Weekender Plaid Belt

Weekender Plaid Belt by Kollabora Follow

Accessories can take even the most basic of pieces and turn them into a full-on ensemble. They can also instantly change the way a garment looks or fits, or even the entire aesthetic of the look or individual piece.

We love the versatility of belts and the range of options they offer to both flatter your figure and alter a look. This easy wrap belt project is perfect for tightening up a loose-fitting dress, accentuating your curves, or just adding a fun bit of color or pattern to your basics. We finished this little plaid beauty up in less than an hour on a Friday night and were rocking it in the streets the very next day. Talk about instant gratification!

Check the steps below to see how quick and easy it is to make and get inspired to create your own project and tutorial for a chance to win tickets to the Altitude Design Summit conference in Salt Lake City in our Kollabora Alt Summit Challenge Sponsored by BERNINA!

Belt worn with the Vilma dress by IvanaHelsinki and I Got Mine boots from Seychelles Shoes.

How-To

Measure and Cut Fabric

For this project you'll need to cut one piece of fabric for the waistband that measures 9 1/2" wide and your waist plus 6" for the length. (For example: if your waist measures 27" you add 6" and cut your fabric 33" long.)

Now cut the fabric for your strap which will be used to wrap around the waistband. Depending on how long your fabric is you can cut one continuous strip, or smaller strips that you sew together to create one long strap. Measure out 4" wide and for the length take your waist size pluse 6" and then multiply by 3. (For example: if your waist is 27", add 6" (33") then times by 3, you would need to cut a strip that was 99" long or shorter strips that added up to 99").

(NOTE: We used a stablizer in the waistband part of the belt to give the finised belt a more structured feel, however it is not neccesary to use interfacing in this project.)

Sewing Waistband

If you chose to use interfacing for this project, make sure to add it to the wrong side of the fabric for the waistband before you start sewing (we recommend a fusible for this project).

Fold the right sides of your fabric together lengthwise and sew two sides as close to the edge as possible.

Make sure to leave one of the shorter sides open so you can turn your belt right side out.

After turning your waistband right side out, fold in the open ends and begin stitching about a 1/2" in from the edge. Continue topstitching around the rest of the waistband, leaving a 1/2" border.

You can do additional topstitching around the border of the belt if you choose. We did a second round another 1/2" in all the way around the belt.

Sewing Strap

We wanted the strap to be more flexible than the waistband so we skipped adding interfacing to this piece. However, if you want your belt to be more structured all around, you can add interfacing to the strap as well.

Fold the right side of the strap fabric together and sew around 2 edges, leaving one of the short edges open.

Turn your belt right side out, fold in the edges of open end and stitch together leaving about a 3/8" border.

Add Strap to Waistband

Pin your strap to the middle of the waistband of your belt. On one end of the belt you will stitch the strap to the waistband all the way to the edge, however on the other end you will leave about 5-6" where the strap is NOT attached to the waistband. This will make for easy wrapping and overlapping when wearing the belt.

Sew all four edges of the strap to the waistband. We chose to do some additional topstitching to the strap before we attached it to the waistband to give it a more uniform look. If you choose to do this just make sure that when you attach your strap to your waistband that you sew along with the topstitching.

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jackie ashton commented 6 months ago

i'm buying the supplies right now--somoene in my family (maybe me!?) will be getting this! beautiful--and i *love* how easy you make it to buy the supplies!
TheMissLinds commented 7 months ago

I like that idea, Nora! Makes a great, easy gift.
Nora commented 7 months ago

Let's do a gift crafernoon get together at the Kollabora office and make these for friends and family. Any member in NY, email me nora at kollabora dot com if you'd like to participate!
Carol Cho commented 7 months ago

I saw something like this at a boutique in SoHo. It's crazy how accessories like this can change a look!
Sew4my3 commented 7 months ago

So versatile and love the plaid fabric! Thanks for the tutorial!