V for Vendetta belt - WIP

Aposstle said:

Ok. Cool. So much info! Haha. Thanks for taking the time to reply with such detail. I have tried on the pattern for 36" and for 34" and neither of them fit perfectly using hole "one" and buckle end set "one" closest to the vertical line. It's either too tight or too loose. I've decided to use the 34" pattern using the holes relating to hole "two". I'm thinking I'll bend the leather round and put the rivets in and cut the fastening length down so it's hidden as suggested. My only concern or confusion now is when you said about making it adjustable and making a pair of holes between the holes? Does that mean I can't cut down the buckle end leather and should leave the length? Providing hole set 2 fits I think I'll make it permanent and just scrap all the extra leather and cut it off. V's belt is actually one continuous piece through the buckle which is only aesthetic and fixed non adjustable because the belt actually does up at the back seam so if I have a problem with the fit of the belt I'll slit the back and make it adjustable anyway. The rivets may cause me issue because I've only been able to get a hole of pop rivets to hammer and not screw ones but I don't think ill need to take them out so it shouldn't be an issue. It's just gunna take me ages to hand stitch it so I wanna get going! Haha

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You're welcome. So neither the "36 or "34 was a good fit, eh? That's a shame. :\ If the 34" one is too tight, you can always add the additional length you need. Since I'm guessing you only need a little bit, you can get away with it by adding it at the sides of the pattern and not the back.


Anyway, I did make it complicated, didn't I? Sorry. I tried explaining it as best as I could without having to provide visuals. lol. What I mean by adjustable is being able to use the other holes on the ends like you would on a regular every day belt. V's were single functioning hole belts. You know, my belt doesn't fit anymore because it was a single hole belt! lol. I thought it'd be convenient for people if I drafted a pattern with functioning holes that way people who used the patterns don't outgrow their belt like I did. It's not like V's but it can still work because all holes are the same distance apart from each other, on both ends. If you're going to be using the two additional holes on the fastening end, then yes. You need to keep the buckle end as is since sets 2 and 3 require additional length. If you're just going to settle for a single functioning hole belt, you only need to punch set 1 and cut the rest off.

Give me some time to perhaps draw some visuals to make this a bit clear, what I meant by vertical line, sets, hole pairs, etc.. Later though, as in tomorrow.

And no. V's belt isn't one continuous piece fastened at the back. It's what people thought of 10 years ago because it was confusing trying to figure out how it worked. Hell, when I didn't understand it, I was thinking of some complicated method to fasten it at the front. lol. (It shouldn't have been confusing considering we actually see V fasten it at the front in the makeup room.) Anyway, take a look for yourself.

That's the fastening end that managed to peek out beyond the buckle.

J EM said:

You're welcome. So neither the "36 or "34 was a good fit, eh? That's a shame. :\ If the 34" one is too tight, you can always add the additional length you need. Since I'm guessing you only need a little bit, you can get away with it by adding it at the sides of the pattern and not the back.


Anyway, I did make it complicated, didn't I? Sorry. I tried explaining it as best as I could without having to provide visuals. lol. What I mean by adjustable is being able to use the other holes on the ends like you would on a regular every day belt. V's were single functioning hole belts. You know, my belt doesn't fit anymore because it was a single hole belt! lol. I thought it'd be convenient for people if I drafted a pattern with functioning holes that way people who used the patterns don't outgrow their belt like I did. It's not like V's but it can still work because all holes are the same distance apart from each other, on both ends. If you're going to be using the two additional holes on the fastening end, then yes. You need to keep the buckle end as is since sets 2 and 3 require additional length. If you're just going to settle for a single functioning hole belt, you only need to punch set 1 and cut the rest off.

Give me some time to perhaps draw some visuals to make this a bit clear, what I meant by vertical line, sets, hole pairs, etc.. Later though, as in tomorrow.

And no. V's belt isn't one continuous piece fastened at the back. It's what people thought of 10 years ago because it was confusing trying to figure out how it worked. Hell, when I didn't understand it, I was thinking of some complicated method to fasten it at the front. lol. (It shouldn't have been confusing considering we actually see V fasten it at the front in the makeup room.) Anyway, take a look for yourself.
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That's the fastening end that managed to peek out beyond the buckle.

