I’ve started on a new shoe project, but as an intermission I’ve recently made a veg tanned belt. I don’t know the first thing about making belts, and decided to wing it as an experiment. This belt was made to match Ericsberg.

I started by cutting a belt strap out of 5 oz veg tanned shoulder, ca 30 mm wide. I measured its circumference  with 4 oz veg tanned calf side leather, and then cut out wide straps of said leather to match. (I cut out two, to maybe later make another belt.)

As depicted below, I cemented the 5 oz strap onto the 4 oz leather, nap to nap. Then I roughed up the surface of the 5 oz leather for later cementing the belt shut, and cut out angles in the 4 oz leather for folding the edges over.

At the end of the belt where the buckle will go, I left 10 cm longer of the 4 oz leather compared to the 5 oz, to be able to fold the 4 oz leather over the buckle fastening.

Then I applied contact cement to the insides of the belt, let it cure, and glued it shut.

After this, I didn’t take any pictures until the belt was finished, but here’s roughly what I did:

• Dyed the belt with Fiebing’s leather dye in light tan, tan and medium brown (using a Fiebing’s dauber for each color), brushed the belt with a cotton cloth and let it dry.
• Glued the belt buckle in place by folding the 4 oz leather over the buckle fastener.
• Ran a pricking wheel around the belt.
• Drilled up the 600 holes or so (I lost count) with a hand-held drill and 1 mm bit.
• Sewed the belt by hand with a running stitch using 1 mm waxed polyester thread. I almost made it all the way around in one go, which required a super long thread and an angel’s patience, but to my dismay I had cut the thread about 15 cm too short…
• Cut out a logo from 4 oz veg tanned leather, stamped and dyed it, sewed it for decorative purposes and cemented it into the buckle.
• Made a leather fastener thingie by cementing some 4 oz and 2 oz veg tanned leather together in a bent shape, burnishing the edges, dying it and sewing it onto the belt.
• Punched up three holes to my measurements (one mode for starving, one regular mode and one christmas dinner mode).  Then it was pretty much done.

The open seam running around the inside isn’t straight, but the visible side of the belt turned out pretty cool.