Does it ever annoy you when the loose end of your belt or shoe buckle is too long and just hangs wildly? It annoys me. And being a petite person, it happens to me quite often. I know it’s been the trend to tie off the loose end into some sort of creative knot (like this or this) – and sometimes I do like that look in certain more casual situations – but sometimes I also want to keep things clean, minimal and sharp.
I recently bought bought a pair of shoes with a similar problem. However, in this case the problem wasn’t that the end was too long, it was that it did not lay flat and looked super sloppy. That’s when I thought of this quick fix that would work great for belts too!
All you have to do it add a screw-on-push-stud-fastener!! Come on, you know what a push stud fastener is. Its been such a trend with the minimalist look that is popular right now. I’m sure you have at least one belt, handbag, or one pair of shoes that uses it. Well, if you don’t, its a really wonderful thing. Its basically a stud like any other stud, but the shape is a little different (I’ve also heard them called “round top studs”). It looks like a little ball on top of a stick, and it fastens really simply by inserting into a keyhole in the leather. If you’re still confused, take a look at these photos. I have this Loeffler Randall bag, and the adjustable strap utilizes push studs.
So what you’ll need for this project is a leather hole punch, an x-acto knife, and the appropriate number of sets of push studs (I needed two sets, one for each shoe). That’s it! Easy Peasy. This whole project should take you less than five minutes. I bought my screw on push studs from Etsy. And here’s is the leather punch that I own.
The first thing you’ll want to do is line up the pieces of leather and mark down where you want your holes to be located (the two holes should be right on top of each other). The rotary leather punch comes with many hole sizes, so select one setting that’s the same size as the screw backing of the stud. And choose another setting that is just slightly bigger than the “stem” of the stud (the stick part right under the bulbous tip). Punch the screw hole into the lower piece of leather, and punch the “stem” hole into the top piece of leather. If you are doing this for a belt that you want to wear at more than one setting, you could always punch more “stem” holes to make it adjustable.
Next, insert the stud into the lower leather hole, tightly screwing on the backing with a screw driver (please excuse my chipping nail polish).
And finally, use an x-acto knife to cut a slit into the side of the larger top hole – this creates a keyhole that allows for the ball at the tip of the stud to fit through, yet still hold on tightly without slipping apart.
And there you have it! and easy quick way to keep your belt ends looking nice and neat, in a really professional looking way.
Nicely Done !
I might need to do this (and by that I mean borrow your supplies too =P) for some of my bag straps…thanks for sharing!