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Oh that's interesting. Well images and such would be good but I think I get mostly what you're saying now. Essentially I'd need to leave each end the full length and should I outgrow it I'd simply undo it and reposition/repunch holes to give me extra room. I think I'm going to use the second set of holes as it seems to be the best fit. I'm obviously a slightly odd size and fall between belt sizes so I'm going to try that. I don't have my doublet yet so I'm improvising. This belt will probably be a test run prototype and should it not be right I'll remake it anyway. Did you see my comment also about the metal holders and stitching? I know it wasn't your post originally but if you could let me know any details about that I'd appreciate it. I want to begin stitching today and maybe template out some alu for the holders too. Thanks again! I'm glad it now feels like I'm finally getting somewhere with the belt!

Since I'm too lazy to provide better visuals, I'll just use what's provided in the patterns. Added some colored lines to try explaining it.

When I typed "vertical line that divides the belt and tapered end", I meant what's in RED. Now that you've done your belt and put it through the buckle, that (imaginary) line cannot be inside the buckle. It has to meet on the edge of the inside square, on both ends.

BLUE indicates the starting point of the holes (single holes on the fasten end; pairs on buckle end) away from the red line. It is 1.032cm.
YELLOW indicates how far apart each single hole/pair of holes is/are from each other. It is 2.54cm.
CYAN, GREEN, PURPLE indicates the set of paired holes on the buckle end, and the hole on the fasten end you'll have to use with each set.

This is what makes this belt work as adjustable while still allowing it to retain a symmetrical "V". Each time you'll use a different hole, you'll have to change the set of holes used if you want that symmetry. This is why screw rivets are recommended but you can use pop rivets if you can make them work.

Brown, on the buckle end, indicates the distance between the first pair of holes and the starting point of the horizontal prong slit. It is .635cm.
If you're going to settle for a non adjustable, single hole belt, then you really only need to punch out the holes for set 1 (cyan arrow).
And Pink determines how long the horizontal prong slit needs to be for just a single hole belt. It is 3.81cm total. You were confused with this. I should have said that you could have determined the prong slit length for a single hole belt if you measured the distance between the pair of holes between set 1 and the starting point of the prong slit and mirrored it. To determine it for only a 2 hole belt, you simply move that distance to the next hole over.


Anyway, I forgot your buckle is smaller. Yeah. What's on the pattern will not work for your buckle at all. I think it's why it was too loose once you wrapped the end around the buckle. You'll have to work out the hole placement for your belt. So forget about all the holes on the pattern. Wrap the buckle end around it until its almost flat, not too tight where you can't move the buckle though. And punch the holes. If you wanted an adjustable belt, you just make holes between the holes, measure, the distance between them so you know how far you'll place the other holes. Determine where you want to start the horizontal cut, and measure that point to that (important) "red" line.

Aposstle said:

Did you see my comment also about the metal holders and stitching? I know it wasn't your post originally but if you could let me know any details about that I'd appreciate it. I want to begin stitching today and maybe template out some alu for the holders too. Thanks again! I'm glad it now feels like I'm finally getting somewhere with the belt!

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I thought that comment was for ewigestudentin. The stitching is done where it's shown on the pattern. .635cm from the edges. The dagger holders have a width of 1cm and length is determined by your dagger's blade width.

J EM said:

I thought that comment was for ewigestudentin. The stitching is done where it's shown on the pattern. .635cm from the edges. The dagger holders have a width of 1cm and length is determined by your dagger's blade width.

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Hello guys!
Thank you for picking up my slack, J EM! The information you provide is more precise than mine could've been!
I moved house and all my stuff is still stored in innumerable boxes :$

J EM said:

Since I'm too lazy to provide better visuals, I'll just use what's provided in the patterns. Added some colored lines to try explaining it.
. The dagger holders have a width of 1cm and length is determined by your dagger's blade width.

