Belt and Strap Pattern Maker
One strap pattern covers a waist belt, a tie sash, a bag strap and a key fob. Choose the ends (buckle, D-rings, snap, ties, a loop or plain), then give a waist measurement or a finished length, and set the width.
Build it from two pieces turned right side out or from a folded strip, shape the tip, and add an interfacing or webbing core where you want body.
Make it yours: Measure your own waist or the strap length you need, then change the width, the ends, the tip shape and the keeper.
Make this pattern in your size →What you can change
Size
- Finished width: 1–12 cm (⅜–4¾″). Choose hardware with an inside width at least this wide.
Sizes are typed in centimetres, millimetres or inches. The starting size is Finished width 3.5 cm (1⅜″).
Options
- Ends: buckle, D-rings, snap, tie ends, loop (key fob) or plain (strap)
- Length from: waist measurement or finished length
- Size: XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL or measured
- Build: Two pieces, turned · Folded strip
- Tip: pointed, rounded, angled or square
- Core: none, interfacing or webbing
- Switches: Keeper loop
- Measurements and counts: Waist, Ease over clothes, Tail past the fastening, Each tie tail, Finished length
Starting points
These are sizes and settings to begin from, and every one stays fully editable. Type your own measurements, or start from the nearest one.
| Starting point | Finished size, cm | Same starting point in round inches |
|---|---|---|
| Waist belt | 3.5 cm × 98 cm · buckle | 1⅜″ × 38¾″ · buckle |
| Sash / tie belt | 7 cm × 183 cm · tie ends | 2¾″ × 72¾″ · tie ends |
| D-ring belt | 3.2 cm × 101 cm · D-rings | 1¼″ × 39¾″ · D-rings |
| Bag strap | 3.8 cm × 110 cm · plain ends | 1½″ × 44″ · plain ends |
| Key fob | 2.5 cm × 25 cm · loop | 1″ × 10″ · loop |
| Wristlet strap | 2 cm × 33 cm · loop | ¾″ × 13″ · loop |
Cutting list
At the starting size (Finished width 3.5 cm (1⅜″)) the pattern has these pieces. Fabric sizes include seam allowance, interfacing is cut to the stitching line, and pieces cut on the fold are shown opened out. Each size is the width and height of the piece as cut.
| Piece | Fabric | Cut | Size to cut | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belt | Main fabric | 1 | up to 104.91 × 5.5 cm (up to ≈41¼ × ≈2⅛″) | Shaped: cut from the printed piece |
| Belt | Lining | 1 | up to 104.91 × 5.5 cm (up to ≈41¼ × ≈2⅛″) | Shaped: cut from the printed piece |
| Belt | Interfacing | 1 | up to 102.5 × 3.5 cm (up to ≈40⅜ × 1⅜″) | Shaped: cut from the printed piece |
| Belt keeper | Main fabric | 1 | 4.8 × 9.8 cm (≈1⅞ × ≈3⅞″) | Strip: cut by measurement |
You will also need: Buckle; Eyelets; Thread. The cover page and materials list give the amounts for your size.
The maker’s fabric estimate at this size: Main fabric about 0.2 m of 112 cm fabric; Lining about 0.1 m of 112 cm fabric.
How it goes together
These are the maker’s own instructions at the starting size. They change with the options you pick, and the PDF carries the full set with the cover, cutting list and materials list.
- Check the length: Waist 80 cm + 3 cm ease = 83 cm finished, so the belt is 98 cm long, running 15 cm past the fastening.
- Fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of the front, inside the stitching line.
- Put the front and back right sides together and sew round at 1 cm, leaving the square hardware end open. Trim the allowance at the tip, turn right side out with a blunt point, and press the edges crisp.
- Tuck the open end in by 1 cm and topstitch all round, 0.3 cm from the edge.
- Make the prong slot: at the marked slot on the fold line, set an eyelet or work a 1.2 cm buttonhole along the belt. Pass the prong through it, wrap the end round the buckle bar, and fold it back on the fold line. Stitch across close to the buckle, then again at the end of the fold-back.
- Set the 5 holes at the dots, 2.5 cm apart; the middle one is the waist mark. Try the belt on before you set them all.
- Make the keeper: press the strip in quarters to 1.2 cm wide and edgestitch. Wrap it round the belt next to the buckle, overlap its ends at the back, and stitch them down through the fold-back only, so the keeper holds the tail.
Fabric suggestions
Outer: Canvas, denim, twill, heavy linen or faux leather for belts and straps; cotton, linen or silky fabric for a soft sash.
Lining: The same fabric, or a firm cotton for the back of a two-piece belt.
Interfacing, padding or other layers: A belt needs body: firm fusible interfacing, or a webbing core for a strap that carries weight. A sash can stay soft.
How each fabric family suits it
- Stable woven: great choice. Folds and topstitches crisply; add interfacing or webbing for a firm belt.
- Heavy or stiff: great choice. Strong and smooth. Use a jeans needle where the fold-back stacks up layers.
- Stretchy knit: not recommended. A stretchy belt or strap grows under load and the holes stretch. Choose a woven.
- Slippery or fine: possible, with care. Fine for a soft sash; interface it and baste before topstitching.
The maker’s advice adjusts to the fabric family you pick in the Fabric tab.
Printing it
At the starting size the printed pieces take 4 A4 pages, taped together using the page labels, alignment marks and page map. For a print shop, choose a sheet from A0 to a 36″ roll: the pieces are packed onto as few sheets as they will fit on, and if one is too big for the sheet the maker says so. How printing, tiling and the test square work.
Frequently asked questions
What size can I make?
The belt and strap pattern takes finished width from 1–12 cm (⅜–4¾″). It starts at Finished width 3.5 cm (1⅜″), and you can work in centimetres, millimetres or inches. There are 6 starting points to begin from (Waist belt, Sash / tie belt, D-ring belt, Bag strap, Key fob, Wristlet strap). Every starting point stays fully editable.
Which fabric suits the belt and strap pattern?
Canvas, denim, twill, heavy linen or faux leather for belts and straps; cotton, linen or silky fabric for a soft sash. In the maker’s fabric advice, stable woven and heavy or stiff are a great choice; slippery or fine is possible with care; stretchy knit is not recommended.