I Did A Thing, vol. 11

If you read the recent post about my Wanted List, you may remember the Isabel Marant “Lecce” belt that I have been coveting for a few months. By the time I talked myself into maybe pulling the trigger on buying it – gasp! – at full retail price, it was long sold out. Probably for the better; after taxes, shipping and customs, it would have set me back over $200CAD.

But, darn, I still wanted it. Then someone on Instagram suggested that I might try to DIY it, and a light bulb went off. Of course! I am not particularly crafty, but on closer look, the project didn’t appear too daunting. The Marant belt has no hardware, which is what makes it so cool looking; the only work I would have to do would be cutting it down to size (the ends are rounded points) and making a slit for one end to loop through the other.

The hardest part was finding a suitable starting point. There is never a shortage of belts at the thrift store, but somehow, at first, I couldn’t seem to find precisely what I needed: an extra-long, real leather men’s belt. I ended up getting a cheapie pleather version to use as a “trial” run. It turned out to be too short, but it helped me get the general mechanics down. Eventually, I lucked into finding a size 42 Eddie Bauer belt made of nice, thick leather.

I snipped off both ends to get rid of the buckle and the original belt holes, then I cut again to create the new pointed ends. I tied the belt around my waist to figure out where to put the new slit/hole, and marked the length (based on the width of the belt). Up to this point, I has used scissors – professional leather craftspeople would be horrified, I’m sure – but I got my husband to cut the actual hole because I’m a bit squeamish about using the Exacto knife.

And that was that. My belt was ready.

I love the result, and I especially love that it cost less than $10. I am planning to DIY the same belt in cognac, as soon as I can find the right material.

If anyone is interested in trying a similar project, here are my three lessons learned from doing this.

One, the size 42 men’s belt was a decent length for me, though I might try to find something even longer for my second try. For reference, my waist is about 27 inches but I’m not a huge fan of super-constrictive belts, so I like having a bit of slack. After cutting off the buckle and about 6 extra inches off the original belt, the length was sufficient to tie a “knot” but I have to cinch the belt pretty tight to do so.

Two, I left a bit too much “tail” at the other end and should have moved the slit/hole about an inch or two out. (That would have also helped with the first issue.)

Three, and this is something I still need to do, it’s important to make the slit a tiny bit longer than the width of the belt, in order to be able to slide the belt through the slit easily. My husband also suggested punching in small holes at each end of the slit, in order to stop the leather from cracking (and the slit widening) from use.