Shoulder Pad Sew Along

OK! Who admits you over fill your bag? I know I do! And most of the bags I use are crossbody ones, which means they dig into my shoulder.

So I’m doing this mini tutorial to help you out with how to make a padded cushion for your strap.

What you will need.

1x Fat Quarter or ¼ metre (Main Fabric)

1x Fat Quarter of the Medium Weight Interfacing iron on.

1x 4 inch by 10 inch of Sew In Foam

1x piece of ½ inch wide x 26 inch long double fold Bias Binding tape (or make your own by cutting a 26 inch by 2 inch strip on the bias, making sure you cut your strips on the 45 degree angle.

Making your own Paper Template.

I’m making a 3 inch wide by 7 inch long pad (this is ideal for a 1 inch to 1 ½ inch wide strap).

Now, you can make yours as wide or as long as you want. You will need to work out your own measurements to make a different size one.

Step 1

Take an A4 piece of paper and fold it in half horizontally and crease the fold. Then open and repeat the half fold vertically and crease. So you have now quartered the piece of paper into 4.

 Step 2

On the creases, draw each line so you can visually see them. Then on either side of the vertical centre crease, measure 3 ½ inches on the right-hand side and draw a line, and then measure 3 ½ inches on the left hand side and draw a line.

 Step 3

From the horizontal centre crease, measure up 1 ½ inches and draw a line, then measure down 1 ½ inches and draw a line.

Step 4

From the 3 ½ inches marks, measure 1 inch on the outer edges and draw lines. By now you should have 8 drawn lines.

Step 5

Now, starting at the 1 ½ inch horizontal line, draw a curved line from one 3 ½ inch vertical line to the outer 1 inch vertical line, all the way up to the centre crease (see photo). This will become the master curve for all the other curves.

Step 6

Fold your paper vertically on the centre crease, with your marks on the outer side.

Step 7

Starting on the curve, cut around the curve to the 1 ½ inch marked line.

Step 8

Now cut along the 1 ½ inch marked line to the vertical centre crease. Then cut down the centre crease to the bottom of your paper.

Step 9

Open up the paper and now fold it on the horizontal line with the cut out on top. Draw around the curved shape onto the other half of the paper then open it out.

Step 10

Now cut around the new curved lines.

Step 11

This will be your cutting out template.

This template can also be used for an 1 inch wide strap too.

Cutting out

So your template is now effectively 2 templates.

The first template is the over all piece which we will call the Main Body.

The second part of the template is the rectangular shape you will get by folding in both 1-inch lines. This we will call the Tube.

Cut out from your Main Fabric the following pieces:

The Main Body - cut 2 pieces.

The Tube - cut 2 pieces.

Cut out of the Medium Weight Interfacing the following pieces:

The Main Body - cut 2 pieces.

The Tube - cut 2 pieces.

Preparing your fabric

Fuse the iron on Medium Weight Interfacing to the wrong side of all the corresponding pieces.

Making the Shoulder Pad

WS = Wrong Side

RS = Right Side

Step 1

Take one of the Main Body pieces and pop it WS facing down on the Sew In Foam. Pin it into place and baste stitch ¼ inch away from the edge, all the way around.

Step 2

Trim back the excess Sew In Foam to the Main Body piece.

Step 3

Flip the now attached Main Body piece over so the foam side is facing up. Pin/clip the other Main Body piece WS facing the foam.

Step 4

Baste stitch ¼ inch away from the edge, so the foam is now sandwiched between the 2 Main Body pieces.

Step 5

Take both the Tube pieces and pop them RS together. Then pin the 2 short edges together. Sew both together using a ¼ inch seam allowance.

Step 6

Turn the Tube RS facing out and press well. Then top stitch 1/8 inch away from the 2 short edges.

Step 7

Take the Main Body piece and find the centre top and bottom of the 2 long edges. Then find the centre top and bottom of the 2 long edges on the Tube.

Step 8

Matching up the centres on the Tube and Main Body piece, pop the tube onto the Main Body and then pin the Tube into place down the 2 long edges. Baste stitch the Tube within the seam allowance down those 2 edges.

Step 9

Open out the Bias Binding and down one long edge, using clips attach the raw edge of the binding to the edge of the pad. You will need to leave a large amount of Bias Binding over hanging and use a clip to hold it into place.

Step 10

At your machine sew the Bias Binding on to the pad. You will be sewing on the crease nearest the edge. Start sewing just after the halfway mark on one long edge.

Step 11

Sew all the way around but stop after you’ve sewn the last curve of the main pad.

Step 12

Trim the start of the Bias Binding back so you have an inch overhang.

Step 13

Now, get the end of the Bias Binding strip (which is the side you finished sewing at), and lay that on top of the start of the binding. Trim it where its 1 inch over the start of the Bias Binding.

Step 14

Take the now trimmed back end Bias Binding piece and fold the edge to the WS by ½ inch and press.

Step 15

Place the start of the Bias Binding piece on top of the fold of the end binding piece, and clip the rest of the binding to the raw edge of the shoulder pad.

Step 16

Carry on sewing the rest of the Bias Binding onto the main pad.

Step 17

Peel back the Bias Binding closest to the raw edge and now trim back the Main Body by at least 1/8 inch but no more than ¼ inch. Do not touch the Bias Binding.

Step 18

Now bring the Bias Binding over to the back of the pad and clip the binding into place.

Step 19

You can hand sew the binding or machine the binding, to finish off the pad.

You are done!!