas piece. Because I’ve used a directional fabric, it means I can keep the pattern facing upright on both sides of the strap.
I like to finger-press that seam open afterwards rather than just pushing it to one side. I find it lays flatter so that they’ll be less bulk at the shoulder area, which makes the bag more comfy, especially if you need to join fabrics for both the top and bottom of the strap.
Then I line up all the layers: one piece of batting first, then the canvas facing up and the cotton facing down on top of it. So they should be stacked up with the right sides of the fabrics facing each other. I left a couple of centimetres (about an inch) of the cotton and canvas overlapping the end of the batting. That will be used later for closing the end of the strap. I do this at both ends, leaving the middle for after.
These layers tend to shift around, so plenty of clips really help keep everything in place. Once I just have the middle left, I like to flip it all over, so the fabric side is on the table. Then I take the two middle ends of the batting and overlap them. There’s about 20 cm or so that should be overlapping from each end. By overlapping the padding in the middle of the strap, they’ll be no uncomfortable bulky seams or gaps in the middle and the strap is thickest at the point of the most weight. It also stops it being bulky all the way down to where I sew it to the bag, so it’s easier to attach in place after too.
How To Sew The Padded Strap
I like to use a walking foot on my sewing machine to stitch these layers together. I start from the start of the batting (leaving the extra bit of cotton and canvas) right up the entire long edge. I add a little forward and back stitch at the start and end to secure the thread ends so it won’t come apart when I turn it later.
I use a regular straight stitch but I find that increasing the stitch length a bit helps to sew more easily through the thick layers. I find sewing slow and steady helps to keep everything lined up. At the middle cotton seam, I smooth out the fabric to keep it nice and flat as I sew over it, which gives a neater finish.
A walking foot is useful for this because it feeds the fabric from the top at the same time as the feed dogs move it from underneath. That keeps all the layers lined up and moving at the same speed, so they’re less likely to shift or get distorted. You can find out more with our tutorial on how a walking foot works.
Once it’s sewn down both long edges (leaving the ends open), I trim down all the extra batting around the seams. It doesn’t fray, so I can get it nice and close. Just be careful not to snip the fabric or stitches.
Then I turn the strap so that it’s right side out. It does take a bit of patience with a long bulky strap like this. I like to use long-nose pliers to grab the fabric inside and gently pull it through. Once it’s mostly turned, I tuck the ends back in on themselves, so that the extra fabric wraps around the batting end inside. I just give them a wiggle around until they make a nice neat seam at the end.
A quick press with a hot iron really helps it take shape. I tend to press both sides of the fabric inside the opening before pressing it together as a whole. The bulk and layers can reduce how much the heat travels through to the other side, so it ends up much neater working on both sides.
Then I top stitch all the way down the side of the strap. I like to start in the middle on a part of the pattern that isn’t too noticeable, then it hides my forward and backward or overlapping stitches to anchor in the ends of the thread.
Usually I’d sew the top stitch closer to the edge, but with the extra bulk here, I think it looks better a little further in. If you want to reinforce your strap for more weight, you can add extra criss crossing or quilting patterned stitches inside the top stitching lines too.
At the ends, I leave the needle down, pivot my foot and sew all along the bottom edges, sealing in the raw fabric edges, before turning and coming back up again.
Now all that’s left is to attach it to my bag. I like to do this by positioning the strap over the side seam then stitching out a square at the bottom of the strap. Then I add a cross through the centre to reinforce it even more. I like to use a thick fabric foot to do this so I can easily bump up and down over those bulky edges. If you haven’t got one, you may want to use some cardboard butted up against the strap edge to help keep an even sewing surface for your walking foot. If you want to find out more, you can check out my tutorial on the thick fabric foot and how to sew around thick fabrics here.
By fixing the strap to the outside seam, none of the bag’s weight pulls at the top seam, which could stretch it out of shape over time. By going through the side seam and both the lining and outer fabric of the bag itself, it also helps to spread the weight further rather than just pulling at one point.
There it is — all finished and ready to load up. What do you think?
If you have any other tips for how you like to make this kind of padded strap then please do share them.
Happy Sewing
