thread belt loops

before i get engrossed in my next project (the colette patterns macaron, if you've been following along) i want to show you a little dress i made for my just turned 6 year old. as far as mainstream patterns for kids go, it's pretty slim pickings. plus half the stuff out there is just bizarrely sized. the simplicity/new look project runway series however is much more true to the sizing chart and usually doesn't require a thousand alterations! so as a birthday gift i decided to make up a little casual dress for her in a (bright!) pink polka dot flannel she picked out weeks ago. i used new look 6088 which is cute, casual enough to wear to school and has a few sweet details that make it special.

fortunately i didn't have to change a thing. while it took a little longer than i expected with all the pockets, plackets, tabs, buttonholes, buttons, etc. i'm glad i didn't leave anything out. all the little details make it look so much less homemade, if you know what i mean. i made her the size 6 which is a little big, but perfect for growing into. then after wearing it for a day my little fashionista decided it needed a belt.

fortunately that was a simple matter. i cut two pieces of material on grain, sewed, turned and topstitched. to make sure it stayed in place i added little belt loops to the side seams of the dress. now, here is the cool part and what i am really getting to in this post! you know those little thread belt loops you see on dresses? just enough to keep a belt in place but discreet enough that you don't really notice them? well it turns out there is a super easy way to make them yourself. i remembered a handy tutorial on colette patterns website.

here's a super close up so you can see what it looks like

i won't post step by step pictures since they do such a nice job, but basically all you do is take 6 threads and sew a zig zag stitch over them, keeping the threads taut as you go. it was very easy, fast and created a nice sturdy belt loop!

to attach it, i just marked a spot at the waist on the side seams and ripped a few stitches (just enough to poke the loop through) then stitched it back up. then using a short stitch (1 mm) i stitched again about 1/8" inside the seam allowance just to give it a more secure anchor. ideally you will have thought to do this before finishing the seam to begin with, but it was easy enough to go back and add.

hope you find this useful, i know i'll be using these time and time again for belt loops, button loops and probably a hundred other things!

and i think she was right. it does look better with the belt.