Tutorial: How to Make a Belt With Fabric Scraps
I love making accessories with leftover fabric scraps. Not only does this reduce the amount of waste from my sewing hobby, but it also means I end up with a lot of truly unique creations. So buckle in and get ready to make your own belt, with a buckle, eyelets and all (I promise it’s not as hard as it looks!).
Check out more DIY belt tutorials
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Supplies Needed:
Step 1
Make a rectangle pattern for your belt
The length of your belt should be approximately the size of your waist plus 6 inches to account for overlap.
The width will be determined by the size of your buckle. Measure the inside of your buckle and double that number. So since if your buckle is 1 inch, then your pattern needs to be 2 inches wide
Don’t forget to add seam allowance! I added 1/2 inch around the entire belt.
Step 2
arrange your fabric scraps
Lay out your fabric scraps to determine how you want them to look on the final belt. It’s a good idea to square off the edges to make sewing them together easier.
Step 3
sew your scraps together
Sew the scraps together and press the seams open. Make sure it’s long enough for your belt pattern.
Step 4
cut out your belt pattern
Step 5
cut out and apply interfacing
Cut out interfacing with the same belt pattern then fuse it to the back of your belt.
Step 6
fold the belt in half and sew the length
When I do this, I like to fold one end of the belt back to ensure the raw edges don’t become a problem later on.
Step 7
press the seam to the back of the belt
Pressing the seam open to the back will keep it from showing at all on the front of the belt and it will make it easier to insert the belting.
Step 8
sew a point on the end of the belt
Draw in a point on one end of the belt (the side you did not fold in earlier). Sew the point and clip the fabric. Then trim the belting to match the point on the belt.
Step 9
Push the point in and insert belting to turn fabric over the belt
This part can be a little tricky. I find it helps to first push in the pointy side of the fabric. Then insert the belting and push the point further into the belt. As you do this the fabric will flip over and turn onto the webbing as you turn it right side out. Be sure to press the the belt to flatten it before moving on.
Step 10
measure the distance between grommet holes
Mark your grommet holes about 1.5 inches away from each other. You can make as many as you want.
Step 11
punch holes in the belt
Use a leather hole punch to make holes in the places you marked. This can be be a little annoying and you might have to wiggle it around a little to punch all the way through. It your belting is giving you trouble, an awl can also be used to help get the holes started.
Step 12
insert grommets and squash in place
Add the grommet through facing the front of the belt. The little, flat washer goes on the back of the belt. Now you need to squash the two together. There are many ways of doing this, but my favorite is using one of these grommet squasher machines (pictured below). You insert the belt with the grommet face down on the little platform on the bottom, then just push it down to press the grommet in place. It doesn’t require as much grip strength as other methods I’ve seen.
Step 13
pull fabric back and cut belting
Now we need to attach the belt to the buckle. To start with, we need to trim the belting away from the part that will wrap around the buckle (so it won’t be too bulky). Pull back the fabric and trim the webbing to you have about 1.5 inches of just fabric at the end of the belt.
Step 14
Poke a hole in the belt
Using an awl (or sharp, pointy tool) poke a hole in the belt at the edge of the belting so that the hole does NOT go through the belting. Make sure it is centered along the width belt.
Step 15
insert the prong through the hole and fold the fabric around the belt
Make sure when inserting the prong that the belt is facing the correct direction. The prong should sit flat on the front of the belt. Then fold over the fabric on the back of the belt and hand sew it closed. Go over the hand-sewn edges twice to give it extra security and make sure the belt buckle won’t come loose.
Finished!
