How to fit a D-buckle, or how I fixed that old belt

I had this belt, you can call it boyfriend style. The trouble was that it had been worn out. The faux leather pieces were crumbling, ...so I replaced them with new ones I cut from a scrap of leather I had in a matching colour.

Now this looks really bad...

First I unmounted all the pieces. It was terrible as the faux leather (yeah, it used to be faux leather...) was crumbling all the way. The metal buckle, though, looked completely new. I then traced all the pieces onto paper to make pattern for the new pieces.

How to attatch a buckle to a belt

To begin with, we need all the necessary pieces cut out from a piece of leather: the belt tip, the loop and the piece which will hold the buckle to the belt. No seam allowances are necessary for these. It is very important to make a long oval or rectangular hole in the middle, wide enough to let through the buckle prong. It also has to fit the buckle, so it is advisable to check that early enough.

Rotary cutter is a great tool

First we will stitch the loop. You will need a special needle for that, one with a 3-side blade. It makes triangular holes. I reinforced this stitch wth two metal staples, using the normal office stapler. This will not be visible when the belt is ready. Then I attatched the buckle and secured with a first row of stitching.

Then comes the belt loop. Again, we secure it with a second line of stitching. Now the buckle is operative. In the next step I will attatch it to one end of the belt.

For the belt tip, I saw that in my model only part of it went over the belt. I stitched together the pieces befor putting them on the belt, To make sure these two pieces come perfectly together, I glued them together. Glue is a great help for any leatherwork project, as are paper clips and pegs - remember you cannot baste leather!

It is adviable to punch holes before stitching, however, if you are using soft leather, like mine, and proper needles, you do not necessary have to do it. Also, these pieces are quite small, and there is not much space for it anyway.

Last but not least, to secure the loose ends, after you tie them, you can put the rest of it over a lit candle, for a second only, as otherwise the flame may burn or smoulder the belt.

And that's it really! Now I can wear my belt, and you can make yours. You can use this tutorial to make your own belt with a metal or plastic D-buckle!

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Something a bit off topis. In Spanish, the D-buckles are called 'media luna', like half moon. Isn't that just lovely?