How to make a soft belt with a buckle

I love buckles without prongs, which make perfect belt sliders. They are easy to sew, easy to fasten, and turn out to be discreet if you have to loosen your belt after a meal. ;)

I made this belt for my retro-inspired dress. It is in a very light yellow colour and I had a plastic buckle in exactly same tone.



You do not necessarily need a buckle without a prong as you can easily take out the metal prong (click here to learn how to do it). Plastic prongs, however, are not that easy to remove and usually mean damaging the buckle.

First, of course, we have to sew the belt. I made it from the same fabric as the dress. As the buckle was for a 26 mm/1 inch belt, I used 10cm/ 4 inches of the fabric, Ironing is the most important part of belt making. First fold it in two, and then each part has to be folded in two again, making 4 layers of fabric.

Once finished, make sure that it is the right size for your buckle. Now is the time to make the tip. You can just fold it to the inside and make a squared head by sewing the open seam, but perhaps it is more esthetic and practical to make it pointed or rounded.

Having done that you can start sewing, along the open edge. I use this presser foot for a greater accuracy. See the picture below to understand better how it works. You will need to adjust the distance from the needle. 

Our belt is almost ready. Time to attatch the buckle. With the raw end, make a loop around the central bar. Fold the raw edge to the inside. Make sure you allow enough space to fit under your presser foot! Alternatively, you can hand-stitch it underneath. Anyhow, make sure it looks neat.

And that's it! My dress is even more retro-like! Now I am going to made small loops on the sides of the dress to keep the belt in place, though it doeasn't really fall anyway.

This style is based on Burdastyle pattern. I made the dress many months ago.

I fond this dress looks amazing against this blue barn door.