Make a Flag Football Belt

All this spring rain is turning things pretty muddy around here, which means it's the perfect time to play flag football!  We need some belts and tear-away flags, so I got to work.  Here's what you'll need for each belt:

• 1" wide nylon webbing (enough to go around your waist, plus about a foot extra)
• Two 1" D-rings
• One foot of sew-on velcro
• 12" x 30" rectangle of Ripstop Nylon (this is enough for 3 flags)
• Thread

These were made on the basic sewing machines at TechShop Menlo Park.

This belt will fasten with D-rings, which makes it easy and adjustable.  You'll need to cut your webbing to about 12" longer than your waist measurement.  If the belt will need to fit a variety of people, you may want to use a large waist measurement as your standard.  I wanted my belt to fit lots of people, so I made my it to fit a 42" waisted person, which means I cut it 54" long.  

Pass one end of the webbing through both D-rings and fold it back over itself.  You'll want about about 1 1/2" to 2" of overlap.  Sew through both layers to secure the D-rings.  I've sewn a rectangle, then sewn an X inside said rectangle.  This method of stitching is very sturdy.  

Now you'll want to cut your flags.  I've used ripstop nylon for the flags, as this fabric won't fray or tear when yanked off by an opposing team member.  

Cut 4" by 30" inch strips for each flag.  Then cut a 4" long chunk off of one end of each flag.   Now you've got three 4" by 24" strips and three 4" by 4" squares.  The longer pieces will become your flags, and the small squares will become the adjustable sliding loops that the flags will attach to.  

In order to have the flags hang in the same place on each person, you'll want the points where they attach to be adjustable.   We're going to use the 4" by 4" square to create a sliding attachment point for a flag.  

Cut a 4" long piece of vecro.  It doesn't matter if it's the hook or loop side, as the other side will end up on the flag itself.  Be consistent though;  if you put the hook side on one slider, make sure you put the hook side on all the sliders.  Place the velcro in the middle of a square as shown and sew it down securely.

Fold the square in half along the line of the velcro, with the velcro on the inside.  It'll be a bit awkward, as the velcro doesn't like folding along its length.  Pin the heck out of it if it's being feisty.   Using a 5/8" seam allowance, sew a line down the strip to form a tube.  For extra security, also sew a line of zig zag stitches about 3/8" away from the edge.  If the first line of stitching fails, the zigzag stitching will prevent it from ripping open.

Turn the tube right-side outwards, and slip in onto the end of the belt with the velcro facing out.  Repeat for all your other sliders.

Cut a 4" long piece of velcro (remember to use the opposite of what you put on your slider).  Place it along the top edge of your flag as shown, and stitch it down securely, just like you did with the slider.  Repeat for your other flags.  

You're done!  Velcro each flag to its respective slider, put on your belt and adjust everything to where you want it.  Then go get muddy!