Tutorial • Making Belts

In view of the fact that I really don't like indoor photo shoots, and the weather outside has been nasty, I decided to post a little tutorial today in lieu of dress photos.

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Back when I posted my Redo Dress, Sarah A. and Irene asked about my method of sewing keyhole openings and making belts. My mom happened to be making a belt the other day, so it was the perfect opportunity to photograph our method. The keyhole tutorial will be up in a week or two!

First of all, you will need to cut 2 strips of fabric, each one being twice the inside width of your belt, plus 3/8". For this belt, the inside width of the buckle was 7/8", so she cut each strip of fabric 2 1/8" wide.

You also need to cut two strips of interfacing; we use a heavyweight type that is actually for home decor. Be sure to choose a thick enough interfacing, otherwise your belt will tend to fold as you wear it. Cut each strip the actual width of the inside of your belt buckle.

You can also use belting instead of interfacing as I did for my pleated 1950s dress. (See * below second picture).

Fuse the interfacing onto the wrong side of your fabric, making sure that the interfacing is centered on the fabric strip, and that you have at least 1/8" on the end to fold over later.

Once you have fused each strip of interfacing, it is time to form the point of your belt! Mark the center of your interfacing on the point end. Then iron over the end of the strip, as in the picture below. Once the end is folded over, fold each side of the strip over into a point, lining up the edges with your center mark. Press.

*If you are using belting, simply cut your piece of belting the desired length, cutting one end into a point or angle, and follow the directions below for folding the fabric around it. You will then remove the belting from the piece you just ironed and repeat the same techniques with the other half. Then sew it together following these same instructions.

Next, fold over and press the fabric edges. The interfacing edge makes it very easy to fold the fabric over evenly!

Repeat with the other side of the belt.

Once you have pressed both sides of each belt strip, you are ready to sew!

Using a hand sewing needle and thread, blind stitch the point end of the belt together so that it stays perfectly aligned.

Now it's time to sew the belt together! I prefer to use my regular presser foot, but my mom likes to use the zipper foot. Try each one out to see which way is easier for you!

Start sewing at the point of the belt, just 1/8" from the edge. Sew to the end of the belt and repeat with the other edge.

Now that your belt is sewn together, it's time to add the finishing touches! If your buckle has a prong, as this one does, sew (or install) eyelets in the appropriate places, and sew the belt to the buckle. You can also add a belt loop as my mom did.

If you have an ordinary slide buckle, you can either permanently sew the belt to the buckle or use our nifty little buckle-sharing method;

The buckle is slid onto the point end of your belt.

A hook is then sewn onto the point end of the belt, with a corresponding eye (or eyes) on the other end of the belt in the desired places;

Since pretty vintage buckles are rather scarce, this method seems quite sensible as it allows you to share buckles between many different dresses.

The end result!

I apologize for being so long-winded, but with tutorials it is hard to be otherwise! If you have any questions, please let me know!

And as if there aren't already enough photos in this post, here's a couple of sneak peeks of my current projects. :)

I'll be back on Friday with Vol. II of Woman's Home Companion!

• Special thanks to my mom for letting me distract her sewing with my photography! ;) •