Tool Belt Pattern Maker

A tool belt is a row of pockets sized for the things it carries. Here you list the pockets (flat, pleated or bellows, or elastic loops), set the width each one needs for the item that goes in it, and the pocket panel is drawn to match.

Wear the panel on a waist band with a buckle, D-rings, a snap or tie ends, roll it up with ties, or hang it from a cross-body strap. Sewn-on zip or fold-over pouches can sit above the rows.

Make it yours: Measure the tools or items you carry, then change the number of rows, pocket widths and the waist length.

When to choose this one

Choose this page when what you want is a worn row of pockets sized to your tools: a tool belt, a gardening belt or a cross-body harness. The waist band, its fastening and the sewn-on pouches above the rows are the settings to start from.

For a half apron, see the waist apron. For pockets that lie flat and roll up, see the roll-up case.

What you can change

Size

• Panel width: 15–65 cm (5⅞–25⅝″). Finished width, side seam to side seam.
• Panel height: 12–60 cm (4¾–23⅝″). Finished height, top to bottom. A waist band covers the top of it at the back.

Sizes are typed in centimetres, millimetres or inches. The starting size is Panel width 46 cm (18⅛″), Panel height 28 cm (11″).

Options

• Wear it as: waist band, roll-up or cross-body
• Fastening: buckle, D-rings, snap or tie ends
• Size: XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL or measured
• Band core: webbing, interfacing or none
• Switches: Interfacing
• Measurements and counts: Room around listed items, Waist, Band width, Maximum strap length
• Lists you build: Pocket rows, Sewn-on pouches

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.

The tool belt / pocket panel pattern has 7 starting points in all; the other 4 are in the maker.

Cutting list

At the starting size (Panel width 46 cm (18⅛″), Panel height 28 cm (11″)) 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.

You will also need: Elastic, row 2; Webbing; 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 0.9 m of 112 cm fabric; Lining about 0.4 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.

1. Make the pocket strips: fold each strip in half on its fold line, wrong sides together, so the fold is the pocket top. Press, and edgestitch along the fold. Baste the raw edges together.
2. Pleat row 1: in each pocket, fold the strip on the pleat fold line near each side and bring that fold out to the pocket's divider mark, so the extra lies under the side. Baste the pleats across the bottom edge only; the sides open like a gusset to hold items 3 cm thick.
3. Sew the rows on from the top row down, so the pockets already sewn hang clear of the stitching: row 2, row 1.
4. Row 2, elastic: cut 58.7 cm of 2 cm elastic. Mark 1 cm from one end, then 8 loops of 7.09 cm. Lay it between its two placement lines, match each mark to a divider line, and sew across the elastic at every line, backstitching. Baste the ends inside the side seam allowances.
5. Row 1, bellows pockets: lay the strip on the panel front with its folded top on the row's top line and its divider marks on the divider lines (the pleats make up the difference). Baste the sides and bottom inside the seam allowance; they are caught in the panel's perimeter seam. Sew each divider line from the bottom up to the top edge and backstitch firmly there, where pockets take the strain.
6. Place the back over the front, right sides together, with the pockets folded flat inside. Sew around the panel at 1 cm, leaving 12 cm open between the bottom notches. The strip sides, the lowest strip's bottom, the elastic ends are caught in this seam.
7. Trim the corner allowances without cutting the stitching. Turn through the gap, push out the corners, and press the edges. Fold the gap allowances in and topstitch all round to close it, keeping clear of the pockets.
8. Cut 102.5 cm of 5 cm webbing. Press both long edges of the strip 0.6 cm to the wrong side. Lay the webbing on the wrong side, wrap the strip round it so the pressed edges lap at the back, and pin. Tuck the strip's ends in by 1 cm over the webbing ends.
9. Edgestitch along both long edges and across the ends, through the webbing, keeping the lap on the back.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. Centre the band across the back of the panel, its top edge level with the panel's top and its lower edge on the marked line (5 cm down). Edgestitch both long edges of the band through the panel between the panel's sides, and box-stitch where the band leaves each side.
14. Fasten it round the waist: Waist 80 cm + 3 cm ease = 83 cm finished, with 15 cm running past the fastening. Keep sharp tools point down in closed pockets.

Fabric suggestions

Outer: Canvas, duck, denim, heavy linen or waxed cotton for tools; quilting cotton or linen for a pen or brush roll.

Lining: A firm cotton or the same fabric for the back. Pocket strips are cut from the main fabric.

Interfacing, padding or other layers: Light fusible interfacing keeps a cotton panel flat. Heavy tools want canvas, a webbing band and bar-tacked divider tops.

How each fabric family suits it

• Stable woven: great choice. Presses neatly into pleats and keeps narrow pockets straight.
• Heavy or stiff: great choice. Strong enough for tools. Pleats and strips stack up layers at the side seams: use a jeans needle and grade the allowances.
• Stretchy knit: not recommended. Pockets and straps sag under load. Use a stable woven fabric.
• Slippery or fine: possible, with care. The strips shift while pleating and stitching dividers; baste first.

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 13 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

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