Grosgrain Belt Tutorial

Everywhere I look I see cute little sashes and skinny belts tied around cardigans, tunics and sundresses. And I can't tell you how many times I've pulled on an outfit and thought "All this needs a little (insert outfit-specific color here) belt!"

Well, I got an email from a reader, Penny (LOVE that name!), asking for some belt-making tips, and it encouraged me to finally hop off my crafting tush, and make a few!


It only takes a few minutes, and the possibilities are endless! It's also sort of one-size-fits-most, so it would make a nice gift for mom as well! :o)


You'll need:
  • Ribbon
  • "D" Rings
  • 1-2 flowers

1. Start by cutting a 45" length of ribbon, or about 1.5x your waist size. (this is not an exact science, so it's fairly easy to guess if you're making it as a gift!) Then wrap one end of the ribbon around both D rings, fold under, and pin:

2. Stitch down.


3. Then fold over the other end under twice and hem.

4. Take apart two flowers, and put them back together into one, alternating layers. You can use two different colors, or two of the same for a nice, full flower.

5. Stitch an "x" in the middle, and sew to your belt so that it covers the D rings:

All done!
(step 6: fight the urge to make 10,000 more)
It's also quite fetching with a hand-made rosette or three!

And if you have enough ribbon, try stitching two pieces together with contrasting thread to make your belt a little more sturdy feeling, like I did with the orange one!


The camera did not love me today, but here are a few shots of the belt in action:
:o)



If you're not sure how to tie the belt without the tail hanging down, here's a (sad) little diagram I made:
(as if your belt is on, and you're looking down at it, with the rings in your left hand.)
That will make it so that your tail is neatly tucked into the inside.
So there you go, Penny! I hope that helps! :o)


And our Dear Lilly giveaway winner will be announced a little bit later today, so watch for it, and be sure to enter if you haven't already!


Also be sure to check out what wonders Dana's up to today!

Comments

  1. Disney, they're great!

    Would be so much fun to make the children some too (minus the flowers) :)

    Thank you for this cool tute (and diagram),
    Bird

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  2. I love the black one! How did you get the beads in the middle??

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  3. Totally pretty! Love the black one with the white flower! Thanks for sharing!

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  4. thanks for the tutorial disney! i LOVE flower belts!!! i'm totally going to make some of these!

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  5. really cute!
    Love the flower idea ^^

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  6. Cute idea! So simple and adds so much flavor to the outfit!

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  7. what a great idea! thanks so much for sharing! I LOVE your blog!

    p.s. - I didn't forget about highlighting your blog! I promise I will get to it one of these days! I will email you when I am going to post it!

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  8. Oh I love this idea, Disney!
    I've been trying to find something either to buy or make my grandmother for Mother's Day. This is perfect! Thanks!!

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  9. This is super cute! I have that brown dress, I believe (Target?) and never thought to dress it up with a little flowered belt but now I think I have to!

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  10. How adorable! I agree with a previous commenter, this would be great to make for little girls, too. Belts are hard to find in girls sizes, and sometimes their legs grow before their waists do. They could also help making them by choosing the ribbon and flowers.

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  11. Love it! Also, I love that green flower dress! Where did you get it?

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  12. Thank you!! I made your ruffled belt and loved it and now this will be another great accesory!!

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  13. I love these! I need to go get some ribbon now.

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  14. Very cute. I made ribbon belts but putting a flower over it really dresses it up for me! Thank you!

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  15. ooooo, I like it a lot! And I can TOTALLY do this! :)

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  16. I'm thinking one needs a visible waistline to wear one of these. But I like the idea!

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  17. I love this and cannot wait to try this project. I even have the items on hand... yay me!!

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  18. Just a quick note to let you know that a link to this post will be placed on CraftCrave today [06 May 03:00pm GMT]. Thanks, Maria

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  19. Thank you Dana for your help. I love all of them they are so beautiful. I can't wait to pick out my ribbon and flowers.

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  20. I am so sorry Disney...didn't mean to put Dana. Wow...I must be tired!!! Thank you for the comment about my name. I like it also because my middle name is Joy. Fits me perfectly.

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  21. These are so beautiful! I love the black one with the white flower!

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  22. I have ribbon belts that came with some pants and flower brooches. What a great idea to put them together! So excited to wear stuff just sitting in my closet.

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  23. I love this idea. I can not wait to make one.

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  24. I linked to this on my blog for tomorrow! THank you for being an awesome blogger and crafter.

    deliacreates.blogspot.com

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  25. You are now my official go-to gal for belt making. I was planning on making a scrunch belt tonight, and now I just might have to make one of these too!

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  26. Gorgeous! How did you put the flower back together? Glue? Also did you stitch through the flower to attach it to the belt?

    Sorry, I may be missing that part of the directions! ;)

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  27. You are a busy woman! There are endless beautiful, clear, and stylish tutorials coming out of your blog! Thanks so much for the wonderful ideas and inspiration!

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  28. Love the black and white one. I have been known to wear a ribbon on its own through my belt loops in jeans. :)

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  29. Oh my! You have created a monster. I see many, many, many, many of these in the very near future! One for each outfit!

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  30. I love this idea! I would love to know how to make those rosettes. I looked for a tutorial but couldn't find one.

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  31. Thanks for sharing! Now I am going to make some of these for me and for a friend of mine. So cute! :)

    Adin B
    http://itssewtasticmama.blogspot.com/

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  32. These are so cute! I have been looking for some good ideas to use ribbon-believe it or not there is a ribbon mill in my town, and they were throwing out old stock a month back. Imagine a DUMPSTER filled with ribbon reels. After all the primary school teachers got done dumpster diving I dove in and filled a huge rubbermaid tote with ribbon. not always my favorite colors, but hey, it was free.

    I could make some sweet little belts with them now!

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  33. great belts! i have to make one myself. because i want to wear summer and flowers right now.

    thanks for the tutorial. i'm linking.

    doro.

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  34. I went to a local Goodwill and bought old D-ring belts made of basic webbing material. They were $1.99, which was about the cost of new D-rings, plus they were sturdier than plain grosgrain when I was finished. I covered the webbing with grosgrain ribbon in black, white and red. I then went to a local craft store and bought a variety of different flowers and hot glued pin backs to then. Now the different flowers can be attached to the different belt whenever I want a specific look. I did 3 belts for under $10.00. So fun!

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  35. I love this!
    I'm launching my first linky party next tuesday. It's for projects that cost less than $10 and take less than 20-30 minutes. Would you consider linking up with me on my first linky party endeavor? Thanks!
    http://sweetfloweret.blogspot.com
    Tina

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  36. these are so cute and easy!
    I featured this tutorial on my blog (http://raspberriesandruffles.blogspot.com/2011/06/fabric-belts.html)
    Thanks so much!
    -Katherine

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  37. They are absolutely DARLING!! Thank you so much for sharing! :D

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