If you've ever looked at a beautifully finished junk journal and wondered how those little leather or fabric belts are made, this tutorial is exactly what you've been waiting for. I cover the whole process from start to finish — sourcing buckles, choosing strap materials, and finishing the belt with eyelets, brads, studs, or blanket stitch. By the end, you'll have made at least one belt and understood enough to make a dozen more, all from materials you very likely already have sitting around.
What we cover
This tutorial walks through making mini belts for journals using a range of strap materials — ribbon, fabric, decorative trim, and leather — paired with buckles sourced from old bags, boots, backpacks, and other hardware you probably have in your stash. I cover both triglide-style buckles (no tongue needed) and traditional prong buckles, and show how to finish and secure each type of belt depending on what tools you have available.
What you'll learn
How to find buckles without buying anything — I go through a proper scavenger hunt list, including:
- Old belts and handbags (D-rings, strap adjusters, triglides)
- Backpacks and luggage straps
- Boots, shoes, and old jackets
- Pet collars, aprons, tool belts, children's clothing
How to match your strap width to your buckle — The strap needs to be slightly narrower than the buckle opening. Too much gap and the belt moves around and looks untidy when closed; too tight and it won't feed through cleanly. Fabric can scrunch a little and get away with it; leather and stiff materials can't.
How to determine belt length before you cut — Measuring against your actual journal first, then giving yourself extra material. I made the mistake of cutting too short on my first attempt, so now I always check twice.
How to attach a triglide or slide buckle with ribbon or trim, including:
- Feeding the strap under and over the middle bar
- Folding the end once (or twice if you have the length) before sewing to prevent unravelling
- Securing with a straight stitch on the sewing machine
- No-sew alternatives: brads, E6000 glue, or even decorative staples
How to make a belt from a raw piece of fabric, including:
- Cutting to width, folding, and ironing the seam
- Sewing a zigzag stitch to secure the folded edge and prevent fraying
- Attaching a prong buckle and piercing a hole for the tongue
- Using blanket stitch on the sewing machine to wrap and seal the raw edges
- Singeing the edges with a lighter to stop any remaining fraying
How to cut a leather strap cleanly — Using a metal ruler and X-acto knife, doing multiple slow passes rather than trying to cut through in one go. I also show how to trim down an uneven strip by folding the leather, aligning the edges, and cutting the overhang.
How to secure the buckle end with brads, including:
- Leaving a small gap from the buckle so the strap can still move
- Centering the brad holes carefully, especially in leather
- Turning the prong legs the same direction so the back looks neat and intentional rather than random
How to set eyelets in a fabric or leather belt, including:
- Checking that the buckle tongue fits through the eyelet before setting it — skipping this step nearly cost me a belt
- Singeing around the punched hole before inserting the eyelet to reduce fraying
- Using a hammer-set tool even when it's not quite the right size for the eyelet, with surprisingly good results
How to embellish the belt for decoration, including:
- Adding studs (push-through style, set with a flat tool rather than a specialist setter)
- Gluing rhinestone gems with E6000 where studs aren't available
- Using pinking shears on fabric trim for a decorative cut edge
How to round the belt tip — Rounding the corners of the end that slides through the buckle makes a real difference. A square end catches and sticks; a rounded one feeds through easily. I show how to freehand this with scissors or use any curved object as a template to draw the curve first.
Why eyelets and stud embellishments matter even on triglide buckles — With a triglide you don't need holes for a tongue, but when the belt is closed it can look flat and unfinished. Adding a few eyelets or studs along the visible portion gives it something to look at when the journal is shut.
Tips & gotchas
Before you cut anything, wrap your strap material loosely around your journal. What looks like a generous length on the table can turn out to be too short the moment you account for the wrap, the buckle fold, and the overlap. Always give yourself more than you think you need.
When you're working with fabric that frays, fold the raw end before sewing rather than sewing it flat — one fold if your length is short, two folds if you have room. That extra layer is the difference between a clean finish and something that starts coming apart after a few openings and closings.
On the eyelet step: check the buckle tongue fits through your chosen eyelet before you set it. It sounds obvious, but when you're in the flow of making, it's easy to set the eyelet and only then discover the tongue won't pass through. Some of the smaller eyelets simply aren't wide enough for larger belt hardware.
Leather edges singe beautifully with a lighter and it makes a real difference to the final look — what starts as a hairy, uneven edge becomes clean and sealed in seconds. Work gently and keep moving; you're sealing, not burning.
When you're setting brads through leather, the material resists more than paper or fabric. Go slowly, make sure your hole is cleanly punched first, and don't try to push the brad through in one hard shove. Once through, fold the prongs flat in the same direction — it takes about two extra seconds and the back of the belt goes from looking rough to looking considered.
For the sewing machine steps, I use the same universal needle I use on everything — paper, card stock, fabric, plastic. You don't need a special leather needle for these small belts. And if a stitch line comes out crooked, just go over it again in the other direction. It genuinely doesn't show.
If your finished belt slides closed but won't stay tight — particularly with very thin, slippery gift-wrapping-style ribbon — try looping the ribbon back through the buckle a second time. That extra pass locks it in place.
Closing
This tutorial will live alongside that one as the deep-dive reference for belts specifically. In the meantime, all fourteen belts I made while preparing this video came together in a single week, starting from zero experience. That's worth holding onto if you've been putting this off for the same reason I was.
