How to Make Leather Belts With Crystals

Adding crystals to a leather belt can make an entire outfit stand out.

Making a homemade leather belt is one of the easier tasks when it comes to homemade fashion accessories. Leather can be easy to work with if one knows how to soften and manipulate it. Adding accessories, such as crystals, to a leather belt can make it more fancy and is very easy to do, with the proper tools.

Things You'll Need

• Leather of choice
• Belt buckle of choice with a prong
• Measuring tape
• Leather cutters
• Mallet or wooden craft hammer
• Hole punch (for leather)
• Metallic purse buttons
• Bucket of water
• Steaming water
• Towel
• Craft knife
• Crystals
• Thread
• Liquid super glue

Instructions

1. Measure the waistline of the person who will be wearing the belt. Make sure to add at least a foot to that, and cut out the leather belt at the longer measurement. The width of the belt should be small enough to fit through an average size pant loop and the chosen belt buckle.

2. Shape one end of the belt as desired. This is the end that will be visible when wearing the belt. Use the leather cutter to create the design. For example, the end could be pointy, round or oval.

3. Take the uncut end of the leather belt and make a fold one and a half inches from the end. Hold this fold in place and hit the leather crease with a mallet or wooden craft hammer. Keep hitting the leather until it has punctured. This will make the fold for the buckle much smoother.

4. Make a small cut in the leather perpendicular to the fold. This small cut is for the prong. Clean up the cut so the leather looks smooth.

5. Attach the belt buckle. How to attach the buckle depends on the design. It may require a few purse buttons to lock the leather in place. Make four small holes in the leather with a leather hole-punch. There should be two holes on the leather belt and two on the folded piece. The holes should line up when the fold is complete.

6. Slide the buckle into place in the folded section of leather, pull the prong through the hole in the fold and connect the folded sides with the purse buttons.

7. Trim the lines of the leather belt if necessary and make the final cutting adjustments.

8. Wrap the belt around the person to determine where the holes for the buckle will need to be, and make hole markings on the inside of the belt. Use the hole punch to create the holes.

9. Place the belt in water and soak it until the leather is soft. Depending on the thickness, a few minutes may be sufficient.

10. Wipe the excess water off the belt using a towel. The belt should still be wet, but not dripping. Leather is more flexible to work with when wet.

11. Cut small indents where the crystals will be placed. The cuts should not go all the way through the leather, but rather smaller indentations. If the leather is very thin, avoid this step.

12. Place the crystals on top of the indentations. Using the fingers, slowly push the leather around the crystals to hold them in place. If a crystal slips out of the indentation, tie thread around it for temporary support.

13. Dip the leather in the hot steaming water for a few seconds. This is to let the leather recognize the diamond indentations. After a few seconds, remove the belt from the water and wipe the belt dry with a towel. This will not harm the crystals.

14. Remove the crystals and threads from the belt. Drop some glue into the leather indentations and on the back of the crystals. Push the crystals into the leather indentations and hold firmly in place for several seconds or until the glue appears dry.

References

• Annabella: How to make leather belts

Resources

• Vintage Belts: Hand-studded Suede Belts