Let's Make Grosgrain Ribbon Belts!Grosgrain ribbon comes in solids, checks, prints, dots, stripes and is quite affordable. Making belts using it is both fun and economical. You can get really creative putting together different color and pattern combinations for YOUR ribbon belts!
Grosgrain Ribbon Belts:
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Grosgrain ribbon
Grosgrain ribbon comes in several widths from tiny to really wide. I prefer 7/8's of an inch wide for children's belts and 1 inch to 1-1/2 inch wide for adults. If you are making a belt for a specific garment, measure the width of the existing beltloops for a proper fit.
D-Rings
You can buy these at your local sewing center or on-line and they usually come two sets to a package. If you really get the bug to make grosgrain ribbon belts, you can buy D-rings in packages with more rings per package from specialty suppliers. Like grosgrain ribbon, D-rings for belt making (and other sewing projects) come in several different widths. If your Wal-Mart hasn't yet rid itself of all the sewing notions, you may be able to still find them there. You need to make sure your D-ring width is equal to or slightly larger than your ribbon width.
Regular Sewing Thread
You can match the main color of your ribbon or use a contrasting color. You're the designer!
OPTIONAL: Something to give your belt some firmness
I use tackyfuse iron-on adhesive by Dritz. There are other brands of iron-on adhesive that you can use as well. Make sure the width does NOT exceed the width of your ribbon! Example: For a 7/8's inch wide belt, I use 5/8's inch wide adhesive strip.
OR...
Instead of using two pieces of ribbon, you can use one piece and then sew your ribbon directly onto cotton webbing (cut to the same length as your ribbon). Cotton webbing is often used for the handles on totebags and the really heavy weight kind is often used for men's belts. It can be purchased by the inch, yard or in rolls and comes in several "weights" and colors.
Assembling Your Grosgrain Ribbon Belt
Measure and Cut:The ribbon should be measured for the waist size plus an extra eight inches. You'll need two pieces. Cut one ribbon for the right side and one ribbon for the wrong side. Grosgrain ribbon belts can be made with the same ribbon on both sides or done with contrasting ribbons on each side.
Fuse the Ends:
Fuse (melt) the ends of each ribbon so they won't ravel. I use a bic lighter and carefully run the flame lightly along the cut end. Be careful not to burn the ribbon or your fingers! You might want to practice this technique a few times prior to making your belts.
Apply the Adhesive Tape:
At this time you also need to cut the iron-on adhesive that goes between the two ribbons of the belt. This step keeps the ribbons stable for sewing AND it provides some firmness to the finished product. I like to cut my adhesive strip slightly shorter than my ribbons. Follow the directions on the packaging regarding how to apply the iron-on adhesive you choose to use.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you use Dritz Tackyfuse Iron-on Adhesive, BE CAREFUL. Even with my iron set on the recommended setting, following the directions, the remaining paper side "melted" and I had a mess all over my iron. I would skip that part of the text and move right to number 4 of the directions.
The photos below show how I fused my ribbons together using the adhesive mentioned above.
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| I'm peeling back the tape and applying the adhesive strip (by finger pressing it) to the back side of ribbon #1. |
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| Here I'm aligning ribbon #1 on top of ribbon #2. I do this in three to four inch sections while I press the two together with the iron. |
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| One final pressing for good measure. |
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| Now it's ready for the sewing machine. |
As I mentioned above, once you have completed the process by ironing the two ribbons together, your grosgrain ribbon belt will have some body (firmness) to it. Don't like firm belts? You can skip this step entirely!
Sew Your Ribbons Together:
After you have fused your two ribbon pieces together, it's time to put it on your sewing machine and stitch the sides of your soon-to-be grosgrain ribbon belt. Your stitching line needs to be as close to the edge as possible (about 1/16th from the edge of the ribbon, if possible).
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NOTE THIS: If you are using ribbon from two different manufacturers, you may find that the widths are slightly off. If so, keep the narrower of the two on the top and sew along that one's edges. If you sew with the wider of the two on the top, you may wind up with sitches that miss the edge of the bottom ribbon in several places and your belt won't be totally sewn together.
Attach the D-Rings:
Here's where you need to really decide which ribbon you want to show on the outside (right side) of your belt because we're fixing to attach the rings!
Take one end of your soon-to-be, oh so cute grosgrain ribbon belt, and turn under about 1 inch (to the wrong side)and slide on both of the D-rings. Stitch as close to them as possible. (In the photo below, I am sewing this with the right side up... my turned under end is against the machine.) Also, it's perfectly all right to add another line of stitching close to the edge away from the D-rings.
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Stitch the Other End:
On the other end of the belt, the end with NO D-rings attached, stitch across the end, as close to the edge as practical, and back again (i.e. reverse). If you prefer, you can use a stitch other than the normal straight stitch. Sometimes I use a tight zig-zag or a decorative stitch. Some people will turn this edge under about half an inch and then stitch it. I don't. By only stitching the end and NOT turning it under, you can wear the belt with the other ribbon side showing.
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That's it! You're done! Now go experiment with different widths, colors and even layering ribbons as shown below! Buckle up and have a blast!
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