DIY Resizing a Leather Belt

Hey folks. I have a really easy DIY project today. I wish I figured it out ages ago so I could have saved a few bucks, but that's life. When I got married, I noticed my husband had this really cool eagle belt. Ironically he never wore it throughout the years. I loved it and begged him to wear it, but I guess he just lost touch with the cowboy in him. ;o) I, on the other hand, was bursting with cowgirl fever and was set on resizing the belt for yours truly. I took to my trusty drill and drilled a perfect hole to my exact size. It was risky of me to use a drill, but luckily, this country tale ended happily ever after and now you cdan try it too.

The belted eagle in all his her glory.

(top view) I measured the belt around my waist and embossed a mark where I wanted the hole to be. 

Warning: I was very careful in not puncturing a hole into my finger, but I must acknowledge this isn't a safe way to drill. The hypocrite in me suggests that you either wear durable gloves or secure the belt with clamps to a table and hold the other end and then drill through. Or you can have another person hold one end while you hold your end and drill through. IN ALL CASES DRILL SLOWLY!!!

I used a small drill bit and drilled SLOWLY through the top of the belt making the initial hole. 

I had more control with the smaller drill bit. 

Then I flipped the belt and continued drilling from the bottom so the top would have a cleaner puncture. 

Initial hole is small and surface of the belt is not frayed. 

Then I got a bigger drill bit and widened it. 

All done. 

All I needed was one extra hole and you can't even see the gap between the original and new hole. 

And there you have the first ever Egyptian American cowgirl who can't even ride a horse lol.

A girl can dream can't she? 

I've never tried this with a synthetic belt, but if you are daring I suggest sticking painters tape on either side and then drilling. I faced no problems with this leather belt so I don't see any problems occurring with a synthetic belt. Now you can avoid spending $10 bucks at the shoe repair and drill a simple hole your self. Hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for stopping by!!

-Debora