V for Vendetta belt - WIP

J EM said:

Took a while but I finally got around to doing a belt pattern for anyone who wants one. Its a file of my exact belt with the exception of additional length at the tapered ends.

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Thing to note:

• The belt is drafted using Imperial units.
• The belt is a size 34" as they are. Can be cut out of a 46" x 6" piece of leather.
• To extend, you have to add 1/4 of the overall length you want to add to the belt at each extension line. Simply cut a rectangular piece of paper with a width of 3.5" and a length of your choosing. To shorten it, you cut off 1/8 of the length you want to subtract at each sides of the extension lines.
• The size of the holes depends on the diameter of your buckle's horizontal pin and the diameter of the screws you will use for your belt. The spacing between holes depends on the thickness of your belt. My belt is 3/16" thick, so I marked the holes as they are on my belt.
• I included additional length at the ends so that up to 3 holes can be fastened properly. The mistake I made on my belt was that I did not include additional length for 2 holes rendering two holes unusable. Decorative holes are useable but the belt will no longer look symmetrical when fastened.
• The 2 holes nearest to the end edge are decoration holes. When using the 3 usable holes you will have to change the screw holes currently used so the belt retains a symmetrical look at the front. Use the pairs of screw holes the arrows point to.
• If you don't want the fastening end to be visible past the buckle you will have to shorten that end near the 4th hole. The belt was drafted as is for an overall symmetrical look.

I hope this file helps anyone who has trouble making their belt. The patterns can be printed out on 3 standard 8.5" x 11" sheets of paper. Cut, then tape the ends together. If you're going to hire a leather worker to make your belt, they may prefer if you send them a pattern on thicker cardboard paper.
The pattern will be for your belt so you're welcome to modify the pattern any way you want and not go by the measurements I have on my belt.

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blackonyx97 said:

Hi J EM. Am really impressed with the awesomeness of your work and would probably attempt to follow your lead in making this belt. Unfortunately, the link that yo have provided is already non-existent. Would you be able to repost this? Thanks much and more power!

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J EM said:

I have a new pattern which I can post if you'd like. I also have the original pattern I no longer like which I can post if you'd still want. The latter pattern is what I had my belt made from. I was happy with it at the time but frankly I am not anymore. It is nothing like V's belt, just an odd v-shaped belt. It doesn't even fit me anymore, that single-size 34" belt. Ewigestudentin's was more like V's and I have no idea how I drafted that pattern in the first place considering it was the first final draft pattern I did. :$

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blackonyx97 said:

Thanks for the reply, J EM. Would appreciate it much if you could post the new pattern. Photos of your new belt would also be very helpful, if you could spare the time. Cheers!

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ahoudini said:

My daggers are Chinese and came in a case of six, all in individual boxes. There is no brand on the box but you can find them online using the tag Vendetta H-5536.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/17/8ugatyza.jpg


They are stainless steel.


Sent from my iPhone using Ta

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RayR said:

View attachment 693928

I had this made last month on Etsy from a seller named TheIronRing. They had a similar cast pirate buckle and created this design based on lots of photos and measurements from here. Price was $60 US. I don't know if you could get it for less now that they have a mold. It's a nice, solid, lightweight buckle. I would have liked it a bit more smoothly polished for the price, but otherwise it's quite nice.

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J EM said:

[strike]I'll have you know I'm not a big fan of the new pattern either.[/strike] Well, it is a LOT better than what I uploaded 3 hours ago. There is just no way to have a belt actually look like V's without it being tailored from 4 body measurements.

The post on page 2 has been updated.

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Aposstle said:

Hello! Quick question... is 2.5mm thick black leather hide the right way to go with the belt? I have someone who is providing me with some leather and wanted to know thickness. He also asked if I'd like it in one long strip of 40" by 15" any advice on this would be great! I'm going to try my best to follow the pattern. Would you be kind enough to post your most updated pattern links in a new comment below just so I know I have the best possible start? Thanks for all the hard work. Looking forward to making this.

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J EM said:

2.5mm may be fine if you double it for a 2 ply belt otherwise it's too thin. Thickness in leather is not always consistent through the entire hide so I'd recommend you to go with 3mm if you can just to be on the safe side. 40" is just enough for a size 30". If you're not a size 30", you'll need a longer piece of leather.

The updated patterns have been on this post of page 2. Read post for information about your size and what length of leather you'll need to make it.

