Lengthen a belt??

[Outfitr]

Does anyone know of a good way to make a belt longer? Ok so I recently finished a customers belt, full floral carved, lined, hand stitched. Few weeks later customer says belt too small even with another hole can you make it longer? I explicitly explained over and over how to measure for the belt including a drawing. They gave me a number and I made the belt. At first they said I made it too small but a remeasure insured that I made it exactly as I was suppose to according to the number I got. I panicked a little at first thinking I may have screwed up but I always make a note listing the customer and all the info I need and pin it above my work bench until the project is complete. I probably check and recheck the belt length a dozen times so I was sure it was correct. Turns out they measured old belt wrong so I'm really not obligated but feel bad and want to help. It was an expensive belt. And it was their request to somehow make it a little longer. I don't know....looks like another belt in my near future.

[Dwight]

I would cut off the section of the belt where the buckle attaches.

I would then take a piece of probably 7 oz . . . make it long enough to attach on the belt where the end was cut . . .  overlap it front and back (skive the belt to facilitate this) . . . stamp the new piece to augment the stamping of the belt . . . dye & finish the "new" piece . . . 

And I would not charge him for the extra. 

I do things like this for my customers . . . knowing we all make mistakes.  

It would become a custom belt such as no one around would have . . . 

May God bless,

Dwight

[Klara]

Probably too simple, but how much is "a little"? Would a bigger/longer buckle be sufficient? 

[chuck123wapati]

8 hours ago, Dwight said:

 

It would become a custom belt such as no one around would have . . . 

 

except for my daughter lol. That's exactly how i did it and  i can say it works out real nice.

[Outfitr]

13 hours ago, Dwight said:

I would cut off the section of the belt where the buckle attaches.

I would then take a piece of probably 7 oz . . . make it long enough to attach on the belt where the end was cut . . .  overlap it front and back (skive the belt to facilitate this) . . . stamp the new piece to augment the stamping of the belt . . . dye & finish the "new" piece . . . 

And I would not charge him for the extra. 

I do things like this for my customers . . . knowing we all make mistakes.  

It would become a custom belt such as no one around would have . . . 

May God bless,

Dwight

Where would you cut the belt exactly..where the buckle slot starts? The liner on the belt extends all the way to the buckle end and of course is stitched too. So then the 7 oz. piece you suggested I assume you would fold over, stitch together, and cut a new buckle slot to make a new end and sandwich the other end  to top and bottom of old belt?? I end my tooling before that end of the belt so just some dye and finish would work. Dang I hate to cut that belt. But then what good is it if it doesn't fit....it's got personalized initials on it of course.

[tsunkasapa]

How much are we talking about? You can gain some by nailing it to a board, putting a nail in each hole, then pulling from the other end. Stohlman says to wet it, but I don't think you want to go there

[Samalan]

1 hour ago, Outfitr said:

Where would you cut the belt exactly..where the buckle slot starts? The liner on the belt extends all the way to the buckle end and of course is stitched too. So then the 7 oz. piece you suggested I assume you would fold over, stitch together, and cut a new buckle slot to make a new end and sandwich the other end  to top and bottom of old belt?? I end my tooling before that end of the belt so just some dye and finish would work. Dang I hate to cut that belt. But then what good is it if it doesn't fit....it's got personalized initials on it of course.

I would cut that right in the center of the two screws skive about 1/2" to 3/4" on the two cut ends of the inside of the belt then make the addon piece lets say it's an inch then make that addon 2" for a 1/2" skive or 2.5" for a 3/4 skive then I think I would make the keeper that 1" wide put it back together  with nothing less than barge cement then stitch top and bottom no one will ever see it and if you do the barge right it will be very strong you can even put in an extra two screws if you like hope this helps Good luck

[Outfitr]

OK thanks everyone for your suggestions. I did think about stretching it but not sure about that. Right now I'm not sure exactly how much length it needs...I'll have to get back with customer and nail that down. I suspect it's not much because he was wearing it for a while. I think I'll get the belt back and start the surgical procedure soon. I'll keep you posted.

[JLSleather]

If you only need an inch or two, DONT cut that belt.  Turn it into a "ranger" style belt by adding "billets".  I won't  bore you to no end ... you can let us know if this is something that interests you and THEN we'll go into that.  If you can cut the billets from the same hide, that's GOLD (but not required).

 

[RockyAussie]

Just a way I would do it is to make up an extension piece. I do a lot of my belts with a separate extension in order to make them quick and easy to cut back in size if needed but also they can be made longer with a longer extension piece if needed. A good thing here is that the tongue of the belt will cover over your connection whichever way you go. In your case above I would cut it at the start of the crew punch hole and skive and add in that extra inch or so your chasing. Follow this up by adding an extension over the top so you end up with something along the lines as shown in the following pictures. You can stitch the top part of the extension to the main part of the belt or not , your choice.

