Ribbon Belt

Want a great way to jazz up a pair of jeans without altering the jeans themselves?  Make yourself a grosgrain ribbon belt!

I love ribbon and hoard it for my cardmaking, and I figured out a way to make a D-ring belt out of single sided grosgrain ribbon so that the right side shows on the back side of the ribbon when it is pulled through the D-ring.

Did I lose you there?

Let me show you what I mean...

You will need:
single sided grosgrain ribbon
2 D-rings the same width as your ribbon
sewing machine, thread
HeatnBond
iron

First of all, you want to seal the ends of your ribbon so they don't fray.

I passed the ends of the ribbon right next to the flame of a candle, not in it or it may catch on fire.  The heat  next to the flame is enough to melt the ribbon slightly to prevent it from fraying.

Pass one end of the ribbon through both D-rings.  Turn the end under, pin in place, and sew.

I made a double row of stitching for a little extra security.   Sorry about the bad color on this photo.

Cut a piece of HeatnBond the exact width of your ribbon, and as long as you want the end to double back on itself.  I made mine a little over 8".

Carefully place the HeatnBond on the back side of the ribbon, paper side up, and lined up at the end of the ribbon.

Press according to package directions using medium heat and no steam (about 2 seconds), then let cool.

Peel the paper from the HeatnBond, double the ribbon back on itself making sure both the top and bottom edges are even, and press in place (about 8 seconds).  I had to press a little longer to get a good bond.

And that's it.  You are done!

Now you can go impress your friends with your jazzy new belt!

K