(Well, snapped is too harsh of a word for it but I can’t think of a better one ;) )

John and I had a major tidy/clean of our bedroom at the weekend and as well as collecting three bags of stuff for the charity shop, a giant bag of unwanted plastic coathangers and organising my crafting fabric stash, I found five old belts dating back over the last few years.

Two are woven straps that fastened with D-loops or those annoying slider buckles that come loose really easily. Both are quite fun designs so I’m thinking maybe casual bag strap?

The other three I got after I realised how much I hated D-loops/slider fasteners and are the more convention stick-and-holes style. The top six inches of those have pretty much fallen off – not surviving the repeated bending over the buckle and through the loops. I could trim the end neatly but would have to lose a bit of weight in order for the shortened belt to fit. And by “a bit of weight”, I mean my pelvis.

So what can I do with them instead? From end to end, they’re about 60cm (24″) and about 3cm (1.5″) wide. They’re pleather – which is, I suspect, why they’ve broken – with metal decorations. One of them (the black one with square studs on it) might work as a wrist cuff or as a “I’m well ‘ard” decoration on a bag ;)

Any other suggestions though?

We’ve had an email from Jacqui:

Any idea what to do with old karate belts? They are around 2m long, very strong and in all different colours. Thanks for any suggestions.

Using them as straps for homemade casual bags springs instantly to mind – but probably only because I was looking for something to serve that purpose last night.

Any other ideas?

(Photo by Sucker)