DIY Novonappa Leather Belt for JB – Hand-stitched with Saddle Stitch
Even though JB doesn’t need a Novonappa belt at all, I showed him the Novonappa straps sold by my usual leather supplier, 3Q Leather, and convinced him it was a good idea. I love making belts because it lets me sew several meters, and I love sewing. After this project, I realize that sewing straight isn’t as exciting as I thought, haha.
The first thing to choose is the buckle. This buckle is called a ‘stirrup buckle’ and is a must-have accessory for horse riding enthusiasts. The reason I chose it is its simplicity. With this buckle, I’ll have less work and one big hole less. I also go for a standard size (3.5cm) because the leather pieces I’ll receive will be pre-cut to that size, which saves me a few extra steps.
Like all quality buckles, this one is scratch-resistant. It’s made of stainless steel and has a small indent here that allows the belt, when closed, to be as flat as possible. The belt won’t accidentally open.
The belt is made of Baranil® gold, but lined with a reinforcement salamander of 1mm (skived on all edges) and a black Swift leather. The width is standard (3.5cm). The length was advised by my teacher. I then followed the tutorial by Atelier Grinda (which I highly recommend) to learn how to attach the belt loops. The width of the loop should match the width of the pricking irons—that’s a very useful tip.
At first, I wanted to sew with an awl, but I overestimated myself. It was so ugly on the back that I redid the stitching, making proper holes with the pricking iron all the way this time.
Here are photos of the process.
And JB wearing my Baranil® bow tie and the new belt in the same leather.
As you can see, since this is my first belt, I chose simplicity. Getting the loops right on the first try was very motivating. But for the next ones, I’ll try to increase the technical difficulty. Stay tuned!
Cost
| Expenses | Price |
|---|---|
| Novonappa leather 35mm | 17.5 euros |
| Reinforcement | 9.3 euros |
| Swift Pomari leather 35mm | 13 euros |
| Buckle | 7.4 euros |
| TOTAL | 47.2 euros |
To make it more premium, we could have used a more expensive reinforcement at 20 euros.
The hand-sewn belt took 12 hours of work (because of the mistakes made), so at minimum wage, that equates to 140 euros. So, if I wanted to sell this belt, I would have sold it for at least 480 euros (20% VAT & 50% taxes included), which is just a bit cheaper than what a luxury brand charges for a machine-sewn belt. What do you think?
