Simple belt for kids

We thought we'd sorted the problem of a little jeans constantly falling down when we found a tiny leather belt with a buckle. It looked cute, but wasn't comfy around the little tummy when the little one was sitting down. The belt was ditched and the jeans fell down again.

Today I went into the studio on a mission. The first thing I did was make a belt.

The second thing I did was make another belt (with improvements) and then ANOTHER one to take step-by-step photos. Here's what it amounted to.

1. Lay up two pieces of cute kiddie-print fabric. It's best to go on the straight grain that's parallel to the selvage (because the fabric is more stable in that direction) but not absolutely essential. I didn't because I didn't have the length of fabric in the prints I liked the best.

2. Cut a 5cm (2") wide strip in both fabrics. The length is up to you - add about 20cm to whatever waist measurement you need.

3. Cut a 2.5cm (1") wide strip of medium Fast2Fuse 4cm shorter than the fabric strip.

4. Trim the ends of the fabric to a point (this is to help it to travel through a 25mm bias tape maker below).

6. Start to thread a fabric strip through the bias tape maker. You made need to use a pin, tailors awl or unpicker to help ease it through to the opening at the front.

7. As you pull the fabric strip through, press the folds of fabric toward the centre. See if you can control the fabric (with a tiny zig-zag motion with the iron or by using fingers) to leave an even gap of a few mms between the raw edges at the centre of the tape. That will make the next stage a little easier.

8. Place the Fast2Fuse strip in the centre of the fabric strip - starting a few mms back from the cut point (as shown above).

9. Taking care not to put the iron on the surface of the Fast2Fuse, fold the fabric back over the top and fuse it into place.

10. Turn the whole strip over onto an applique mat (remembering that Fast2Fuse is fusible on both sides!) and give it a really firm press. Let it cool and remove it from the mat.

11. Run the other fabric strip through the bias tape maker and press the edges in to the centre. (The gap in the middle is completely optional here).

12. Working on top of an applique mat, lay some hemming tape (or vliesofix cut into a strip) over your fabric strip.

13. Fold the mat over the top and give it a press.

14. Let it cool and peel the fabric off the mat.

15. On the pointed ends of both fabric strips, turn the corners in and fold the top over as shown below.

You might find trimming the turnings to reduce bulk is helpful - do this after you've pressed the turned edges so that you can see exactly where it needs it. Don't trim too close to the corners or the fabric will fray when the belt is in use.

17. Lay the two strips together and line up the edges. Add a bit of extra hemming tape between the two folded ends. Press the belt pieces together until they fuse. (Let them cool before you wiggle them around too much).

18. Topstitch as close to the edges as you can. You might also like to add an extra row or two of topstitching (like I did) - that's optional.

19. Trim the other end to remove any hanging threads or fraying edges. Thread it through two 2.5mm (1") d-rings. Pull the fabric through so that the Fast2Fuse part of the belt is just over the other side of the rings. Fold the cut end under.

20. Fold the cut end of the strap right under so that it nearly reaches the d-rings and edge of the Fast2Fuse. Stitch the folded end back onto the strap with a wide square or rectangle of stitches. Sew as close to the d-rings as your machine foot will allow and use a tailors awl or unpicker to hold in stray raw edges.

To do up the belt - thread the end of the belt through both rings...

...then thread the end over the top ring and under the bottom ring. Adjust the tension on the belt to fit the tummy.

And little jeans stay up all day!

...

Most of these gadgets - applique mats, bias tape makers, quilting rulers, unpickers.... - can be found here. Fast2Fuse is here. Medium (1") d-rings are here.