Fix a Broken Belt Buckle
Today’s How-To came more from necessity than from creativity–I think. Sunday came around, and I was dressed up, tried to put my belt on, and the leather had come unstitched–not a revelation, mind you, I had put off fixing the leather for so long that it was really just an inconvenient reality. So, I fixed the leather, but, unfortunately, I somehow managed to get the pin (I don’t know if there is a technical term for the piece that goes through the holes in the belt and gets pressed against the middle of the loop in the buckle–not to be confused with a belt loop, but “pin” suffices) on the wrong end of the loop in the buckle.
So, I figured I could bend it and get it on the right side of the loop (I didn’t have time or inclination to un- then restitch the belt). I snapped the pin, it was made out of inexpensive metal that doesn’t like to bend.
This is where my post comes in, I needed the belt in a few minutes, and I needed a pin. Yes, again, coat hanger wire came to my rescue. It is sturdy enough to hold the belt (so, if you were thinking the pin in the buckle broke because of the strain the belt was under, stop being so mean) and thin enough to wrap around the back portion of the buckle (inside the belt) without undoing and redoing the stitching (which I was very loath to do, especially now!); I didn’t have the time.
So, I cut a piece of hanger wire (make sure you have an inch or so more than you think you’ll need. I had to start over a couple of times because the wire ended up too short by the end) and put a small eyelet or closed loop at the end so that it would loop around the back of the buckle.
I then bent the wire end of the loop back, to allow me to slip it through the leather slit and around the back of the buckle. The trickiest part was then to close the loop back up–it would have been easier with 2 pairs of pliers.
Last, I cut the excess wire from the pin, so that it went to the end of the buckle loop, but not past. Be very careful not to cut the pin too short, or it will not work. YOU WILL HAVE WASTED YOUR TIME ON THE REST OF THE STEPS.
So, if anyone is counting how many hanger wire posts I’ve done, I’d love to hear the number. I guess I could count, but I don’t know if I have the ambition.
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