How to make a piped handle for a bag

There are some gorgeous bags being made around blogland lately. Sadly, none of them by me (it's on my list ... okay??).

Check out this little beauty by Marmaladekiss. Julia said she'd had problems with making the handles, so I thought I'd pop a quick tutorial on about how I do it.

You will need:

Piping cord, whatever size is suitable for your bag style
A strip of fabric to cover your cord
A small amount of sticky tape
A loop turner (a very inexpensive bit of kit which you will get from most sewing shops, and very handy to have! I think mine cost less than £2)

First of all, this is what a loop turner looks like. You could probably make one from some stiff craft wire, bent over at the end to form a hook.

To work out the size of the fabric strip, fold your fabric in half, with the cord in the middle until it is covered, then measure 1cm (you need 1cm either side of the cord, for the seam allowance). Press the strip flat.

Fold in half right sides together, without pressing, and sew the edges together. Backstitch at the ends , but don't sew right up to the end. Trim seam allowance.

Insert loop turner.

Poke the prong through the farbic at the end, and secure the hook in place.

Fiddle until you can pull the fabric back through the tube. (I forgot to trim my seam allowance, just pretend, OK?)

Gently pull the fabric through itself, until eventually it comes out the other end of the tube

Unclip the loop turner. Poke the loop turner back through the tube. Wrap a small amount of tape around the end of you piping cord. Push the loop turner up into the tape, starting at the open end, push it in between the cord and the tape until it comes out of the tape, then secure the loop in place.

Gently pull the cord through. Press the handle with the cord inside, which acts as a mini seam press and avoids nasty crease marks.

Easy when you know how!

A note from Julie :~ Thanks Anna!!

Check out Anna's fantastic Marmadaisy blog for more sewing tips and tutorials :)