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| Who can resist a belt for a buck? |
Both of the test bags for my very first bag pattern had straps that were originally belts. One was a skinny self belt from a pair of black pants and the other was a chain belt.
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| My recycled belts on various bags... |
This orange MyTie also features a belt used as strap. And in a bit of different belt recycling, I took links from a chain belt to use as the rectangular rings (to attach the strap) on my (Betz White) Flight Bag.
A few months ago, I picked up several belts for a dollar each at a discount store. Originally priced at up to $9 apiece, they were mostly chain style belts that I figured could be configured into purse hardware.
Two others (including the one pictured above) were bought for the purpose of being belts for now. I thought this brown one was pretty snazzy. When I'm no longer interested in it as a belt, I'm sure that tassel will find a home somewhere.
This white one is also currently being used for its intended purpose. Recognize it?
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| White flower belt is currently a belt, but I had to remove two "links" from it... |
I had to take off two of the flowers to get the right fit, so one of them ended up being the bling on my Out & About bag.
The belt that was repurposed as a strap for the Out & About bag originally had some extra things dangling from it.
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| A buck yielded three distinct elements from this belt... |
The dangling elements will one day be turned into simple bag bling or zipper pulls. (Or – update of March 2024 – bling for a junk journal cover!)
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| Tassels are popular bag bling... |
So this single dollar item gave me a length of chain and two zipper pulls. The chain wasn't long enough by itself for a crossbody purse strap, however, so I went to a second belt.
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| A long (plain) chain belt... |
This one was purchased specifically for the fact that it could be used to lengthen other more elaborate chains when used as a purse strap. After some work with a pair of pliers, this is the actual strap that was used for the Out & About bag.
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| One belt plus a little bit of help... |
This black one is rather elegant. The style of the chain portion of it is essentially the same as the white one above, but the "dangling bits" are a lot fancier. (Most of this ended up being used on this bag.)
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| Lots of pretty bling to harvest from this belt... |
This one is a bit different. The belt closure looks like it would be an interesting purse flap closure. (Much as I dislike purse flaps.)
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| A metal belt buckle that might look nice on a purse flap... |
Then again, I may keep it as a belt...
This final one is made out of elastic with a bunch of silver-toned metal links and closure.
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| This yielded 8 metal links and a closure... |
Not only is the black elastic a useful addition to my stash of sewing supplies, the hardware has a lot of potential. For example, the links can be used like rectangular rings to attach bag handles.
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| The closure attaches with screws... |
I ended up using the closure here.
It's usually expensive to buy metal hardware that secures with screws, so I'm quite happy with how much I salvaged from this belt.
Not bad for a total of $7, huh?
Not bad for a total of $7, huh?
That is great to re-purpose belts into bag straps. I needed a belt this month and couldn't believe how expensive they are now. I went to the thrift shop and found the kind I wanted for 99 cents and there were 3 in different colors. Plus I got an extra 30% off that day too! They wouldn't make handbag straps, but were great for keeping my jeans from slowly slipping down because they were elastic. Next trip I will have to look at the belts with different eyes. patchouli dot moon dot studio at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteYES! I always check out belts (and jewellery) in thrift stores. I am constantly defending their continued place in my stash. I am decluttering with the help of a professional. They are a resource. I don't know how I will end up using them (perhaps I will never find a use) but I need them to trigger my creativity. Thanks for the validation.
ReplyDeleteYou're so very welcome, and I'm glad you're now armed with excuses to continue exploring other areas of the thrift store. Belts are tremendously useful as I've found out, but I also once trimmed a purse with an ear ring. (It was a Bella Bag from years ago; it's on one of my earliest blog posts.)
DeleteGood luck with your decluttering. Admirable task!