Quickie Belt
[caption id="attachment_56" align="alignnone" width="233" caption="Same cute shirt, a little more shape."]
Recently I made this cute and quick shirt pattern . It was a snap to make up, but I did end up adding a little length to the shirt. I am long, what can I say, shirts are never long enough for me. Generally I just tack on a couple inches when cutting everything. Then shorten if necessary, which it never is.
I like this shirt a lot. Comfy, nice fit, but a touch too plain. It needed a little detail, and a belt seemed perfect. My very stylish younger sister suggested one that would be worn higher than normal, and so here it is:
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To make the belt, I cut a long strip of matching fabric on the straight of grain. Then, for stability, added some mid-weight fusible interfacing about a quarter inch inside the edge of the fabric as to keep the seams less bulky. Next, I sewed a long tube, right sides together, and turned it. I pressed it with the seam on the inside in the center of the belt and edged stitched the sides.
First I tried some D-rings and wasn't satisfied, so off to Bolt I went. There I found this cool tortoise shell buckle and knew it was just the thing for my belt. Bye bye D-rings and hello belt!
[caption id="attachment_58" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Fancy belt buckle."]
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Now, to sort out the belt loop thing... do I really want them? Can I survive with the flappy end of the belt hanging down? I can double the belt under and fold it through the buckle, thus making it less slippy and keeping track of the excess length. Plus, then I can move it up and down for different looks. Still, loops might be nice, so it doesn't keep creeping down throughout the day. Oh, decisions, decisions...