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Thank you for all the information. Here is where I am right now. I may have to make the tongue end single ply (even though I've glued and stitched it) because it is rather bulky when threaded through the buckle. Then all I need to do is cut that end down so it's hidden behind the buckle I think. Just got my 1mm aluminium so I have that to do still but fingers crossed it'll go ok!

ewigestuden said:

Hello guys!
Thank you for picking up my slack, J EM! The information you provide is more precise than mine could've been!
I moved house and all my stuff is still stored in innumerable boxes :$

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hello to you! If you have any advice on the blade holders that would be really good! But thank you so much for all the work you did with J. I'd never have got this far and be happy with it if it wasn't for the things you'd previously attempted.

I don't know what to add to the pictures of the holders on the first two pages of this thread. I cut them out of a thin alu sheet like yours with a fret saw, needed a lot of time and saw blades for that step Then I smoothed out the edges with sand paper, folded the holders and pushed them thru the belt slits, folding the holders' ends on the inner side of the belt. I buffed the surfaces with a few nail buffers (you know, these soft strips to make nails look shiny).
I drew the original "pattern" for the holders on a scrap of paper, eyeballing the length and folding the paper around my daggers to see how it looks... No magic was involved there at all

ewigestuden said:

I don't know what to add to the pictures of the holders on the first two pages of this thread. I cut them out of a thin alu sheet like yours with a fret saw, needed a lot of time and saw blades for that step Then I smoothed out the edges with sand paper, folded the holders and pushed them thru the belt slits, folding the holders' ends on the inner side of the belt. I buffed the surfaces with a few nail buffers (you know, these soft strips to make nails look shiny).
I drew the original "pattern" for the holders on a scrap of paper, eyeballing the length and folding the paper around my daggers to see how it looks... No magic was involved there at all

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Thanks! That's all very helpful. I'm going to be getting my daggers quite soon so I will start with a paper template for sure. One quick question. I noticed the hole end of your belt looks long. Did you end up cutting it down so it doesn't poke past the edge of the buckle when you do it up? I'm at the same point now and wasn't sure what to do with cutting the end off!

Aposstle said:

Thanks! That's all very helpful. I'm going to be getting my daggers quite soon so I will start with a paper template for sure. One quick question. I noticed the hole end of your belt looks long. Did you end up cutting it down so it doesn't poke past the edge of the buckle when you do it up? I'm at the same point now and wasn't sure what to do with cutting the end off!

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I didn't have to cut anything because the ends of my belt are double-ply so it takes considerable length for the hole end to wrap around the buckle's middle bar.

ewigestuden said:

I didn't have to cut anything because the ends of my belt are double-ply so it takes considerable length for the hole end to wrap around the buckle's middle bar.

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Ah ok! My buckle end is single ply but my tongue end is doubled. However I think I may have to change that because when I do the belt up it feels as though the belt "within the buckle" pokes outward too much coz it's so thick. If that makes sense. My buckle is probably a lot smaller/thinner than yours!

ewigestuden said:

Long time no see, guys.

I inserted the holders into my belt yesterday

I bent the alu holders in the middle first, then cut the holes in the belt with a scalpel.

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The thick leather keeps the holders in place nicely so I didn't need rivets.

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You can see that I couldn't get the holders to be neat and flat on the inside but it doesn't really matter in my case.
I also buffed the holders in the end to make alu look shiny.

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So I guess this project isn't a WIP anymore

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hello! When you made the slits for the holders did you make the bottom holders slightly narrower to support the blade taper? I'm now onto holders and that's my next step! My holders are a tad imperfect but I'm happy enough with them and without having to screw them in place I can always replace them if they look a bit too shabby!

J EM said:

You're welcome .

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ewigestuden said:

Hello guys! :$

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Just thought I'd give another quick update. Just gotta tidy up a few bits but my belt is nearly there!

Aposstle said:

Just thought I'd give another quick update. Just gotta tidy up a few bits but my belt is nearly there!

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your belt came out really nice

J EM said:

your belt came out really nice

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ewigestuden said:

.

