Tutorial: How to make quick & easy Belts out of ribbon & D rings!

Froot Loop is a tall, skinny boy. He has a problem with his pants because his legs are so long and his waist is so narrow. Either he has to wear pants that are really way too short so that they fit him in the waist, or he has to wear pants that are long enough but fall down. Elastic pants help some, but really, the best thing for him to wear is a belt. Here's a tutorial for some belts that I made for him. 

I wouldn't say this is super easy, but it's not hard, and it didn't take very long. It's a good beginner project.

Here's what you need: 

1.5 inch ribbon (enough to go around your child's/your own waist 1.5 times)

1.5 inch D rings (you need 2 per belt)

Sewing machine and sewing supplies (My sewing machine is over 30 years old and they don't make it anymore.) 

First, choose your ribbon! I made three belts for Froot Loop: Tie Dye, Dinosaurs, and Bugs. The Tie Dye ribbon is satin and the others are grosgrain. The Grosgrain was MUCH easier to work with, so keep that in mind. 

The very first thing I did was wrap the ribbon loosely around my son's waist 1 1/2 times. It doesn't have to be QUITE this long, but I wanted him to be able to grow into it some. 

Next, I took a lighter and very gently and carefully melted the ends of the ribbon to help keep it from fraying. Be careful not to set it on fire... the satin ribbon really likes to burst into flame. 

I folded about 1/2 to 3/4 inches of the end of the ribbon over on itself, then did this again to hide the raw edge.

I pinned it in place. 

Then, I sewed it, using a zigzag stitch. 

I like the zigzag stitch because it makes it hold better. I lined up the edge of the zigzag with the edge of the folded over ribbon on the back. 

This is what you should end up with. Feel free to use thread that doesn't show as much. 

The other end will have the D rings.

I folded over about 3/4- 1 inch of the end of the ribbon and folded it over again, but this time, I put the two D rings in the little loop left before I pinned it. 

Then I sewed it using the same zig zag stitch as before. 

This gives you one edge to thread through the other end with the D rings. Make sure that you've sewn it well so that it doesn't come off. 

I also used a straight stitch to keep the D rings right at the end of the ribbon to keep them from moving around too much. 

This is how it looked after this step.

Voila! A cute and unique ribbon belt for Froot Loop! 

The only issue we have had with these is that Froot Loop's fine motor skills aren't quite to the point where he can undo the rings when "under pressure" when he urgently needs to go. So keep that in mind if you're making this for young kids. 

Froot Loop LOVED it! 

Here's how the dinosaur and the bug belts turned out. 

Some alternate things you can do: 

Use 1.5 inch webbing either as the belt itself, or sew the ribbon onto the webbing (make sure to sew all four sides of the ribbon to the webbing). I may do this to Froot Loop's belts to make it easier for him to take it off in a hurry. 

Put Belt end tips onto the end of the belt you thread through the D rings. 

Instead of using D rings, sew each end of the ribbon onto side release clips. Treat each half like you are sewing the D rings on. 

Personally, I don't wear belts because I don't like them. Do you wear belts?