How to Make a Fashion Belt

Fashion belts can be as simple or as decorative as you like. You can make the belt from strap or belt material, available in many fabric stores, or from fabric to match a particular outfit or color you like. You can simply tie the belt around your waist, or buy belt buckles on-line or in many fabric stores. Belt buckles can be plain and simple, a decorative shape or covered in beads or rhinestones. No matter how you make your fashion belt, the belt should be long enough to wrap around your waist with at least several inches of overlap. Depending on what kind of belt you make, you may need some or all of the supplies listed blow.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• fabric or strap material
• matching thread
• scissors
• belt buckle
• eyelets
• eyelet punch
• eyelet installation tool
• hammer
• iron
• ironing board
• sewing machine
• small safety pin

Make a Fabric Belt

1. Cut a strip of fabric about 1 inch longer than you want the finished belt to be and twice as wide plus 1/2 inch.

2. Fold the short ends of the fabric over 1/2 inch toward the wrong side of the fabric. Press the folds flat.

3. Fold the fabric in half right sides together and stitch along the edge opposite the fold.

4. Attach a small safety pin to one layer of the fabric, near the end. Insert the safety pin inside the belt and push it through to turn the fabric right side out. Remove the safety pin.

5. Adjust the fabric so that the seam is at the bottom or in the back of the belt. Press the fabric flat.

6. Topstitch along the short ends of the belt to hold the folds in place.

Add a Belt Buckle

7. Make a fabric belt following the directions above, or cut a piece of strap or belt material about 2 inches longer than you want the finished belt. If you are using strap material, fold one end of the strap over 1/2 inch and stitch the end in place to keep it from raveling.

8. Wrap one end of the belt around the belt buckle and stitch the end to the belt to hold it in place, or follow the directions that came with the buckle.

9. Use the eyelet punch to make small holes in the end of the belt that’s opposite the buckle, spacing them about 1 to 2 inches apart.

10. Add eyelets to the holes to keep them from raveling, using an eyelet tool and hammer, and the directions that came with the eyelet tool.

11. Add any extra touches that you want to the fashion belt, such as rhinestones, buttons or ribbons.

Tips & Warnings

• Eyelets are also called grommets. If you don’t want to use eyelets, you can use a belt buckle that doesn’t require holes in the belt, or hand stitch around the edges of the holes using a whipstitch. This will be less expensive, but less durable.
• Use caution when working with scissors, pins, irons, sewing machines, eyelet tools and hammers.