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Non-leather belt

Started by tigrlily64, June 15, 2008, 01:10:39 PM

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tigrlily64

Anybody have any ideas what I could use/buy for a belt not made of leather?

wildthingjew

this may sound dumb but what i did is took scrap fabric and folded it in half and sewed all the way around cept leaving a bit so i could turn it inside out and just sew it by hand and i just tie it in a knot or a bow if you leave it long enough, cheap and it works to hold a load
jamie, mother of miss katie scarlett

Azen

Depending on what goes with your garb, you could use a thick rope, fabric works as well.

gem

In the old forum, there was a wonderful post of portraits of women with period belts--hardly a leather one among 'em.  I'll see if I can find some similar images.

Here's one with black cord (the drapery sections of department stores or Hobby Lobby have thick twisted cords like this)

This one appears to be a narrowish strip of fabric

This one is made of beads

How about knotted silk cord?

If I were going to make something like Anne of Cleves's, I'd probably use wide trim, mounted on webbing.

I've also been known to wear a couple of different mundane belts, sort of like this or this.  This is a good time of year to find belts like that--check places like Walmart, Marshall's, etc.

Aelwyn

Another good place to check is Value Village, Talize, Goodwill, Sally Ann, etc.  I've found many appropriate belts at these places.  :)
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Find me on Facebook as Aelwyn Daeira
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bmgjarvis

How about braiding up a belt out of your scraps? or matching/contrasting materials to your costume?

Lady Neysa

I agree, a braided rag belt could be a good look depending on your garb.  Simple and quick, it's a popular faire look.  You can buy them at faire, but if you've got scraps, it's free! 

tigrlily64

#7
Thanks everyone.  I like the braided scraps idea, I'll have to try that.  If not, I can buy some cord from JoAnn's/Michael's.

Edit:  I tried braiding some scraps, and it turned out...all right.  It looks kinda like a dog toy but I don't mind.  I just have a couple problems.  One is that it's too short, which I can fix.  I have more fabric.  The other, however has to do with the ends.  How do you keep them from unraveling without having two huge, annoying knots?  I would show you pcitures, but my computer is not cooperating.

Thanks again.

Marietta Graziella

I would suggest sewing the ends, either serged or, if you made "tubes" of fabric, just sew right sides together, turn, voila.   Then you could hand stitch the 3 sections at the bottom in a neat and tidy finish.

A thought... depending on how thick your fabric is, you could end the braid before the bottom, sew together to finish, then twist each individual piece for a few inches and end off with a bead or something at the end.   Think like a hair braid where you leave a bit of a "tail" in your hair.     I don't think I'm explaining it very well.  Sorry.
Nothing clever to say here.  Not enough caffine yet.