Sew Loquacious: Belt Buckle Purse Strap Tutorial

I'm guilty of altering purse patterns in order to make the bag "fit" me better. Most of fhe time, I end up changing the strap(s) in some fashion. I recently made a small purse and decided to make the strap adjustable by making it a sort of belt. I've written a tutorial to explain how I did this. Go ahead, give this a try!

Grab your materials. You will need:

fabric and thread (hello)
interfacing (I use Dritz Perfect Waist Maker)
eyelet kit, hammer, hard surface to hammer on
belt buckle
super sharp scissor, awl (optional)

(I also had an actual belt for a visual reference)

Okay, let's get started!

1. First, determine how long you want your completed strap to be. I made two sets of straps. One set measures 15" X 1 1/2" and the other set 21" X 1 1/2"

2. Cut straps and iron the interfacing to the middle of the wrong sides of all four pieces; bring each half to the middle and iron flat; don't worry, you won't see this "seam" because you are going to sew each strap set together

3. Pin each set together (wrongsides facing each other); now sew each set together

4. You will need to make a loop for your belt. Look at a real belt and you will notice that this loop is usually situated near the actual buckle. Interface your loop; you will hand sew this onto the belt after securing the buckle.

This photo was taken AFTER the buckle was attached in order to show the loop

5. Determine the location for your first eyelet. This will be needed for the buckle. If you don't make a hole, you won't be able to get your buckle onto the strap.

NOTE: The striped fabric is the underside; this will face the top of the bag

Please note that in the previous photo, the buckle is "upside down" in order to determine the location to make the hole.

6. Hammertime! Well, almost. Now cut your hole using a super sharp scissor or awl. This hole should be the size, in diameter, of the metal prong. This can be tricky since you are cutting through the fabric and interfacing. Be patient; you can easily damage your fabric here so take your time.

7. Insert an eyelet into the hole you just made. You'll need to insert it from right side to wrong side.

8. Now it's Hammertime! Position the eyelet onto the top of the anvil. There is a groove on the anvil that will align with the bottom (or underneath part) of the eyelet.