How to Upcycle a Leather Belt

This is an old post that I wrote for Craftzine, but just in case you didn't get to view it I am posting it on my blog.

While cleaning out our closet to find items suitable for donation, my husband found a huge pile of old clothes that no longer fit us.  Experts say that after the age of twenty, the average person gains a pound a year.  By the foreboding stack of clothing that he managed to collect, I knew that we were no exception to the rule.  While bagging up our bounty, I noticed that my husband was donating some nice leather belts that could no longer accommodate his waistline.  I snatched up a couple of them, figuring that I could repurpose them for myself.  I just loved the worn leather look of them, but the belts were in need of a feminine touch.

Step 1:  Lay out the belt flat.  Using a utility knife and a ruler cut the belt into three strips lengthwise. The left strip should be one quarter of the width of the belt, middle strip is on half of width, and right strip is one quarter of width.  Cut the strips up until you reach the belt buckle (strips should still be attached to each other as well as buckle). To cut the leather, it is easier to score it slowly and go over several times.

Step 2:  Loop left strand over middle strand (figure a), then loop right strand over the left strand, under middle strand and then between the left most strand and middle strand (figure b), and tighten (figure c).

Step 3:  Loop right strand over middle strand (figure a), then loop left strand over the right strand, under middle strand and then between the right most strand and middle strand (figure b), and tighten (figure c).

Step 4: (Same as step 2) Loop left strand over middle strand (figure a), then loop right strand over the left strand, under middle strand and then between the left most strand and middle strand (figure b), and tighten (figure c).

Step 5: Continue with 2-4 (next step would be step 3), alternating the starting strand until there is not enough of the left or right strand to make a tight weave.  Turn the belt over.

Step 6:  Take the left strand and tuck it under the middle weaved part all the way up until strand is hidden.  Do the same for the right strand.

Step 7:  If the belt is too long, punch a new hole and cut the extra length of the belt.  You can also tuck in the extra belt length as seen in the diagram (the belt leather is actually going through two holes and looped back).