Sizing Your Belt
Get your materials. For this part of the belt, you will need to get leather, measuring tools, and leather cutting tools. Obtain a piece of scrap leather. You can get one of these at craft stores, country supply stores, or motorcycle supply shops. A measuring tape will be needed for you to measure your belt. You will need a large piece of cardboard to draw up a mock belt. You will need a box cutter to cut the cardboard and a leather cutter to cut your leather.
Measure your waist and hips. Use a fabric tape measure to do this. Write down your measurements before you buy your leather. Add approximately 6 inches (15.2 cm) to your measurement. You will need to attach velcro to attach your belt later on so you will need excess length on your leather. When you go to purchase your leather, make sure your scrap is at least as long as your waist measurement with the adjustment for the velcro. It should be big enough so your belt can be at least 6–8 inches (15.2–20.3 cm) wide from top to bottom.
Use cardboard to draw a mock up of the shape of your belt. You will use this to trace your belt onto the leather. Use your measurement from your waist plus 6 inches (15.2 cm) to mark out the length. Use your measuring tape, a ruler, or a yardstick to make your mark. Make sure your belt is at least 6–8 inches (15.2–20.3 cm) wide in the center.
Get the metal plate you will use as a face plate (see Part II). Center it on your cardboard belt. Rather than making a regular rectangle belt, you can fashion one that is more similar to what professional wrestlers wear. If you choose this, your belt will have a tapered shape. Trace around the face plate with a pencil. This will make the center part of your belt a rounded shape. Use a ruler or measuring stick to draw straight lines to draw the sides of your belt. These should be a few inches thinner than the thickest part of the face plate part of the belt. Your belt should now be traced onto the cardboard. Cut out its shape with a box cutter, taking care with this sharp object. This is your template to cut your leather.
Trace the shape of the cardboard mock-up onto your leather. This will give you the shape of the belt to cut out. You can trace the shape of the cardboard template with a white marking pencil (available at most craft stores) or a pen. Do this on the back of the leather. Make sure your tracing lines are smooth and dark enough to see. Once you have traced the shape, check it to make sure there are no areas where your mark is too light or where your lines are shaky. Remove the cardboard template and use your marks to cut the belt out of the leather using your leather cutting tool.
Making The Face Plate
Gather all of your supplies. For the face plate you will need to get just a few items. The faceplate is the shiny metal part on the front of a wrestling belt that is decorated based on championships and wrestling federation. You will need to buy a round or oval brass plate from a hardware store. These are relatively inexpensive. You will need cardboard to make your decoration stencil. You should also get a box cutter or x-acto knife to help cut out any shapes or letter on the stencil. Get spray paint in your desired colors for your face plate.
Spray paint your brass plate in a desired metallic color. This is typically gold, but you can try another color based on preference. Make sure you apply the paint in a well ventilated area. Give the faceplate a generous first coat, and then let it dry. After the first coat dries, apply a second coat of spray paint. Let the plate dry completely.
Make your decoration stencil from cardboard. You will use this to apply the letters and symbols you want to your faceplate. Cut out the shape of your faceplate out of cardboard. You can use the plate to trace this if you want. Use a box cutter or x-acto knife to cut out any letters or symbols from your template. Once you are done cutting out any shapes or letters, make sure your cut lines are smooth without any small uneven pieces of cardboard along the edges. This will ensure your design has smooth edges when you use the stencil.
Place your stencil over your faceplate. Make sure the designs are lined up where you want them. Using a black or dark colored spray paint, spray over the stencil generously. Make sure you are doing this in a well-ventilated area as spray paint has strong fumes. Pick up the stencil. Your design should be left behind on the face plate. Set the faceplate to dry in an area where it won't be disturbed.
Assembling Your Wrestling Belt
Arrange all of your supplies in your work area. You will need the following: Your cut out leather belt. Your face plate. Small short screws and screw caps. A drill Industrial velcro
Lay out the leather belt, face up. You will now attach the faceplate to the leather. Place the faceplate, face up, in the desired area on your leather belt, making sure it is centered and in in your desired position. Using the drill, attach the faceplate to the leather using small screws all the way around the edges of the plate. The drill will put the screws right through the leather. Make sure you hold the faceplate down with one hand while you are screwing it into the leather to hold it in place. When the screws are in place, put screw caps on the back of them. This is the area that will touch your skin, so you don't want sharp screw ends scraping you!
Attach the velcro to the belt straps. This will be what you use to fasten the belt on when you wear it. You should use industrial velcro from a hardware store. It has a stronger grip than the kind you can buy at a craft store. Attach a 5–6 inch (12.7–15.2 cm) piece of velcro on each of the belt straps. Most velcro will have an adhesive side on it that you can use to attach it to the belt. If not, you can use hot glue or sew it on. Your belt is now assembled and ready to wear!
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