Why Making Your Own Belt is a Great Idea
If you’re tired of buying belts that don’t fit quite right or don’t match your personal style, making your own custom belt is a fantastic solution. Plus, creating an accessory with your own two hands can be a fun and rewarding experience. Not to mention, it’s often cheaper than buying a designer belt – especially if you already have some of the necessary materials at home. So, let’s dive into the steps you’ll need to take to create your very own belt.
Gather the Materials You’ll Need
First things first: you’ll need to gather your materials. Depending on your preferred style of belt, you might need:
- Leather or fabric
- Buckle
- Eyelets
- Thread
- Needle
- Rotary cutter or scissors
- Cutting board
- Ruler or tape measure
- Optional: edge beveler, skiver, hammer or mallet, dye, finisher
Make sure that the length of your leather or fabric piece is long enough for your waist size and the width of your desired belt. For a standard belt, you’ll want a strip of leather or fabric that is about 1 1/2 inches wide and 45 inches long.
Cut and Prep Your Materials
Once you’ve gathered all of your materials, it’s time to start cutting and prepping. Use your rotary cutter or scissors to cut your leather or fabric strip to the desired length and width. Then, use your edge beveler to smooth out the edges of the strip, if desired.
Next, mark out spacing for your eyelets along one end of the strip. Eyelets are where the buckle prong will fit through and hold your belt in place. For a standard belt, you’ll want to space the eyelets 1 inch apart from each other, with the first hole starting 1 1/2 inches from the end of the strip.
Add Eyelets and Buckle
Using an eyelet setter and hammer or mallet, punch and secure the eyelets in place. Then, slide your buckle onto the free end of the strip and fold over the end by 1 inch. Secure the end with 2 rows of stitching using a needle and thread.
Optional: Finish and Dye Your Belt
If you want to get fancy with your belt, you can dye it and finish it using leather finishing products. Make sure to follow the instructions carefully and test out the dye on a small section of your leather or fabric first.
Rock Your Custom Belt with Pride
Once you’ve completed all of the steps, you should have a beautiful and custom belt that perfectly fits your style and body. Wear it with pride and show off your DIY skills!
