The “I Can Make That Cheaper” Running Belt Tutorial!

Remember that FlipBelt I told you about last week? Well I finally got around to making my own! It wasn’t terribly difficult, but there is one little tricky bit that might be a bit complicated for someone to wrap their head around, and it’s not easy to get in photo format, so I’ll try to explain it clearly and provide you with a link to someone who explains it much better!

First I gathered my materials. I had purchased a quarter yard of the watermelon colored Lycra and a pack of stretch needles (more on those later). In my sewing drawer I had a green thread that reminded me of watermelon rind, so I grabbed that and I got my cutting mat and ruler thingy. (What are those thingies called anyway? Quilter-ma-bobs? Cutting rectangles? Painful when you drop them on your foot? I vote all of the above.) I also grabbed my circle cutter, but I wound up just using scissors for cutting the fabric and pushing aside the mat, ruler thingy and circle cutter, because I AM LAZY AND IMPATIENT AND HOW HARD COULD IT BE. *pant pant*

So the first thing I did was make sure I switched out my regular needle for the stretch needle. Until I looked up tutorials for this project, I didn’t even know what a stretch needle was, so I Googled it. Turns out, a stretch needle has a rounded tip as opposed to a sharp point, which allows the needle to slide between the woven fibers instead of cutting through them, which prevents fraying! Sounds like it was worth the investment to me. Next I folded the fabric in half and held it around my waist to figure out how long it needed to be. You want to pull the fabric taut, because it’s stretchy, and when you put stuff in the pockets it will sag a little. I then cut the fabric to my waist size. I set my machine to sew a zigzag stitch as wide as I could get it to sew, then I hemmed the two long sides, stitching over the edges. You really need to use the zigzag stitch or the stitches won’t stretch with the fabric.

Next I folded it along that side in half and pinned it, leaving a large gap at the center. I stuck a pin in sideways so I wouldn’t sew through what would become the pocket. I sewed along the pinned edge, making sure to backstitch on either side of the pocket. Next comes the tricky part. You need to take one end of what is now a tube and slip it through the tube, lining it up with the other end of the tube, right side to right side. Confused yet? Me, too. Here’s a link that explains it better. 

Okay, so pin the ends, and sew around the circle, making sure to backstitch. And guess what?! YOU JUST MADE YOURSELF A RUNNING BELT, YOU BADASS! Seriously, once you pull the thing right side out, it’s done. Then you get to try it on along with your various ridiculous outfits, like me!

NOTE: Make sure you hold the fabric very snugly around where you want to wear it, because I found mine to be too loose when I ran with it the first time, and I will be taking it in an inch or two.

The four pack of stretch needles cost me $6, and the fabric? Less than $2. All in all, this project took me less than an hour. I bought it and made it in less time than it could be delivered and for less money than I would have paid.

So what do you think? Will you tackle one of these?

Let me know in the comments!