[Doc Reaper]

By the time the belt has shrunk, I’ll tell the folks to buy a new bell, why spend good money after bad? Most belts are shot if they are well used

[Dwight]

10 hours ago, Outfitr said:

Where would you cut the belt exactly..where the buckle slot starts? The liner on the belt extends all the way to the buckle end and of course is stitched too. So then the 7 oz. piece you suggested I assume you would fold over, stitch together, and cut a new buckle slot to make a new end and sandwich the other end  to top and bottom of old belt?? I end my tooling before that end of the belt so just some dye and finish would work. Dang I hate to cut that belt. But then what good is it if it doesn't fit....it's got personalized initials on it of course.

There are two holes thru the belt there by the buckle . . . and you could easily do like Rocky Aussie suggested . . . jut adding a piece there to move the buckle out farther in the front.  

By cutting it right behind the buckle tongue slot . . . you could round the corners a tad bit . . . sew the outside again to the liner . . . and you would not have to do any skiving or gluing if you just punched 2 holes in the inside and the outside pieces that would fold over and make the NEW buckle keeper.

I'd not bat an eye at wearing it  . . .  that's for sure.  It is one beautiful belt . . . don't let this length thing get the best of you.  Finish up that piece holding the buckle with some little doo-dad stamping . . . make it look like you planned it . . . only you and the owner will know you didn't.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Handstitched]

@Outfitr

If time permits,  and the client isn't in any hurry, I'd be making a whole new belt the correct size, and sell the shorter one to recoup your costs, and learn from the experience. I've done that rather than put a knife through all my hard work.   Theres a lot of work in that , I just couldn't bring myself to cut it.     I'd be very reluctant cut that lovely belt . 

HS

[fredk]

10 hours ago, JLSleather said:

If you only need an inch or two, DONT cut that belt.  Turn it into a "ranger" style belt by adding "billets".  I won't  bore you to no end ... you can let us know if this is something that interests you and THEN we'll go into that.  If you can cut the billets from the same hide, that's GOLD (but not required).

 

[fredk]

On 2/3/2022 at 3:30 AM, Outfitr said:

Does anyone know of a good way to make a belt longer? Ok so I recently finished a customers belt, full floral carved, lined, hand stitched. Few weeks later customer says belt too small even with another hole can you make it longer? I explicitly explained over and over how to measure for the belt including a drawing. They gave me a number and I made the belt. At first they said I made it too small but a remeasure insured that I made it exactly as I was suppose to according to the number I got. I panicked a little at first thinking I may have screwed up but I always make a note listing the customer and all the info I need and pin it above my work bench until the project is complete. I probably check and recheck the belt length a dozen times so I was sure it was correct. Turns out they measured old belt wrong so I'm really not obligated but feel bad and want to help. It was an expensive belt. And it was their request to somehow make it a little longer. I don't know....looks like another belt in my near future.

At this point I would like to remind the collective that there are two 'sizes' put on clothing and belts.

One is the true measure size and the other is the 'vanity' measure. Usually the two 'sizes' are not on the item at the same time. The 'vanity' measure number is less than the true measure, sometimes by just a little and sometimes by a lot eg. I had a chap who insisted he was a 36 inch waist. I knew he was not just by looking. He brought me his then current belt, it was marked 36 - no inches, or cm, nowt. My tape measure proved he was a 44 inch waist.

The two can be differentiated by, the true measure has the number followed by; inches, " or cm. The vanity size is just a number

Edited February 4, 2022 by fredk

[JLSleather]

3 hours ago, fredk said:

At this point I would like to remind the collective that there are two 'sizes' put on clothing and belts.

One is the true measure size and the other is the 'vanity' measure. Usually the two 'sizes' are not on the item at the same time. The 'vanity' measure number is less than the true measure, sometimes by just a little and sometimes by a lot eg. I had a chap who insisted he was a 36 inch waist. I knew he was not just by looking. He brought me his then current belt, it was marked 36 - no inches, or cm, nowt. My tape measure proved he was a 44 inch waist.

The two can be differentiated by, the true measure has the number followed by; inches, " or cm. The vanity size is just a number

I almost agree ... but I've found quite a few more than 2 sizes

There's the size the store sells you, because they KNOW people WILL come back to buy THEIR belts if they say "I'm skinny" even when you're not.  People WILL bring their 35" waist in to buy a belt that says 32, and when that cheap junk wears out in a few months they'll be back to get another one. 
Problem for us comes in when that person gets tired of 4-6 month belts, comes for a REAL one, and wants the size marked on the ones he gets at Walmart.

There's the size where a guy honestly wants a belt that fits, doesn't matter what the "size" is to him/her.  So they give you their "real" clothing size. 
TWO problems here.  First, that clothing size is often marked just like that Walmart belt.. not even close.  I have jeans that say 34 that would FALL OFF without a belt, AND I have '34' jeans that are quite fitting.  I usually wear "32" jeans, and they fit about the same as some "34" jeans.  SECONDLY, EVEN IF you really measured 32, your BELT WOULD NEED TO BE MORE than that, because 1) the thickness of the leather, and 2) the thickness of the clothing it goes OVER.  The thicker the leather, the longer belt needed.

