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In this tutorial we make a woven paracord belt.
This version of the paracord belt is comfortable, reasonably simple to make and in my opinion looks great. The weaving process takes a bit of getting used to, but once you practice it a bit, you are able to quickly make the belt.
The pattern of the belt is quite eye pleasing.
There are a few aspects of the belt that required quite a bit of work to design: the belt keeper and the tapered tip. Both turned out well, as seen below.
Let’s first take a look at the supplies used to make the belt.
Supplies
Below we have a list of supplies used to make the belt. I am aiming for a 4 foot long belt (120 cm). The cord lengths are a rough approximate- they really depend on how tight you weave the belt.
- 5 strands of paracord 550. Each strand is 15 feet long (4.5 meters). These strands are our working strands.
- 1 long strand of paracord, 27 feet long (8.2 meters). This strand will hold the belt together.
- 1 short strand of paracord, gutted (inner strands removed). This strand is 3 feet (90 cm long) and will be used for the belt keeper.
- a belt buckle. I am using a 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide belt buckle. I recommend one with a round tongue since it slides more easily through the weave.
- scissors and a lighter for cutting and melting the cords.
Now let’s start weaving!
Woven paracord belt tutorial
Below is a full photo tutorial and at the end, a video tutorial to boot.
We will start by setting up our project.
Setup
Begin by securing your buckle in some way. I usually attach a scrap piece of cord onto the buckle, then tape the cord ends down using masking tape.
Attach 4 out of the five cords onto the buckle, two to the left, two to the right of the tongue. Make sure all the ends are of equal lengths.
Place the fifth cord on top of the first four. Attach it onto the buckle using a cow hitch.
Left end passes under and through the buckle.
And under the horizontal cord.
Right end passes under and through the buckle.
And under the horizontal cord.
Tighten up a bit. We have 5 ends on the left of the tongue, 5 on the right.
Feed the 27 foot long cord through the cow hitch and the cords. Make sure that the two ends of the long cord are of equal length.
Weaving the belt
We make the belt by weaving the two long, side strands through the 10 working ends.
Step 1
Weave the left end in a sequence of over-under. The first strand you go over is the one coming out of the cow hitch.
Note that we are weaving over the front ends and behind the back ends.
The right end doubles up the left end.
Step 2
In the next row we again weave through the working ends, this time starting under the first strand, then continuing over-under.
Over the top strands from the previous row, under the back ones.
We double up the left end with the right end.
Tighten up a bit to make the weave even. Pull on all of the ends- no need to tighten too hard.
Step 1- repeat
We now switch back to step 1.
Weave the left end in a sequence of over-under.
Over the top strands from the previous row, under the back ones.
Double up the left end with the right end.
Step 2- repeat
Weave the left end through the working ends in a under-over sequence.
Over the top strands from the previous row, under the back ones.
Double up the left end with the right end.
So this is the weaving process. Once you get used to it, it is a fast one.
Building the keeper
We will now make the belt keeper. This is best done near the start of the project.
Pull the cord from one of the side ends (cow hitch) into the horizontal strand.
Once you pull the slack into the horizontal strand you already have a functional keeper.
I am going to cover it using cobra knots to bulk the keeper up and make it look better.
Step 1
Pass your 3 foot long, gutted cord under the keeper.
Pass the left end under the keeper strand, over the right end.
Pass the right end over the keeper strand and into the loop on the left.
Tighten up.
Push the first cobra knot up to one side of the belt.
Step 2
Pass the right end under the keeper strand, over the left strand.
Pass the left cord over the keeper strand and into the right loop.
Tighten up.
Step 1- repeat
Left strand goes under-over.
Right strand goes over the top into the loop on the left.
Tighten up.
Step 2- repeat
Right end goes under-over.
Left end goes over the top and into the loop on the right.
Tighten up.
Keep lining up cobra knots until you cover the keeper. Then cut and melt the ends.
Tapering the belt
Weave until you reach the length of the belt that you would like.
Take a look at the two side strands and drop the one going to the bottom of the belt.
Weave through the remaining 9 ends.
Drop the two side strands.
Weave through the 7 remaining ends.
Drop the next two side strands.
Weave through the 5 remaining ends.
Drop the two side strands.
Pass the two strands holding the belt together over the three remaining ends.
Drop the two side strands.
Take the last strand and pass through the opening.
This creates a hitch.
Tighten up the belt, then cut and melt the ends.
The belt end tip once the ends are cut and melted.
Guys, thank you for joining me for this project! I hope your pants will stay up from now on!
Take a look at the video tutorial if you would like to see the belt built live:
