Anyway, moving on. The dress from Carnivàle is a dressmaker-made cotton shirtwaist in a fabulous print. But like so many vintage dresses, it has lost the matching belt which once fitted through its belt carriers. It would definitely look better with a belt, so I set about making a replacement. I was never going to be able to match the greens or the gold in the print, so I went for a dark grey instead.
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| The fabric |
Tasha Could Make That has this excellent video on making matching belts for dresses, but she uses a foundation of belting, which appears to be fabric-covered plastic strip sold in a roll. I've been unable to find anywhere in the UK which sells this, so have come up with an alternative approach, which I’ve now used several times. On the basis that I can't be the only person who needs to do this, I've attempted to write down my method in case it's helpful to anyone else. (Apologies for the fact that all the images will appear to be the wrong way round to most readers - because I'm left-handed I sew from left to right.)
Start off with your buckle. I was lucky to find this mottled green one in my buckle box, which was ideal for the dress. The belt width will be determined by the height of the hole inside the buckle, in this case just under 2.5cm. The belt needs to be wide enough to 'catch' on the buckle, otherwise it may slide open. Don't make the base too wide, however, as it will have fabric wrapped around it.
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| Having the perfect buckle was definitely a good start |
Instead of belting, I use pelmet buckram (also called pelmet backing) for the belt base. This is a stiff woven fabric, 5-6"/12.5-15cm wide, and coated on both sides with heat-activated adhesive. It comes in rolls and is sold by the metre. Cut out a piece twice the width of the belt, and long enough to include both a wrap around the centre of the buckle and an overlap (don't use your dressmaking scissors to do this, the adhesive granules will do them no favours!). Fold it in half lengthways.
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| Folding counteracts its tendency to curl |
You could attach the belt fabric directly to this, but I always make a base layer of plain, thinnish, cotton. This is cut slightly longer than the belt, and about 2.5 times the width. I also prefer to only have one layer of buckram around the buckle, so I cut off about 1"/2.5cm from one side.
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| Set up ready to start ironing |
Wrap the cotton tightly over the unfolded edge, and iron it to melt the adhesive. Be careful not to let the iron touch the buckram at all, so don't go all the way up to the edge of the cotton.
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| Do this all the way along the belt |
Then repeat with the other side.
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| Make sure the fabric is tightly wrapped |
The belt will be very pliable when it's warm, but will turn rigid when it cools. I always leave mine on the ironing board until it's entirely cold, to make sure I end up with a flat belt.
Trim the end with the double thickness of buckram to a point. Cut a scrap of the outer fabric into a hexagon to fit the belt end, and sew it onto the wrong side of the belt (the side with the overlapped cotton).
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| This method avoids the bulk of lots of wrapped fabric |
The outer fabric should also be cut slightly longer than the belt, and about 2.5 times the width. Trim one end to the point shape, fold the edges under, mitre the point, and sew the edges onto the scrap attached to the belt point. Then fold the fabric tightly round the belt and sew down the rest of the point.
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| Hopefully the picture makes it clearer |
Work along the belt, pinning the fabric tightly and slip-stitching it into place.
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| The base fabric provides something to pin into |
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| Belt covering completed |
I tend to leave some fabric beyond the buckram at the buckle end. Fold the end of the belt round the buckle, and sew it down.
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| The buckle attached |
Because I am a completist, I like to make a belt loop as well. These are fiddly, but I eventually worked out a method which works for me. Cut out a strip of fabric approx. 3.5 times the width of the desired loop, and long enough to go round two layers of the belt plus a decent seam allowance. Fold it lengthways to the width of the loop on one side, and a narrow seam allowance on the other side, and press. Then fold it lengthways again, and press firmly.
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| The green line marks the final fold, gauge shown for scale |
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| Diagram of the folded fabric |
Unfold the strip, wrap it round the two layers of belt, and pin the ends together. This should be snug, but not really tight. Make sure that the fold lines are aligned.
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| Pinned together |
Remove the pinned strip from the belt, and sew along the pinned line. Do not cut the thread when finished.
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| Sewn together |
Trim off the excess seam allowance, and finger press open.
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| Ready to fold up |
You can now fold up the loop along the pressed lines, and slip stitch the edge into place.
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| Sewing it together |
You now have a completed belt, with a matching belt loop.
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| All done |
And here is the dress, worn with the belt. It's a bit short-waisted, even for me, and I don't normally show my knees, but I still really like it.
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| I think the grey works well |
It's fun to make a shiny new garment from scratch, but there's a different, but equal (to my mind, at least), satisfaction to be gained from a project which enhances something already made but a little lacking.
Finally, I'm aware that this tutorial is a bit sketchy in places. As ever, if you get stuck trying to follow it, please get in touch and I'll do my best to help. Happy belt making!
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