And of course, you have people who flat out lie (though it makes no sense to me) and people who tell you they measured wehn they did not.

FOR A LONG TIME, I had a plan. 
If you're ordering a plain belt, I'll send you the size you asked for. Doesn' happen too often, since Amazon has belts in every color and style, faster and cheaper most of the time.  If my belt doesn't fit, then yo RETURN IT in the SAME CONDITION and I'll swap it for one that fits now that you KNOW.
BUT if you're ordering something I'm spending HOURS on, I'd send then a strap of leather THE SAME THICKNESS as the belt they'll be getting. Marked off every 1/4" like a tape measure.  Tell them to run it through the jeans and tell me the number it lands on.  Give the leather to the dog for a chewy, whatever.  Then I found I had a good bit of time in that, and the shipping.  So I started charging $10 for this strap (the shipping is $8).  DONT buy a tooled belt, you're out $10 and I'm out the time and a strap of low-end leather (same hide as the good belt, but lower on the hide).  DO buy a belt, and I'll take the $10 OFF the cost of the new belt order, so againg I"M paying for the "sizing strap".  USUALLY worked, but still had people who got the strap, gave me a size, ordered teh wrong belt, then later admitted that they DIDN'T MEASURE because the new belt was a surprise gift and they didn't want to spoil the surprise.

SO my conclusion is.... I DONT KNOW HOW to get people to give you the right size, even STILL.  With local folks, we'd tell em just come in and we'll measure you.  If you dont want me touching on you - because you're a girl, or a nutbag, or whatever -- let us know when you're coming and I'll have a girl here to do it for you... whatever.  This WORKS, but only IF/WHEN you can get people to do it.

BACK TO THE POINT... I dont mind Rocky's "fix" if you don't have far to go, but for me... I'm still thinking RANGER BELT.

 

[Outfitr]

You're right about belt sizing. It can be so frustrating. I just tell customer to drag out a belt they have that fits well and measure that belt from the bend at the buckle end to the hole that they are using on the belt. I then take that measurement and duplicate to the middle hole of new belt. Usually works well until the above mentioned situation where they measured their old belt wrong. I don't know, seems like it's a pretty easy task to take one measurement as per simple instructions. Oh well. Just came in from the shop where I was practicing my first belt extension on scrap leather. I think I got a plan. We'll see.

[Bert03241]

someone mentioned Billets can you explain what hey are and how they work

[Handstitched]

22 hours ago, fredk said:

At this point I would like to remind the collective that there are two 'sizes' put on clothing and belts.

This morning at our first market of the year, a customer, and his  wife,  came back to my stall with a belt they bought  from me before Christmas.  It was too small. Guess where they got  the measurement? From an old belt .He thought he was a 35" ....he was in fact a 42"  . So, he placed a order  for one of  the correct size, and I got HIM to put the tape measure around his waist, NOT over the belt he was wearing or phones, thick clothing  etc. And it has to be comfortable, and it's not some kind of  "abdominal restraint"  ( a  girdle)    , and I politely instructed him not to use the measurement on his old belts and jean sizes.  All good  

How many times has this topic come up?

Over time, I too have become quite good a judging waist sizes just by looking at them   

HS

Edited February 5, 2022 by Handstitched

[fredk]

11 hours ago, Bert03241 said:

someone mentioned Billets can you explain what hey are and how they work

Basically, billets are short straps sewn, or otherwise attached, to each end of the main belt. One carries the buckle and the other has the holes for the buckle tongue. When the billets are attached to the main belt they are usually set in by a few inches. For looks, billets are often narrower than the main belt.

an example;

Its a useful design to know.

IF I was doing fancy gun-leather belts, I could/would make a fancy one-size-fits-all main belt but only attach billets to the ends for the final customer

[Bert03241]

Thanks for the explanation

[JLSleather]

7 hours ago, fredk said:

Basically, billets are short straps sewn, or otherwise attached, to each end of the main belt. One carries the buckle and the other has the holes for the buckle tongue. When the billets are attached to the main belt they are usually set in by a few inches. For looks, billets are often narrower than the main belt.

an example;

Its a useful design to know.

IF I was doing fancy gun-leather belts, I could/would make a fancy one-size-fits-all main belt but only attach billets to the ends for the final customer

commonly referred to as a "ranger" style belt.   If you do JUST the buckle end, basiclaly what RockAussie is describing.

A "ranger" belt set up would allow you to gain several inches on that SAME belt.

[Outfitr]

I finally got the belt back to lengthen. This is what I came up with. I'm happy with the results.

[Northmount]

On 2/4/2022 at 11:17 AM, Outfitr said:

Usually works well until the above mentioned situation where they measured their old belt wrong.

Yes, measured a belt on a pair of pants in his closet, that he hadn't worn for 2 years!

Nice job above!