The brocade belt we’re sewing today is inspired by the Japanese obi. This versatile accessory comes in a range of traditional forms from the very simple to that gorgeous sash worn with a kimono and held in place with a decorative cord, or obijime. In this tutorial, we'll sew a woman's sash belt. Our version features narrow ties that reflect that elegant design.

Don’t be shy. Reach for the most striking, colorful fabric in your stash. This is one accessory where extravagance is key. Brocade fabric is a wonderful choice. You won’t need much, so you can probably afford to splash out. Browse even around our historical textiles and give yourself the satisfaction of creating a true heritage piece.

The length of fabric needed for this project depends on two things: your chosen material’s bolt width and the length and width of your finished belt. So we’ll start by creating the pattern and make our calculations from there.

This part is easy, don’t worry. Grab a pencil and some pattern paper (wrapping paper works too).

Start by drawing a rectangle: the long side is your waistline circumference and the short side is the width of your belt. Make it as wide as you like; mine is about 4.5 in (11 cm). Mark the midpoint.

Divide your waist measurement in fifths (round the result) and, starting at one end of the rectangle, make a mark at each fifth.

Draw a line lengthwise along the center of the belt and make two marks at each end where the ties will be sewn on. My ties are about an inch wide (3 cm), so I made a mark half an inch above and half an inch below the center line.

Connect the dots as shown in the illustration.

Round the corners a bit to make the belt easier to sew. On one side only, mark where the pull-through hole will be for the tie.

With symmetrical patterns like this one, it’s common to draw only half of the pattern, which is then placed on the folded fabric. However, drawing the entire pattern can help you center the design.

If you have enough fabric, make the belt from a single piece and save yourself the headache of matching up the pattern at the seams.

If the whole thing doesn't fit on your fabric, divide the pattern into three sections. Divide at the one-fifth mark from each end. If it still doesn’t fit, divide it a quarter of the way from each end.

The ties are just long, thin rectangles. You can draw them directly on the fabric. Make them as long as half your waistline plus extra for tying.

How much you add for tying depends on the final effect you want. If you just want a knot with short ends, 12 in (30 cm) should be enough. If you will do a bow, add twice that.

For example, if your waist measures 28 in (70 cm) your ties should be at least 26 in (65 cm).

            ½ (28) + 12 = 26

For fabrics with a repeating pattern like brocade, you want to center the motif on the face of the sash or at least align it so that it sits where you want it.

For a really professional look, line up the pattern on the ties and the reverse side too. But don’t sweat it if you haven’t got enough fabric to play around with those parts. The inside of the belt isn’t visible when you’re wearing it anyway.

With standard width fabrics at 51–59 in (130–150 cm) there should be no problem fitting a full sash for most women’s sizes. But most of our brocades are only about 29 in (73 cm) wide. What if that’s not enough?

You’ll need just a few things:

1. Fabric
2. Fusible interfacing
3. Universal polyester sewing thread and a universal machine needle (No. 80–90)
4. Satin bias tape

And of course: chalk, shears, measuring tape, a yardstick.

A good fusible interfacing for brocade is our lightweight fusible interlining. You’ll only need enough for one side of the belt.

Save yourself some work and buy ready-made bias tape. It comes in all shades, so you should be able to find something that matches. Get a narrow tape 5/8 or 3/4 in (18 or 20 mm). You’ll need twice the total length of the belt, including both ties, plus some extra. It will seem like a lot. Even with my slim waist and short ties, I needed 5 yards (4.5 m).

Take your time with this step. First, trace half of the pattern onto the wrong side of the fabric, aligning it carefully so that the pattern is centered just as you want it. Add seam allowances. Cut out the traced half.

Fold the piece exactly in half and make sure the symmetrical parts of the motif line up. Pin in place and cut the second piece.

If you have the belt divided in three parts, start with the middle panel and try to line up the motif at the seam.

Cut four tie pieces. A little work lining up the motif here will make your belt look more polished.

There are a few steps to take before sewing.

1. Apply interfacing
2. Create the pull-through hole

Apply interfacing to the piece(s) that will form the outside of your belt. If you have a 3-panel belt, apply to all three.

Iron a rectangular scrap of interfacing to the wrong side of the inner panel where you want the pull-through hole. Draw the hole onto the interfacing – 3/16 in (5 mm) wide and as high as the width of your tie.

Place inner and outer panels right sides together and stitch around the outline of the rectangular opening.

Cut out the opening. Use small, sharp scissors to cut through the center and then diagonally to the corners right up to the stitching.

Now for the magic: Pull the unlined panel through the hole to turn the piece out.

Once the belt is right-side-out, carefully smooth it down and finish the hole, then press with an iron. To reinforce the hole, sew around as close to the edge as possible.

Sew along the side seams like this: Sew one side along its entire width and on the other side leave an unsewn gap just as wide as your tie in the middle of the seam. Do the same for both the inner and outer panels. Press all the finished seams.

Finally, place the completed inner and outer belt pieces wrong sides together so that the pull-through holes on the one side line up exactly. Pin the pieces together carefully and sew around the hole close to the edge.

Sew the tie pieces to the belt. Place them right sides facing at each end and sew in place. Press the seams.

Now we’ll trim the entire belt with bias tape. This makes a neat finish. You can combine shades for harmony or contrast, as you like. I chose red.

To make this step easier, stitch all the way around the entire belt in one go (including the ties). If you’ve left wider seam allowances, trim them now to the width of the bias tape so you can sew the tape precisely along the edge of the belt.

Place the bias tape right sides together on the outer panel of the belt. Mark a 45° diagonal line at the end (the white line in the photo) and start sewing from the yellow arrow (this is where you’ll join the ends of the bias tape later).

Trim the ends of the ties into a rounded shape. Place the bias strip here so that the seam line neatly follows the curved end of the tie. A little patience will pay off here. Pin or baste the strip in place.

Sew on the tape all the way around without stopping. When you reach the starting point again, stop sewing just before where you started.

Place the ends of the bias strip right sides together so that they are at right angles. Stitch diagonally, trim the seam allowance, and press open.

Now fold the bias tape over the edge of the belt, press it, and secure it by hand with small stitches. You can also sew it on a machine by sewing along the top edge just below the seam line and securing the edge of the tape on the underside, but this requires considerable precision and skill. It’s better to do it by hand; it’s easy work and the result will be neater.

And that’s it. Once you’ve finished the trim, your belt is done!

Wondering how to tie a sash belt? It's easy.

Wrap the belt so that the part with the pull-through hole is on top. Then just pull the tie through the hole and tie the belt up in front.

We'd love to see how you style your obi.

What brocade did you use?

Share your photos with us!