To help pull your entire outfit together, creating a new hole in your belt can breathe life into an existing accessory you’ve had in the back of your closet for years.
When it comes to learning how to make another hole in a belt, there are a few different ways that you’ve likely never explored before.
Instead of heading to the kitchen and grabbing a sharp knife, anyone can achieve professional-quality results with ease.
How to Make Another Hole in a Belt?
With the help of these brief tutorials, we guarantee you’ll be able to wear your favorite belt for longer.
The Knife Method
Most people have experience when it comes to poking a new hole in their belt using a knife, but frequently, the hole may tear away at the delicate material.
You may also find that misusing a knife can create a rugged hole that can drastically shift the way the belt fits.
However, there are a couple of extra steps you can take to finish the hole so that it is ideally round without any ragged edges.
What You’ll Need
- Pen
- Knife
- Clear nail polish
- Piece of wood
Directions
Step 1: The first thing you’ll want to do is to measure your belt around your body to determine where you’re going to want to put the new hole.
Using your pen, mark the spot where you’ll be extending to.
Take your belt and lay it out flat on top of a piece of wood, making your preemptive mark a little bigger with the help of your pen.
Once everything has been mapped out accurately, it’s time to begin poking the hole.
Step 2: Hold the knife so that the point is directly over your mark and gently start to turn the blade in a circular motion, pushing down with a mild amount of force.
Every turn will push the blade deeper into the material until it eventually punctures through the back.
Flip the belt over and on the underside, use the knife to cut away any excess material.
Step 3: We then recommend finishing the hole with clear nail polish, as this will create a seal.
Over time, the fabric around the hole won’t fray thanks to the polish.
The Nail Method
If you’re not particularly a fan of cutting a hole in your belt using a knife, there’s also the opportunity for you to use a nail and hammer.
This method is one of the more traditional ways, and many professionals will also use this method to create a perfectly round hole.
One of the most considerable advantages of the nail method is there’s a far less likely chance of the material tearing away from the newly made hole, and it should look identical to the others on your belt.
What You’ll Need
- Hammer
- Nail
- Pen
- Knife
- Piece of wood
- Clear nail polish
Directions
Step 1: Similar to the previous technique, you’re first going to want to measure where you need your new hole.
Put the belt on and mark the area with a pen.
Once that is finished, you can remove the belt and lay it flat on your chosen piece of wood.
Make sure you place the belt facing upwards, as it’s better to drive the nail through the front of the belt rather than the back.
Step 2: Taking your nail, hold it steadily on top of the mark that you’ve made and take your hammer.
Begin hammering the top of the nail, so it is driven through the thickness of the belt.
If you’re trying to make the adjustments as neat as possible, try to drive the nail through in as little hits as possible.
Step 3: Taking extra care with this step will maintain the integrity of the leather.
Once the nail is through the belt, remove it gently and cut off any excess material that may be poking through the back.
We find that using a knife is easiest for this step.
Step 4: Using the nail polish, coat the inside of the hole you have just made.
You’ll also want to coat the outside on the rear side of the belt.
Similar to the other technique, adding nail polish prevents the material from fraying and helps to create a more professional aesthetic.
The Power Drill Method
When you start to think about ways to put holes into items, you can bet a power drill is one of the most useful tools you can have.
Using a power drill to add a new hole in your belt should be relatively simple, especially if you’re working on a leather belt.
However, this process can also work on other materials, such as plastic, canvas, and patent leather.
What You’ll Need
- Power Drill
- Piece of wood
- Pen
Directions
Step 1: The main thing to remember with using a power drill to put a hole in a belt is that the slower you go, the cleaner the hole is going to be.
With that said, first, you’re going to want to measure your belt and use your pen to mark where you want to place the hole.
Arrange your belt on top of your piece of wood so that the rear side is facing upwards.
Step 2: Consider using brad-point bits on your drill, as they will help to make a far cleaner hole than metal-tapping bits.
Hold your drill on top of the spot you have marked and begin drilling into the belt slowly.
You’ll also find that with this method, the faster you go, the more likely your belt is to spin.
Step 3: Once your power drill has made it through the entire thickness of the belt, drill through the hole again just to ensure it’s as clean as possible.
With this process, you shouldn’t have any excess material that needs to be cut off, and the hole should look professionally made.
However, if you encountered any issues, you can easily use the clear nail polish trick to finish off the holes, so they remain secure.
The Ice Pick Method
Plenty of homes have ice picks, and unless you have an ice maker, you likely don’t have a use for it.
However, an ice pick can be an incredible tool that enables you to transform the fit of an old belt completely.
Even if you don’t have one around the house, it’s a simple way to make adjustments at any point in time without the need for power tools or special equipment.