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Hello all! So here is my V in all its glory. It's not 100% finished or 100% accurate but thought I'd post on here in case anyone still follows this or finds this thread in the future. Thanks for all your help to everyone that messaged or posted. I've just finished my cloak. Had it made based on a A shape batman cloak. It could be about 6" longer but I'm ok with it for a first go. Lined it so it's nice and heavy and made some clips for the neck so it holds like V's. Anyway. I'm pretty happy with it. Hopefully I'll get to wear it at an convention next month in london.

J EM said:

your belt came out really nice

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ewigestuden said:

.

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Hello all! So here is my V in all its glory. It's not 100% finished or 100% accurate but thought I'd post on here in case anyone still follows this or finds this thread in the future. Thanks for all your help to everyone that messaged or posted. I've just finished my cloak. Had it made based on a A shape batman cloak. It could be about 6" longer but I'm ok with it for a first go. Lined it so it's nice and heavy and made some clips for the neck so it holds like V's. Anyway. I'm pretty happy with it. Hopefully I'll get to wear it at an convention next month in london.

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Aposstle said:

Hello all! So here is my V in all its glory. It's not 100% finished or 100% accurate but thought I'd post on here in case anyone still follows this or finds this thread in the future. Thanks for all your help to everyone that messaged or posted. I've just finished my cloak. Had it made based on a A shape batman cloak. It could be about 6" longer but I'm ok with it for a first go. Lined it so it's nice and heavy and made some clips for the neck so it holds like V's. Anyway. I'm pretty happy with it. Hopefully I'll get to wear it at an convention next month in london.

View attachment 756401View attachment 756400View attachment 756399View attachment 756398View attachment 756397View attachment 756394

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I think it's excellent. I'd love to hear more about the belt, the buckle, and the top.

Sent from my VS990 using Tapatalk

RayR said:

I think it's excellent. I'd love to hear more about the belt, the buckle, and the top.

Sent from my VS990 using Tapatalk

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Thanks Ray. The buckle was made by The Iron Ring on etsy after a post on this very thread =)

The doublet was from fan-store.net as it was the easiest option at the time. It's not bad. It's just plain though, no pattern or texture but it does the job for the price and the fit is rather nice so that helps. The material is a bit rubbish. I'd say it's like a polyester blended "suede" but it's not soft. Reminds me of an old 90s shell suit if you know what that is.

The belt I made myself from people's help here. We've actually spoken on Facebook about the belt to which I apologise for not being very quick on information. I'm actually still looking for a new leather supplier for lengths as if I remember rightly we decided on a length that I could get right now but we can talk about that on fb!

Aposstle said:

Hello all! So here is my V in all its glory. It's not 100% finished or 100% accurate but thought I'd post on here in case anyone still follows this or finds this thread in the future. Thanks for all your help to everyone that messaged or posted. I've just finished my cloak. Had it made based on a A shape batman cloak. It could be about 6" longer but I'm ok with it for a first go. Lined it so it's nice and heavy and made some clips for the neck so it holds like V's. Anyway. I'm pretty happy with it. Hopefully I'll get to wear it at an convention next month in london.

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Your costume looks great! And I'm not being bias when I say that it looks as well as it does because you went the extra mile to make a really nice belt. The belt, the daggers...it's impressive! Good job

Aposstle said:

hello! When you made the slits for the holders did you make the bottom holders slightly narrower to support the blade taper? I'm now onto holders and that's my next step! My holders are a tad imperfect but I'm happy enough with them and without having to screw them in place I can always replace them if they look a bit too shabby!

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Thanks for sharing this detailed and close-up look. Well done!

Sent from my VS990 using Tapatalk

Awesome work! Well done all around, will have to check out that etsy page. I was going to 3d model and see about printing a buckle on shapeways but if they do them there that may be easier/better.

J EM said:

Good job

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RayR said:

Thanks for sharing

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Skippy2k said:

Awesome work! .

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Thanks guys! Appreciate the kind words. Can't wait to wear it. Hopefully I'll get some photos of me in it so you can see that wen it happens!