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Turn a Vera Bradley Crossbody Bag into a Shoulder Bag in Less Than 5 Minutes { No-Sew Project }

No-sew way to turn a Vera Bradley crossbody bag into a shoulder bag  |  3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires
A few months ago, I was at the mall with my family because my oldest was taking a coding class at the Microsoft store.  The class was an hour long, so I went across the way to browse at the Vera Bradley store.  It had been awhile since I had been in there.  I asked my daughter to join me.

Big surprise!  My browsing turned into buying.  My daughter and I both loved the Lilac Tapestry print and I couldn't pass up a chance to have another set of mother-daughter coordinating handbags.  I went pretty, but practical, and picked out the Small Trimmed Vera Tote.  My daughter had a little more trouble though.  She used to be all about crossbody bags, but now that she is a little older, she really wanted a shoulder bag, like a mini hobo or something with a shorter strap.  The problem was that Vera Bradley didn't carry any smaller bags that weren't a crossbody style at the moment.  We looked at the Vera Bradley Little Crossbody bag, and I decided I could probably do a little altering and shorten the strap on that bag for her.

When I got home, I had a feeling of doubt.  What if I shortened the strap on that bag and my daughter changes her mind?

How I shortened the strap on our Vera Bradley crossbody bag with no sewing . . . 

Step 1.  Adjust the 56" strap to the desired length, even though you will have a tail of excess fabric.  (I would say that ours was adjusted to have a 6" or 7" drop.)
Step 2.  Tie a knot at the base of the strap to keep the strap from being lengthened or shortened any further.

Step 3.  Tuck the tail of excess fabric into the exterior pocket on the backside of the bag.  Secure it inside the pocket with a small safety pin to make sure it stays put and does not interfere with the functionality of the pocket.
How to turn a Vera Bradley crossbody bag into a shoulder bag tutorial  |  3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires
That's it!  The tail blends in well whether you have a print or solid fabric bag.  Because the tail is tucked into the pocket on the backside of the bag, it really isn't noticeable at all.  My daughter was very pleased with the result, and I feel good that I can easily turn this bag back into a crossbody bag if she so desires.
How to easily turn a Vera Bradley crossbody bag into a shoulder bag with no sewing  |  3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires
Although I haven't tried this with other styles of Very Bradley crossbody bags, it should work if you have the following:
  • An adjustable strap
  • A strap that is not too wide to tie in a knot neatly
  • A pocket on the backside of the bag that runs the nearly the full width of the bag.
What easy no-sew projects have you tried?  Share them with us in a comment here.