Vintage Measuring Tape Belt

Though I’ve been massively sidetracked by Doing A Thing, today I sat down and made this belt from a vintage measuring tape.

This is a project that’s been in my To Do pile for a long time, which is ridiculous considering how easy it was.

Read on for a how to. This project is simple and doesn’t take all that long: fifteen minutes at the most.

You’ll need:

Old measuring tape

Buckle to fit belt*

Eyelets and eyelet setting kit

Scissors

Strong glue (I used E6000)

Hole punch tool/something suitable for making holes (your eyelet setting kit might come with something like this!)

*The buckle I used was off an old top, so was slightly small for the tape. As it was already in my stash, I decided it would do!

1. Cut the tape to the side of your waist plus 10-12 inches. Alternatively measure against a belt you already have, remembering to add 1.5 inches for attaching the buckle.

2. Make an oval hole 1.5 inches from the raw end of the tape. Thread the tape onto the buckle, making sure the prong fits the hole you cut, and that the raw end folds over to the back of the buckle. Use an eyelet to hold the front and folded-over parts of the tape together.

3. Add eyelets to the finished end of the belt, about 1 inch apart.

4. To add loops, cut pieces from the leftover bit of tape to wrap around the belt. Secure the ends together with strong glue and thread onto the belt once the glue has dried.

I haven’t worn my belt yet as I only made it today, but here it is modelled in a slouchy way by my mannequin, which I finally re-covered! (Here is the 'before', when she was in a sorry state!)

Sourcing items:

Occasionally I receive comments asking where I sourced various things, so here is where I obtained the items used in this tutorial:

Tape: charity shop

Eyelets: ebay

Eyelet setting kit (with hole punch tool): a present (otherwise try craft shops/ebay)

Glue: ebay

Buckle: from an old top (check out haberdashery stores otherwise, or ebay again)


May link this to various link parties. Check the link party button at the top of the page to see some of the places I like to link up :)