Hey everyone! Welcome back. In this next installment of Sewing With Tiny Hardware, we're going to take a look at creating belts with belt buckles. Not all belts are used in the traditional way, like cinching a pair of pants around a waistband, some of the shoe styles have tiny little belt-like features with slide buckles and prongs buckles too!
We're going to touch on a few different things in these next few tutorials. Are you ready? Let's jump in on in and get started.
In this first video tutorial, we're going to take a look at how to install a pronged buckle. The featured example is the from the Runway Romper pattern.
It's a braided elastic belt sewn to vinyl end pieces and secured to a prong buckle.
Alternately, you can add eyelets to the tiny holes opposite the buckle end.
Follow along to see how to create a functional belt with a prong buckle.
So that's how you attach a prong to buckle. I hope this really helps you to feel confident to do this type of task in your next project.
Wondering how to use a slider buckle? It follows the same installation method but there's no need to punch a hole for the prong. For a detailed look, check out this full tutorial: How To Make A Doll Belt
I mentioned a few alternate ways "belts" are used in this tiny fashion world. The most common would be functional shoe straps, or accents to shoe designs which may be non-functional.
- Shoe patterns like the Dollistocks or the Sling Back Shoes are good examples. The Dollistocks uses a tiny buckle across the toe (follow along in the video tutorials here). This can be done with a slider buckle or a tiny prong buckle. The Sling Back Shoe has a variation that uses a belt strap embellishment with a slider buckle, but it's decorative, not functional.
- Accessories like purses, bags, and hats are also good examples. You could add simple belt style embellishments to these designs pretty easily!
Looking for Buckles? You can find them at Pixie Faire
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Pamela W
March 20, 2024
I love making these accessory items for doll outfits. I recently found a child’s watch where the watch was beyond repair but the band will make a great belt for Ellowyne. Great for thrifting and upcycling. For some cute and crafty 1980s buckles, Lee and Pearl have some buckle templates in their retro 1980s romper pattern that can be made using “shrinky dink” plastic sheets (a retro 1980s craft…). Those buckles might help if you can’t find a doll scale buckle to match an outfit you’re creating too.