15 Simple Ideas of How to Reuse Your Old Belts
Updated on May 30, 2017
Belts are something that trend in and out of style like crazy. One year a belt is the perfect accessory, the next year your belt is worn high up instead of around your hips, and then next they’re out of style all together! The weird part, however, is that they’re also a classic staple at the same time. Everyone we know, ourselves included, owns at least one good belt they can wear with the right pants for just the perfect look and fit. So, if you’ve got a set of trendy belts that you don’t wear anymore and don’t think you’ll wear again, or perhaps a classic belt that you’ve worn for so many years that it just can’t be worn a single day longer, what should you do with them? Donation is always a great plan, but if you ask us, crafting is one of the best options around as well!
Check out these 15 DIY belt projects that will help you upcycle or find awesome alternative uses for all of your old and unworn belts.
1. Stacked book purse with a leather strap
Did you ever watch Little House on The Prairie when you were a child? We sure did, and we remember stacking our reading books on top of each other and cinching them together with a belt so we could pretend we were going to school in a one room schoolhouse with Laura Ingalls and Nellie Olsen. This DIY belt project from Steam Fashion harnesses that old fashioned school tradition as a contemporary accessory by hollowing out the books and turning the whole thing into a purse! Your old leather belt will make the perfect strap so you can pay homage to your childhood book hero while you run your errands.
2. Adjustable leather belt bookshelf
A purse isn’t the only thing you can make using belts and books! We’re absolutely infatuated with the idea of making an adjustable bookshelf using just a few leather belts and your books themselves. Talk about an affordable storage solution that literally creates you a shelf where you don’t have one to use! Find the full tutorial for making your own on Poppytalk.
3. Leather belt drawer handles
Do you have a rustic looking old desk that you’ve been meaning to make over but something about the handles just throws the whole aesthetic of the piece off? Then grab an old leather belt and replace the handles with leather stripes instead! This project from Improvised Life will help you repurpose two things at once and, as DIY enthusiasts who love to upcycle, we can’t think of many things that are cooler than that.
4. Drawer and leather belt box shelf
Are you still thinking about how cool the idea of hanging things from your walls using leather is but you’re not quite settled on any of the ideas we’ve shown you so far? Then here’s another one for your consideration! Clones n’ Clowns used an old wooden crate, gave it a new paint job, and attached a leather belt to make an awesome shelf! It’s perfect for the front hallway to put sunglasses, keys, and a change jar on.
5. Stunning leather napkin ring
The top of your pants isn’t the only thing an old leather belt can cinch well. Craftaholics Annonymous suggests turning sections of the belt into napkin rings! Their tutorial will teach you how to cut them into sections and choose between making them a width that you can slide the napkin in and out of or creating them with a clasp so you can undo them from around the napkin to account for different sizes.
6. Leather wrapped vase
Have you ever seen crafts that involve yarn wrapping? Then you already know how cool the finished spiralled effect looks if you wrap it around something with a bigger surface! It only makes sense, then, that using something similar but a little bit bigger will have an equally cool effect. That’s why we loved this leather belt wrapped vase idea from Makezine! I gives the room a sort of rustic feel thanks to the worn leather.
7. Belt chair seat
Do you have a few old kitchen or patio chairs around your house that still have nice, solid wood frames but you haven’t been able to use them because the woven wicker seats are wearing out? Well, there are plenty of ways that you could revamp and redo the seat to make the chairs usable again, but we’re partial to this woven belt idea from Scrap Hacker. This is the perfect project for you if you have lots of old belts lying around and if you love having the fact that you’re a DIY expert displayed right there in your home décor for visitors to see.
8. Leather belt floor mat
Do you love the idea of having leather belt DIY all over your house but the woven seated chairs aren’t quite what you had in mind? Then try something a little more subtle instead! This floor mat from Craft Forest is an impressively visual project and much easier to do than it looks.
9. Magazine, belt, and pillow stool
What’s better than a project that upcycles one thing? Well, a DIY project that upcycles two things, of course! This awesome stool idea from Pop Sugar shows you how to make a little seat out of a wooden base piled with old magazines and held in place with some old leather belts. Their tutorial shows you how to fasten them at the bottom.
10. Leather yoga mat strap
When you thought of doing something DIY with a leather belt, were you picturing something a little simpler than what we’ve show you so far? Perhaps you were mostly looking for a way to just reuse the belt in a practical manner rather than completely transforming it into something else. In that case, check out how The Merry Thought made a nice, easy yoga mat strap out of a leather belt they weren’t using anymore.
11. Leather belt wall wreath
Did you love the belt wrapping idea but you’re not really sure you need another vase in your home right now? Perhaps you’d just love something a little more decorative, regardless of how practical it is. Then check out this statement door wreath made from leather belts in all different shades and finishes! Jill Ruth & Co. shows you how it’s done.
12. Decorative leather belt crate
Besides being super trendy right now, crate DIY is both fun and practical. You’ll either be transforming a crate into something else useful or simply vamping it up a little so you can use it for storage, as usual, but with a more unique look to it. That’s what My Repurposed Life did when they gave this simple crate a paint job and added leather belts along the wooden slats for style.
13. Leather bound clock
Have you been hoping to make a clock that’s a little more of a subtle statement but still clearly homemade and not store bought? Perhaps you’d like it for a room that’s rather stately and strong in its aesthetic without looking aggressive. In that case, check out how Nimi Design created this leather bound clock using a thick belt as décor around the outside!
14. Hanging magazine belt rack
Do you love the idea of carrying straps and simple racks made of belts but you don’t do yoga and your books are already all taken care of, so nothing on the list has quite struck your fancy yet? Then check out this super easy but totally practical magazine rack idea from Remodelista instead! This is the kind of project that you do quickly in afternoon but use for years afterwards.
15. Leather and vinyl belt tabletop
Were you a huge fan of the leather floor mat idea but you just don’t have anywhere to put something like that right now? Then check out this alternative project that will get you a similar visual effect, just in a different place! Thistlewood Farms teaches you how to create a belt strip table top that looks stately and strongly elegant when it’s all finished.
Do you know someone with a large collection of belts they’ve been considering either getting rid of or upcycling? Share this post with them for a little bit of repurposed inspiration!