My dark cloth has velcro across the entire top edge on the black side. Half way across it is hook type and the other half is loop type. That way, I can hang the thing over my back and camera and then use the velcro to bring the dark side together and block light from the ground.

As far as cleaning goes, if you make both sides out of the same material, you should just be able to throw it in the washing machine if it gets dirty. I, however, went with black silk velvet on the inside and white cotton twill on the outside so I'm not sure if I can wash it. I figure that the little dirt marks on the white side show that I actually use my camera instead of just pose around.

Nathaniel