Ever since I heard the song "Ukulele Anthem" I knew I had to have one of those magical instruments, despite the fact that I am terrible at learning anything musical! Welp, I have the money now and an idea of what uke I want - I just have to wait until February. ARGH! That gives me time to decide though and come up with tons of plans, so I suppose I can suffer the wait.
In the meanwhile I have been thinking of making my own ukulele straps and cases. I have already decided that I want to revert the box the uke comes in into it's own hard case (reinforced and prettied up of course.) But then I started to wonder, if I wanted to make a strap what kind would it be? I don't want to add a button so there are only so many choices. Uke thongs? Hate them. I came up with some ideas on both cases and straps... Actually, it's more like a collection of ideas I got from asking other people and searching the interwebz. So here is my list, even though it's pretty much just for my own benefit since no one reads my blog! Hah.
Hardware for straps:
Strong magnet - This could be used to make it more like a guitar style strap, just put a magnet in the strap and on the inside of the uke. Shouldn't damage anything and also hold it nice enough without fear of falling.
Black clips - This would make unclipping the uke fast and easy so you could have the part that wraps around the headstock separate from the part that wraps around you (and can either connect again with the magnet, go around the body of the uke, or connect to you somehow - lots of possibilities.)
Metal strap adjuster - This could also be used in place of black clips or just used in general to adjust the length of the strap. As I said, lots of possibilities here.
Damage free hanging hooks - I actually saw this idea on another blog. I'm not sure if I would risk it, although with a cheap uke - who cares? It looked like if you followed the directions it should work out just fine without damaging your uke, so it is a feasible idea.
Types of straps:
Cotton - of course folded and sewed. This would be nice because you can make it as thick as you want with any type of decorative pattern. I would go with soft material of course like cotton. I think I would wrap the headstock with something different though, but I'm not sure.
Crochet / Knitted - I thought this was a great idea, it could be as simple or as decorative as you like along with however soft you wanted. Adding a button near the yarn that attaches to the headstock and body (if you want to wrap it around the body) could make it easily attachable.
Ties / Belts - Putting these in the same category because they are not much different. Buying a tie or belt from the thrift store is cheap and can look as nice as you want. All you would really need to do is add some hardware, or if you don't care if it looks too nice you could just tie it on I suppose. I would just make sure that whatever is wrapping around your uke isn't too scratchy of course.
Lanyards - This is also self explanatory. These would work perfect if you just wanted to make an uke thong, or you could convert them to a different style strap.
I have seen styles that wrap around the body over the sound hole and again around the headstock under the strings (of course.) I think that may be one of the better ways of adding on a strap if you wanted more of a guitar style one without adding a button, unless you wanted to go the magnet route. I think I will try several different ways after I get my uke to find which one works best. Some people may not like straps but I think I will find it a lot easier, especially since I am just learning.
For some DIY case ideas I have another list, although not quite as extensive.
DIY case ideas:
Using the box the uke came in - There are lots of tutorials on how to convert the box into a case. I would personally like to upgrade the box with maybe some thin plywood, batting, and nice fabric. Of course the closure type is totally personal. If adding fabric a zipper could be added, or you could add straps (which I think is the most feasible.) Search the web and you'll find lots of good tutorials.
Crochet / Knitted - This would be a fairly easy project depending on how fancy you want to make it. I've seen one that is knitted and felted but that would take a lot of yarn. I think the easiest thing would be to just knit / crochet it with double yarn (or at least a somewhat chunky yarn) and then lining it with fabric and adding a zipper. I think the zipper is a lot better than the pouch style I have seen. The handle could also be crocheted / knitted or you could add on a purse handle, fabric handle, etc. Whatever you feel comfortable with.
Fabric, of course - There are lots of neat fabric cases out there and many DIY tutorials. Just remember to add some batting for extra cushioning for your uke and don't use material that your uke will catch on and rip or get scratched up by. This is also great because you can add as many pockets as you want and whatever handle you want. I would make sure to use one long zipper though because if you put a short zipper in the back it may mess up your tuning and whatnot when you pull the uke out. Additionally a few straps would also work fine!
So anyway, those are just some ideas I have collected. I don't even have my uke yet and already I have a name for her (or him, most of my things are male), plans for DIY cases, DIY straps, and songs saved to a songbook that I want to learn. Am I getting a little obsessed? Maybe. But that's alright, if I put a lot of passion and effort into this I know I will actually finally be able to learn an instrument and maybe someday sound good at it! Once these things are made I'll be posting again. I am also contemplating painting it but that's a whole 'nother discussion that I probably shouldn't get into to save your sanity (self, since I'm the only one reading haha!)
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