Sewing the wrap belt

A new day, and a new door opens here in the BERNINA Advent Calendar! Today I’m going to show you how you can easily sew a wrap belt and transform it into a magical, elegant winter accessory using shiny embroidery thread. Whether for your own Christmas outfit or as a gift for a loved one – this belt is a real eye-catcher and super easy to sew with no cutting pattern at all!

What you need for this:

Changeant taffeta, approx. 50 cm
Firm iron-on interlining, for example Vlieseline H250
Black sewing thread to match the taffeta
Shiny embroidery thread in a contrasting color, in my case it is purple and gold
Standard machine needle, size 70-80
Magic pencil (disappears when ironing)

You can design the cutting pattern directly on the fabric or – as I did here – as a paper pattern. This makes it easy to use again and again. All you need is pattern paper, a ruler, paper scissors and a pencil.

Designing the cutting pattern

The pattern for the belt actually only consists of two parts: The belt itself and the tie band. To determine the basic length of the belt, simply measure your own waist size. This is the length of the belt. As the pattern is cut in the fabric fold, you will need half of it. The finished belt has a height of 7.5 cm, so the first thing I do is to draw a long rectangle 7.5 cm high and 35 cm long (my waist width/2) on the paper.

The belt is curved towards the ends, as this makes it easier to wrap around the waist. That’s why I subtract 1 cm from the top and bottom of one end. Now I fold the paper in half so that the sheet is even on both sides and draw a line from the center front to the new height. I cut off the paper above it.

And the basic cut is finished. The tie bands each have a finished length of 1 m and a height of 4 cm. Please note that if the waist is more than 80 cm, the ties must also be longer. You can calculate the length of your straps with a simple rule of three:

(100 * Waist circumference)/70 = Length of the band in cm

I need a 100 cm long tie band for a waist circumference of 70-80 cm. The formula results from this.

Cutting the parts to size

To sew the belt, cut out the following parts:

Belt, 2x on the fabric fold (seam allowance must be added)! I recommend 1.5 cm)
2 tie bands, 103 x 11 cm (seam allowance of 1.5 cm included)
Belt 1x cut from iron-on interlining

Then iron the interlining onto the inside of one of the belt parts.

Sewing a waist belt with embroidery

Before sewing the belt together, I embroider the top with the decorative stitches of my BERNINA 480. This is not a particular embroidery machine, but it comes with all kinds of great decorative stitches. With a beautiful embroidery thread, you can embroider wonderful details that will turn your home-sewn clothing into something very special. In this case, some “bling” is added to the belt. Before I start embroidering, I first draw the seam line to be sewn later. For this I use the “magic pen”, a fabric marker that disappears later when ironing.

BERNINA 480

The B 480 is made for all sewers and hobby tailors who love beautiful design but also sophisticated automatic features. A brilliantly simple machine.

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Which decorative stitch shall I use?

The selection of decorative stitches at BERNINA is so vast that sometimes I have no idea where to start. That’s why I tested different stitches with the embroidery thread on a scrap of fabric beforehand. I definitely recommend this to you too! This way you can see straight away how the stitches come out on your fabric and where you may need to vary the length or density.

I embroider the first row with Stitch No. 416 and the Open Embroidery Foot #20. This foot is very wide and open in the center. This gives you the advantage that you can always see exactly what the machine is embroidering, and you can correct it in good time if something gets stuck or doesn’t run in the right direction. To ensure that the embroidery is straight, I guide the fabric exactly along the lateral marking line of my stitch plate.

Open Embroidery Foot #20

Perfect for sewing decorative stitches ✓ Creation of attractive appliqué designs ✓ Allows lines and patterns to be followed precisely ✓ An open form for a clear view of the project ✓ For 5.5 mm and 9 mm machines ✓

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I embroider the next row in the same way with Stitch No. 708, using the first row as a guide . For my belt, I embroidered two rows at the top and two rows at the bottom and left the center free, as this is where the tie band will be wrapped around later.

Sewing the wrap belt

Once everything is nicely embroidered, it’s time to sew the actual belt.

Sewing the tie bands together

First, iron a short edge of each tie band towards the wrong side. This is the visible end later. Next, fold the band in half lengthwise and topstitch it together once from the beginning to the end.

Then turn the bands inside out using a safety pin and iron it.

I sewed the visible ends of the bands together with a decorative stitch. To prevent the machine from pulling in the fabric on the short piece, I started in the middle at each end of the strip and sewed to the edge before sewing the other side. You can also simply close the ends invisibly by hand with a blanket stitch.

Sewing the tie bands to the belt

Now place the two tie bands on the front part of the belt, exactly in the center between the two edges. Topstitch them there. To prevent them from slipping later, it is best to fix them to the belt part with a few pins now.

Sewing belt parts together

Once you have finished, pin the two belt parts right side on right side on top of each other. The bands peek out at one point, which will later become your opening to turn the belt inside out.

Now topstitch the parts on top of each other and leave an approx. 5 cm wide opening where the bands hang out.

The seam allowance is now shortened and clipped narrowly at the corners. The seam allowance only remains as it is in the area of the opening.

I iron this inwards before turning it inside out.

Turning the wrap belt inside out and ironing

In the next step, turn the belt inside out. The hanging bands are a good turning aid!

In order to shape the corners above the bands neatly, I use a wooden stick to carefully turn the corners. Finally, the opening is closed with a few hand stitches.

Last but not least, iron the entire belt into shape from the inside. And your Christmas accessory is ready!

Personalized wrap belt – as a gift or Christmas accessory

Even if things get hectic again before Christmas – this belt turns a simple black dress or sweater into a festive outfit in no time at all.

The shiny embroidery is a great head-turner, but at the same time it is not too opulent. The belt is perfect for all kinds of festive occasions, whether it’s a Christmas party with colleagues, Christmas dinner with the family or – worn over a coat – a meeting at the Christmas market.

With this belt, you definitely don’t need to worry about your waist size after the festive season. As it is wrapped, it will also adapt flexibly to a small cookie tummy 🙂

But even after the festive season, it has not had its day. The shimmering fabric and shiny embroidery can accompany your elegant outfits for the rest of the winter. To be honest, I have sewn three of them at once. One for me and two for my dearest friends.

More versions, more ideas, more belts!

For the second and third belts, I have experimented a little with the shape and the bands, as you can see. The second belt has a straight cut and a small drawstring at the back for a cord to replace the tie band. The third belt is curved again, but the tie bands are sewn from imitation leather. I deliberately didn’t topstitch them so that they are still slightly elastic for a great wrap look.

As you can see, you can get really creative with this simple accessory, and there are lots of possible variations here!