Reversible Vintage Trim Fabric Belt Tutorial

Yesterday's sunshine and warmer temperatures were a welcome respite to the cold, dreary days we've had this Winter.  Feeling the warmth of the sun made me believe that Spring may be here before we know it!  It also reminded me of these bright, cheery reversible trim fabric belts that I made for Ella a few months ago.  I originally blogged about these belts over at The Cottage Mama as a guest contributor, and now I'm bringing home my tutorial to share with you!  Enjoy, and hopefully Spring will be here sooner rather than later!

If you are like me, you have a drawer full of new and vintage trims that you covet and are just waiting for that perfect project to use them on.  Well, wait no further!  It's time to empty the drawer and use those trims to make something you or your child will enjoy!  

Today, I'll show you how to use up some of those beautiful trims by making a Reversible Vintage Trim Fabric Belt! 

This is a very simple project that you can complete in about an hour.  Here's a list of things you will need to make the belt.

Supplies:

• Measuring Tape
• Scissors
• Approximately 1/8 yard fabric
• Vintage or new trim
• A metal or plastic belt buckle with no prong (I found a 1" metal fashion buckle by Dritz at Joann's) or a 1 1/8" to 1 1/2" inside diameter metal or plastic ring
• Fabric glue 
• Hot glue gun (optional)
• Pins or clips
• Thread
• Sewing machine

For my daughter who is 4 1/2 and wears a size 5T pant, I used 28" as my length measurement.

Step 2: Measure the belt loop opening height and the trim width.  You'll want to be sure to use a trim that is slightly narrower than the belt loop height measurement.

I used 1 1/4" as my belt loop height measurement.

Step 3: Raid that trim drawer and look for pieces long enough to use on your belt--at least the length measured in Step 1 + 1".

Step 4: For my daughter's two belts, I cut my fabric roughly 4 times the width of the belt loop opening that I measured in Step 2 and the length I measured in Step 1 -- (4 x 1 1/4") or 5" wide by 28" long.

Step 5:

Step 7: Unfold the fabric so that the raw edges are still turned in and on the right side of the fabric.  Position the trim parallel to the center fold of the fabric as shown.  The trim should extend beyond each end of the fabric by at least ½” if not more.  If desired, use fabric glue, glue stick, pins, or clips to position the trim temporarily.

Step 8: Stitch the trim to the fabric along both long edges of the trim.

Step 9:  Fold under the edge of the trim and temporarily secure in place using glue or a clip.  Stitch across the short edge of the fabric to permanently secure the end of the trim.

Step 10: Fold the fabric in half again along the center and press from the backside.  Clip or pin the open edges together and then stitch again along the same lines you used to stitch the trim onto the fabric.

If you are feeling particularly confident, you can combine Steps 7-10 and stitch the trim on all at once!

Step 11: If desired, wrap a metal or plastic buckle that has only the center bar (no prong piece) in matching fabric or just use it as is.  On the yellow belt, I used a Dritz 1” square fashion buckle I purchased at Joann's like the one shown below:

And on the denim belt, I made a buckle using a plastic purse ring that has a roughly 1 1/8" inside diameter.  To make your own buckle, follow Parts 1-6 of Step 12.

Step 12: To make your own buckle using a ring, first create a narrow piece of double fold tape using the same steps used to make the fabric belt.  Wrap the tape over the ring and using your zipper foot, sew together.  Wrap the other end around the ring snugly and sew together.  Trim any excess fabric. For either the manufactured or fabricated buckle, begin wrapping a single-fold piece of fabric tape around buckle until no edges are exposed.  On the back of the buckle, either use fabric glue or a hot glue gun to secure the raw ends of the fabric.

Step 13: Loop the belt over the center bar of the buckle at least 1 to 1 ½” with WST.  Again, using your zipper foot, sew the end of the belt to secure the buckle.  Hand tack close to the buckle if desired.

Now your Reversible Vintage Trim Belt is complete!  Use it to spruce up an otherwise plain sweater set and pair of jeans to create an amazing, preppy ensemble!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and and will check out other tutorials I've written.

Have a great day, and have fun sewing!