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Aposstle said:

Thanks for the reply! So 2.5mm double ply is 5mm. I'm having trouble finding a nice solid 46" x 6" piece that is thicker than 2.5mm right now so I think I'll go with a big enough piece that I can double ply it. Am I right in thinking that 3mm single ply leather would be the thinnest I could use if it weren't doubled? Sorry for all the questions just wanna get the right start.

I should be able to get a hold of some 2.5mm thick black leather size 43" x 20" so I'll get a full double ply belt out of that I think. The belt sits around the outside of clothes I'm probably 32" there so fingers crossed I'll be able to knock one up.

ill follow that link and get the template and try printing one. Does it still contain a few different sizes? I still don't have a buckle so I can't attempt a build just yet as I think it'll rely on the buckle size too.

Thanks so much for all the help and advice!

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J EM said:

3mm is too thin for a single ply belt. Your belt needs to be at least 4-6mm thick overall, whether it's from a single ply or two. V's belt is 2 ply anyway so you should just go with that 43x20 piece. You'll even have enough for two 2 ply belts.

You should measure your waist size so you can be sure of the size you need. Don't settle on luck. I kinda did and my belt doesn't fit anymore.
Each pattern contains a reference buckle in the proper dimensions. When your buckle is made, it should not be thicker than .63cm

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Aposstle said:

Brilliant thanks! That's a great help. I'm going to go ahead and pick up that leather and have a play. I think you said the patterns could be printed on standard paper so I'll do that to mock up a template to lay out on the leather and go from there! Where abouts should I ensure the measurements are taken? Does V's belt sit around belly button height or should it ait lower? I know it could be different on everyone but around my belly button over 2/3 layers is 34" and where my actual belt sits through my trousers normally is about 36" over the layers. Thanks!

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J EM said:

Yes. They could be printed out on 3 sheets of standard printer paper. You can measure wherever you'll wear the belt but I suggest you measure where you'd normally wear a belt with trousers.

V's belt is different since his has a tailored fit which also gives it its shape. The fit (and shape) of his belt matches his [doublet] skirt's horizontal seam line which contours to the actor's body. The patterns I provided are really standard, horizontal, straight fit belts that merely go up and down at the sides, resembling a V-like belt. Their bottom edges sit on the same height on both the front and the back. Not like V's which sits higher on the back and lower at the front; a proper V shaped belt determined by four body measurements. His belt is fully custom and I can't provide that custom shape as standard size, adjustable patterns.

In case you wonder what I mean regarding V's belt, look at ewigestudentin's belt on page 2. While her belt is not fully tailored, the fit/look is more true to V's.

Your belt will be nice, much nicer than what I ended up settling for. It's the best standard V-like pattern I can come up with; I wish I had done it that way for myself.

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Aposstle said:

Thank you so much for all the info. I'm going to place the order for the leather. Might sound like a silly questions but I'm literally cutting two belts from the leather and glueing them together to make them 2-ply right? As in just some sort of contact adhesive to hold them together and then there's some stitching almost like saddle stitch. I haven't looked at the patterns yet or studied the belt photos I have yet so just wanting to get as much info as possible. Do you happen to also have good photos for reference either of V's or your one perhaps. Would be great to see the aesthetics of it!

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J EM said:

Yes that is correct. You'll need a sewing machine with enough power to sew through thick leather.

I don't have references of V's actual belt as it's laid flat and I only have photos of the old [ugly] version belt I had made which isn't right.
There's this photo of the 1/6' collectible V figure by DC which surprisingly has enough overall accuracy for a figure.

View attachment 700179
This is the right shape for V's actor. The problem with that photo is that the belt is not trimmed properly and is uneven making the belt look wider than it really is. The white outline reveals the proper shape. This is an illustration of my custom v belt. It won't be done in leather unless I ever find a decent basket woven silk fabric.

View attachment 700183
It's not an exact match to V's because it's made to fit me. But both these (and ewigestudentin's belt kind of), contour to the body naturally from those measurements I mentioned last post. What's important is the upward curve once the ends begin to taper. They have that.


If you look for images of V, you'll see some where you can see where his belt sits, or see his actual belt closer. You really should print out the pattern, tape it together to see if you'll like it though.

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Aposstle said:

Thank you for all that! I can't wait to get started. The black leather I'm ordering is simple normal leather so I'm assuming that'll be ok. I think it has a nice grain side and a softer bottom side. When it comes to putting the two together do I wanna cut both out of the top side and stick them together soft to smooth? Or do one in reverse and put soft to soft? Hope that makes sense. I've made leather journals from natural veg tan but they go soft to soft but of course they need to be that way coz there's and inside and outside cover. Hope that makes sense!

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