Lomography Tutorials: Adjustable Snake Knot Camera Strap

Feeling creative and got some free time on your hands? We've got the right project for you! Here's another tutorial for an easy and fun-to-make camera strap to save you from boredom and a little bit of cash.

First off, we'd like to thank all of you for supporting our previous camera strap project. We didn't expect the response we got after publishing it and to give thanks, we came up with another tutorial just for you. The principles are the same — adjustable, can be easily customized, and fun to make. Last time we showed you the cobra stitch version, now we're bringing you a similar weave in the form of the snake knot.

Here are the materials you'll need:

• 9-10 feet (274-304cm) of 550 paracord (white)
• 2-3 feet of 550 paracord (blue)
• a cigarette lighter
• a pair of scissors
• a small key ring
• ruler
• tape (optional)

Let's begin with the tutorial!

1. Find the middle of your cord.

This is called the “bite” and it will serve as the loop where you thread the ends of your strap into later at the end of the process. With your ruler, find the half-inch mark of your cord. You can measure less depending on your preference. A shorter length will give you a narrow loop while a longer length will give you the exact opposite.

2. Pinch the part where you're going to start the weave.

Now, keep the left and right strands parallel to each other. Take the left strand and go over the right strand and behind it.

3. As you can see, you just created a loop on the right side of your cord.

Take the right strand and go behind the left strand, pull it up, and thread it into the loop. If you've done this correctly, it will look something like this.

4. You just completed your first snake knot.

This will be the pattern of the rest of the strap. To create another knot, repeat the steps again. Remember to always start with the left strand, go over the right strand and behind it. Take the right strand, go behind the left strand pull up and thread it into the loop. Be sure to keep it tight to maintain the uniform look of the weave.

5. Do the same pattern until you're contented with the length of the weave.

Rule of thumb is every foot of paracord is equivalent to one inch. For this tutorial, we kept on weaving until the overall length of the pattern was 7 inches.

6. When you're done weaving, get the two ends of your paracord and thread them into the bite/loop you created at the beginning.

This will serve as the adjustable end of your strap. Take the ends of your paracord and thread them into the key ring. We did this by going under the key ring and bringing the ends towards the front. The cord ends should be facing you if you did it correctly.

7. Now it's time to attach the key ring to your strap.

To do this, you need to take the right strand, pull it to the right and go behind it to make a loop. You then take the same strand and thread it into the loop you just made. Pull on the ends of your paracord to tighten it.

8. To finish attaching the strap to your key ring, repeat the same steps only this time with your left strand.

You should have something that looks like this.

9. With the paracord securely attached to your key ring, you can now begin wrapping the adjustable end of your strap.

This weave is called the “whipping knot.” Get your shorter length of paracord, find the two inch mark from the bite and place it over the strap. Keep it parallel to stay clear from snags later on. The shorter end of the cord should be at the top with the longer end of your cord at the bottom.

10. You then take the longer end of the cord and go around the shorter end (including the adjustable length of your strap.)

Secure all strands together by wrapping it repeatedly. You can decide from here on how many wraps you need. Be sure to keep a tight wrap over all the stands.

11. Once you've gone over almost all of the strands, take the longer end of your cord and thread it into the bite/loop.

This will catch the cord when you tighten both ends of your whipping knot.

12. Now that you've inserted the longer end through the bite/loop, pull the shorter end to close the loop and the knot.

You may also pull on the longer end of the cord for a tighter fit. It should look something like this.

13. You're almost there.

All you need to do is cut the excess paracord with your scissors and singe the ends with your lighter. Be careful not to snip/singe too close to other cords to avoid damage.

And you're done! It takes a few more steps than our previous camera strap tutorial but it's still very much doable. You can experiment with different cord colors for this strap so don't be afraid to mix and match. You can also choose to gut/remove the inner strands of the shorter paracord for a more streamlined whipping knot. We hope you try this one out but if you need more options, feel free to check out our Online Shop for a wide selection of camera straps.

Let us know in the comments section below if you'd like to see other similar tutorials. Share your finished projects if you tried making one, too!

written by cheeo on 2018-05-02 #gear #tutorials #diy #craft #camera-wrist-strap #paracord