Use thin brown waste to make the loops; with the compasses mark a width of this about ⅜ in., cut to the right length; then rub and crease the chapes. Place the buckles in the leather, put in the loops about half the width of the chape between the two points of the chape, and close to the buckle, and put two or three stitches in each end. The pieces to hold up the belt firmly at the small of the back should be about 1 in. wide. Rub the edges and crease them as well as the two pieces for the front, and mark stitches with the pricker in all of them. Three of these back supports will be needed, one right across the centre of the belt and one on each side, 3 in. from the centre at the top and slanting inwards to within 1½ in. from the centre at the bottom.
Fig. 66.—Waist Belt with Pockets.
To determine which is the lower and which is the upper side of the belt, bear in mind that, when being worn, the buckles will be on the left-hand side and the straps on the right. Put one of the 3-in. wide pieces flat on the belt, within about 3 in. of the end, and either paste or tack it in its place from the lower side. Put the straps in about ¾ in., all three exactly alike, one in the centre, and the others one on each side within ⅛ in. of the edge. Place the other piece in the other end so near the edge that, in putting the buckle chapes up to the loops under the edge of the piece, the outer edge of the buckle is flush with the end of the belt. Fasten the chapes in position exactly opposite the straps in the other end. Then backstitch the pieces in each end all round, in the same way as the binding was treated. Put a second row of stitches farther in than the first, through the strap ends and through the end of the chapes; leave about ½ in. between two rows, and then lay on the back straps. Having pricked them, stitch them in the same way as the others. If pasted on, they can be kept more easily in their place; if pasting is not convenient, pencil on their positions and keep them to the mark in stitching.
It is usual to put a piece of whalebone or good hard cane inside these to keep them up; thin the bone or cane and push it in between the leather and webbing from one end, and then stitch both ends across. Put four or six holes in the straps and see that they work easily in the loops, when the belt is finished.
CHAPTER IV.
LOOPING.
Some hints on looping will be given in this chapter. The loops are pieces of leather placed crosswise on all straps, which have buckles, to keep the point of the strap in its proper position. Sometimes also loops are employed merely to hold the straps in place, as for example in the case of shaft tugs. Loops are common to all kinds of straps in general and to harness and cart gear in particular.
Straps made to exact length with only one hole are cut long enough beyond the hole to go through the loop, and so give the work a neat finish. When the unused part of the strap varies considerably in length, the part run through the buckle being sometimes 6 in. long and sometimes 3 ft. long, a runner loop must be made to hold the point of the strap.
A runner is a loop which runs loosely along the strap to any required part. To make it, one end is laid on the other, overlapping it more or less according to the size of the loop, and the material is then stitched; it must be made loose enough for two thicknesses of the strap to pass easily.
The width of the loops, except in the case of pipe or box loops (defined later) must always be in proportion with that of the strap; the broader the strap, the broader is the loop. Taste and a due sense of proportion are necessary here as elsewhere. The loop must never be placed too near the buckle, particularly when the strap running through is stiff. Both ends of the loop should be placed so that they can be firmly stitched; the first end is stitched easily, but the second requires more practice. The ends of the loop should be made to meet in the centre of the strap, care being taken to catch it at the first stitch, for then it will not easily slip from its place. Two stitches on each side may suffice, but a very wide loop will need four or five on both sides of the ends. Slant the awl with every stitch, using the end of the awl to drive the loop a little out of the way.