Back to School Accessories: Duck Tape® Belt

This post brought to you by Walmart. All opinions are 100% mine.

Are you done with your back to school shopping?  Why is it such a multiple-round event, anyway?  You may have the essentials, but I’ve got another thing to add to your list: Duck Tape®!  Next time you head out for the stuff your kids still need, you should add something fun and creative to the list too!  After all, we DIY-ers don’t count anything as complete until we’ve added a personal touch – something we have made ourselves, right?

I have a tutorial for you today to make a fun and easy Duck Tape® belt.  Duck Tape® has been kind of an obsession of mine ever since I first heard about Duck Tape® wallets back in high school.  The Ducktivities website has some awesome projects and inspiration for crafting with Duck Tape®.  Let me give you the quick how-to for this sassy accessory!

What you will need:

• Belt Buckle (this can be repurposed from an old, worn-out belt, or bought new at any craft or fabric store)
• Duck Tape®
• Scissors

The biggest challenge with working with Duck Tape® is getting your double-sided strips straight – especially when you need a very long strip, like you will for this belt.  Let me show you my trick for getting nice, even strips.  It works best by using two rolls – they can be the same or different, depending on your project.  I made the backside of my strip silver so you will easily be able to tell the front side of the belt from the backside in this tutorial, but both sides can just as easily look the same when you make it!

First, I attach the end of my roll to the countertop, and unwind a long strip, laying it sticky side up.  Then, I attach the top strip to the counter sticky side down, unwind a long strip, and carefully line it up and place it on top of the first strip.  Take a look at the photos below to see what I mean!

Once you have a strip long enough for your belt (you can use another belt that fits you to gauge the size, or just measure your waist and add about 6 inches), you will need to trim your double-sided belt strip to the width of your buckle.

I found it much easier to work with the buckle separately.  The beauty of Duck Tape® projects is that you can easily tape them together. ;)  I cut another 6″ length of double-sided tape to work with.

I cut into the strip halfway, up the middle.  These two strip will wrap around either side of the center part of your buckle.  In order to allow the buckle to hinge freely, I also cut a notch in the center to give it some extra room.

Now, wrap the two strips around your belt buckle on the hinge side.  If it’s not exactly centered, that’s okay.  You can trim the ends so that they line up.  Then, tape the belt and the buckle ends together.

Next, you will want to make a loop to hold the end of your belt.  Make another double-sided strip of tape in any width you like the looks of.  The length will depend on the width of your belt – it needs to be long enough to go loosely around your belt and overlap in the back. Tape it down securely on the backside of your belt.

All that’s left to do is to punch some holes in your belt, and it is ready for wear!  This project took me 20 minutes, but if you haven’t worked with Duck Tape® before, you may want to allow a little extra time to get used to it. (I promise – once you try it, you will be hooked!  I love Duck Tape® projects.  Not only are they fun to make, but it’s durable, versatile, and comes in so many awesome patterns these days.)

Back to school is a fun time for kids, and it’s a great time for them to express themselves with a one-of-a-kind accessory like this.  You can buy Duck Tape at Walmart next time you do your shopping!

You can follow @The DuckBrand for all kinds of creative inspiration – this is just one of TONS of craft ideas you can make with Duck Tape®!