Book Straps on How About Orange!

Remember these? When I was in school in the 80's, these were the hippest school accessory after one-shoulder backpacks. We didn't have lockers in our schools, or desks within which we could stash textbooks, so we carried all our heavy books and notebooks to and from school each day. These book straps - also called them book bands - were lifesavers. For some reason (lockers, probably), they aren't as popular here in the US as in Asia and Europe. Which was why I was ever so pleased that so many of you guessed what they were from my vague clue and even less helpful photo in this post. 

The book straps we used back in those days cost about US$3 and had icky plastic buckles and lurid webbing straps. We thought they were cool, at any rate. Now, you can invest in the grown-up leather versions from Japan, or you could make your own, with gorgeous fabric and vinyl.

I am thrilled to be guest-posting today on How About Orange and sharing the tutorial for these book straps. Jessica, its all-around-crafty-and-funny author is the fabric designer extraordinaire behind the beautiful Outside Oslo fabric I used for my straps. 

I'll be showing you how to work with this lovely upholstery-grade vinyl,

how to sew these faux-leather buckles with their metal loops

by machine  

or by hand;

right-handed

or left-

and how to use these nifty straps to keep your books and magazines together.

Now your favorite books can have a fashion sense all of their own

and -who knows - we might even start a new old trend!

Now head over to How About Orange to see how it's done!