What You’ll Need
- Pencil
- Ice Pick
- Knife
- Clear nail polish
Directions
Step 1: The directions for adding another hole to your belt using an ice pick are simple.
All you need to do is pre-measure where you’d like the hole to be, and mark it with your pencil or pen.
Using the ice pick, grab one end of the belt tightly and begin working the pick through the material slowly and in a circular motion.
Step 2: Once the ice pick has made its way through the leather, take it out and trim off any excess material that might be poking through the back of the new hole.
You may also want to consider finishing the hole with clear nail polish to help prevent fraying and any signs of wear and tear around the hole.
The Leather Hole Punch Method
Using a leather hole punch is easily the most straightforward way to put a new hole in your belt, but it’s not likely you have one of these tools lying around your house.
Compared to a traditional hole punch, these devices are specifically designed for working with thick materials, and their wheel accurately and quickly works through heavy-duty materials.
Depending on the type of leather hole punch you have, you may even be able to choose from different hole sizes to accommodate your belt.
What we love the most about leather hole punches is they help to make the job so much more straightforward than any other tutorial.
All you have to do is line the belt up and punch through the material. You’ll have high-quality results without any worry of accuracy or professional-looking results.
What You’ll Need
- Leather hole punch
- Tape
- Pencil
Directions
Step 1: The first step to this process is to mark where you want the new hole to be by trying the belt on and making a small puncture spot using your pencil.
Once you’ve measured the belt on your body, you can take it off and put it on your work surface.
Using your tape, place it over the area where you’ll want to put the new hole and mark the spot again using a pencil or pen.
Step 2: Now that you have everything accurately measured, you can use your hole punch to punch through the material in your desired location.
Using the tape helps to ensure the material maintains its integrity as a new hole is created.
Once this step is finished, you should have an entirely brand-new hole ready to be used.
Tips for Adding a New Hole to Your Belt
1. Work Slowly
As you can tell with some of the tutorials, you need to work slowly, especially if you’re adjusting a leather belt.
Although leather is sturdy, it is also prone to damage when you’re scraping or puncturing it with a sharp object.
By working slowly, you will be able to maintain control to prevent the material from fraying, tearing, or crumbling away.
Another critical benefit of taking your time is that you can work to make sure the hole you’re making isn’t too large.
It’s far too often that people add a new belt hole only to find that it’s much bigger than the others on the belt.
With patience, you can create a seamless aesthetic that looks professionally made.
2. Sharpness is Key
Whether you’re using a power drill or a pocket knife, always make sure the apparatus in your hand is quite sharp.
The sharper the blade or the bit, the easier it will make its way through the leather, kind of similar to butter.
As you will be trying very hard not to damage the integrity of your belt material, sharper tools are bound to get the job done much faster.
You’ll also want to make sure you don’t work too quickly, especially while using a knife, as it can tear away at the material.
3. Inspect the Material
Most tutorials you’ll find for adding a new belt loop are for belts made of genuine leather, as it’s one of the most durable materials for accessories.
However, not every belt is made of leather, and others may have a higher concentration of plastic or pleather (faux leather).
Always make sure your belt is of a high enough quality to be able to handle having new holes poked or drilled into them.
If there is a concern about the belt snapping while using an ice pick to put a new hole, you may want to opt for a drill instead.
On the other hand, thicker materials may benefit more by using a drill rather than trying to work a new hole into the content by hand.
Inspecting the belt’s material will give you a better understanding of what steps to take to make the most professional holes possible.
4. Creating Three Holes
Your body is bound to change over the years, and if you have invested in a high-quality belt, why not make it last longer than a couple of months?
Making a single adjustment by adding one extra hole can be useful for the moment, but you’ll want the peace of mind to know your belt will last for much longer.
We highly recommend putting at least three additional holes on your belt, if there’s enough space for them.
By taking the time to make more adjustments, you can essentially create a custom belt that is sure to fit comfortably for many years to come.
5. Seal the Holes
In these tutorials, you’ll notice clear nail polish is one of the most used items, and for a good reason.
Sealing the holes once they have been made is imperative to ensure the material of your belt doesn’t fray or fall apart.
Many have found that when making their belt adjustments at home, the material may spread and tear rather quickly.
If you don’t have clear nail polish at your disposal, you can also consider using clear glue and only applying it to the edges of the hole you have made.
Final Thoughts
There are plenty of techniques you can use to learn how to make another hole in a belt at home.
Instead of having to pay for a professional to do it for you, you can likely make any adjustments with the use of everyday tools you have in your shed.
From kitchen knives to power drills, there’s a tutorial in this guide that everyone will be able to use to their advantage.