Creative articles about sewing

Easy instructions for sewing a fabric belt

Dear community,
in this blog post you can find easy instructions for sewing a fabric belt.

Easy instructions for sewing a fabric belt

So I have this belt… that I bought several years ago at a skate shop. This belt is – who would have thought it – made out of fabric and is secured with two metal rings. After many years of wear and tear and going a few rounds in the washing machine, this belt is looking a little rough, but I still love wearing it. Being able to adjust the belt down to the millimeter is a big plus, and I am not crazy about the pre-punched holes on other belts that don’t give me the exact fit I that need. 

But you can very easily and very quickly make yourself a belt just like this, and it is perfect as a last-minute gift.

In this tutorial, I will show you exactly what you need and how to make one.

Materials

You will need: 

  • Material of your choice: 10 cm x the desired length of your belt (for me it is 110 cm – i.e. the full width of my Ombré Confetti fabric)
  • Vlieseline Bundfix waist-shaper 10x30x30x10 – in the desired length of your belt – 2 cm (108 cm in my case)
  • 2 D-rings or O-rings (depending on what you have) 30 cm wide
  • Small piece of fabric 8 cm x 4 cm

A little background before we get started:

Things to know about Vlieseline Bundfix Waist-Shaper

Bundfix Waist-Shaper is generally used for the waistbands of skirts or pants. The pre-measured lines save you the trouble of marking the necessary breaking lines and also serve as guidelines when sewing. Bundfix Waist-Shaper has a coated side that you iron on the reverse side. The manufacturer recommends you follow these steps:

“Apply the coated side to the waistband strip with a dry iron. Glide slowly over each area 5-6 times
and press firmly so that each area is exposed to the heat for about 8 seconds (iron setting: wool).
Allow it to cool for about 20 minutes so that the adhesive can stabilize.”

Bundfix Waist-Shaper comes in the following widths: 25, 30, and 35 mm. It also comes in two colors: black and white. Bundfix is good for more than just skirt and pants waistbands, it also works well for bag handles and, of course, belts. So now that we have that under our belts, let’s get started.

Tutorial

The first belt I am going to show you is fastened with 2 D-rings. To make threading into the D-rings easier, your belt is going to be rounded at the end. Fold the Bundfix Waist-Shaper together and cut a nice curve. 

Following the manufacturer’s instructions, iron the rounded waist-shaper onto the wrong side of the selected fabric. The waist-shaper will have a margin of 1 cm from the selvage. This margin will be helpful. Set the material aside to cool and turn your attention to the small piece of fabric that will hold the D-ring in place.

I recommend strengthening the piece with some interfacing, such as a scrap piece of H200 (H180 will also work, just see what you have laying around). We will now halve the piece of material so that we have a 4×4 cm square. Sew this square together into a tube along the 4 cm long  open edge with a seam allowance of 1 cm. 

Then turn the tube and iron it well. I keep the seam in the middle and separate the seam allowances, as this allows the seam allowances to reinforce the tube a little. 

Slide both D-rings into the completed tube and stitch both open edges of the seam allowance. 

Now we will deal with the curved end of the belt. Fold the belt right side to right side along the center line and sew along the curve within a few cm of the edge of the pre-determined line. 

 

Finely cut the curve and turn this sewn rounded end on its right side. Keeping in mind the motto “well ironed is half sewn”, it is time to iron your belt. At the end of the belt with the straight edge, iron the seam allowance on the wrong side. 

On the long edge of the belt, iron the seam allowance along the pre-determined lines folded into the belt. Likewise, iron the belt together along the center breaking line. Approach the round end of the belt from the open end outward. Thanks to the snappy curve and the unreinforced seam allowance, this pretty rounded belt end is easy to iron. So take a few minutes to carefully shape a beautiful tip for your belt. Use a few Wonder Clips to hold the ironed folded edges against each other.

Insert the square with the D-rings onto the belt end and hold it in place using Wonder Clips.

Now stitch all around the edges of the entire belt. For this, I like to use the Edge Stitch Foot 10 or, lately, the Bulky Overlock Foot 12. When I get to the part with the D-rings, I double stitch in order to better secure the D-ring clasp. 

And voila! Your belt is done!  Pull it through your belt loops – to fasten it just thread the end of the belt through the D-rings like this.

 

Alternative fasteners

If you don’t have any rings in your home or are looking for alternatives, then try the following:

  • Slide belt buckle
  • Clip fastener

Use a metal belt end for the slide belt buckle and clip fastener, as this will allow the belt to be inserted very smoothly. The clip fastener is tightened using a tube like those used to secure the D-rings.

If you are unable to find any Bundfix Waist-Shaper, simply use S320 lightweight interlining. Cut this to be double the width of your belt, so about 6 cm or 7 cm wide. You will be lacking the pre-drawn lines, but will at least have a nice edge to iron. 

 

I hope you have a lot of fun sewing these personalized belts for yourself or as gifts to friends and family!

And happy Advent season!

Love, Dominique

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