Search "buckstitch belt" and you will find belts from under $50 to over $400 that all get called the same thing, and the photos do not tell you much about which is which. I have been building Western tack for more than fifteen years, the Heritage Buckstitch belt was one of the first products I ever made, and every one that leaves my shop is still laced by hand. This is the guide I would hand a friend before they spent money on one, mine or anybody else's.
Where the buckstitch belt came from
Buckstitch is an old pattern. I got hooked on it looking at pictures from the sixties and seventies, maybe into the eighties, when it was on everything: saddles, headstalls, breast collars, belts. Then it faded out and nobody wanted it for a long stretch. Somewhere around 2020 it started coming back, and that is when I built my first buckstitched headstall, and right behind it, the first Heritage Buckstitch belt.
I honestly did not know if anybody would buy them. I liked the look, but liking a thing and selling a thing are different. To my surprise I could not keep a single buckstitched item on the shelf. They walked out as fast as I could build them, and they still do. That is why the line exists, and it is also why there are only four colors so far. Buckstitching is one of the slowest things a shop can do, and I am a very small shop. I would have loved to launch every color at once. I simply could not, so I started with white and I have been adding colors as I can build enough inventory to support them.
What is a buckstitch belt?
A buckstitch belt is a leather belt with a row of lacing along each edge, set at an angle so it reads as a line of small slanted stitches. The lace is pulled by hand through a line of slits punched near the edge of the strap. White lace on dark leather is the classic look, the one that was in all those old photos, but the pattern takes color well, which is why you now see turquoise, pink and purple buckstitch in the show pen.
Is buckstitch hand-laced or machine made?
Both exist, and this is the first thing to sort out, because it explains most of the price spread. True buckstitch is hand lacing: someone punches the slits, then pulls the lace through them one at a time, keeping the tension even for the whole length of the belt. The cheaper version is an embroidered or stitched-on pattern that imitates the look with thread, or a strip of pre-laced trim glued and sewn to the edge. From six feet away they can pass for each other. In your hands they cannot.
It is interesting to see how other brands handle buckstitch, because the pattern does not forgive shortcuts. If you hurry through it or use cheap materials, it does not last long on a belt. The lace goes loose. The edges of the lace start to wear, curl and change color. Those are the problems I see over and over on commercial buckstitch belts, and they are the reason I spend the money and the hours I spend on mine.
How I build a Heritage Buckstitch belt
My belt is an inch and a half wide and it is two layers of leather, not one. The top layer gets buckstitched first, by hand, while it is still a single strap. Then the laced top and the backing are laminated together and sewn. Then the belt is edged, which is the second-longest step and the hardest to get right: I want a complete radius on the edge of that belt, a full round-over with no flat spots, because a rounded edge takes a finish evenly and stays sealed for a long time. Last, like all my belts, it is dipped in oil before it goes out.
The lace is kangaroo. It is the strongest lace material I have been able to find, and I have looked all over the world for it. Kangaroo lace has a top layer that repels oil and moisture and a bottom layer that soaks them up, so when I lace a belt the top layer always has to face up. That matters because of that oil dip at the end. Lace that drinks oil discolors. Lace that sheds it stays the color you bought. Ask any maker what their lace is; if they cannot tell you, that is your answer.
What to look at before you buy
Here is what I check when someone hands me a buckstitch belt, in the order I check it.
The leather under the lace
Lacing dresses up whatever it is put on, and that includes leather that should never have been a belt. Ask what the strap is. Full-grain leather is the top of the hide with the grain left on; it breaks in, darkens where your hand rides and gets better for years. "Genuine leather" is a grade, not a compliment, and bonded leather is scrap pressed back together. If you want the long version, I wrote it up in types of leather explained. Every belt I make is full-grain, made in the USA and guaranteed for life against defects, and I would be nervous about any buckstitch belt that will not say the same about the leather.
The lacing itself
Run your thumb down the row. Good hand lacing sits flat, every stitch at the same angle and the same spacing, with no loose loops and no spot where the tension changes. Look at the edges of the lace, not just the middle; curling or fuzzy edges on a new belt mean cheap lace that will look worse every month. Look at the back too; the lace should be as tidy behind as it is in front, because a sloppy back is where it starts to work loose.
The edges
The slits for the lace sit close to the edge of the strap, so a rough, square, unfinished edge will fray right into the lacing. A belt built to last has edges that are rounded, finished and sealed so they stay that way through years of rubbing on a saddle and a truck seat.
One layer or two
Ask whether the belt is one layer of leather or two. A single strap with slits punched down both edges has nothing behind those slits. Mine are two layers, laminated and sewn together, so there is a solid backing behind every stitch. It costs more to build that way, which is why most commercial buckstitch belts do not.
The hardware
A lot of buckstitch belts go to people who already have a buckle they want on them, so mine come either way: pick the belt with no buckle and put your own on, or add the buckle I use on my own belts, a 1.5" stainless steel heel buckle designed by Jeremiah Watt with floral scrollwork over a blacked-out background, for $15. If a belt comes with a buckle you cannot take off, that is a sign it was built around the buckle instead of the leather.
Which color of buckstitch should you get?
White is where I started, because it was the classic color in the old days and it is the one that came back first. It goes with any leather, any shirt and any buckle, and it matches the white buckstitch headstalls and breast collars most of my customers already own. The White Heritage Buckstitch Belt is the one I would tell a first-time buyer to start with.
Once I had white down and enough of them in stock, I started adding colors. Turquoise is for the riders who run turquoise tack and want the whole picture to match. Pink and purple exist because customers kept asking for them. People ask me for new colors constantly, and I have to be selective about it: these belts take so long and cost so much to make that I add a color in a small run first, to be sure enough people want it before I commit to keeping it in stock. When a run sells out, whether it comes back depends on how many people ask. All four are $179.95 and all four are made in any size, so if your waist is not on the list, send me a note and I will cut one.
If you already ride in colored buckstitch tack, match the belt to the tack, not to the horse or the shirt. Tack is the thing you own for years; shirts change.
Who wears these?
Everybody, which surprised me. I expected the show pen, and I get plenty of that, but I sell these belts to barrel racers, ranch riders, pleasure riders, everyday working people and city people who have nothing to do with horses. A buckstitch belt with a good buckle works with jeans the same way it works with show clothes, and once the lacing is done right it does not care where you wear it.
How do you size a buckstitch belt?
The same way you size any of my belts, and please do not skip this part. One of the most common problems I deal with is not a defect; it is a belt that came back because it was ordered way too short. All my belts are thicker than most, and a thick belt takes up more distance around your waist than the thin one you measured. Two rules.
First, measure a belt you already wear from the buckle fold, where the leather wraps around the buckle bar, to the hole you actually use. That number is your size. Every belt I build is sized from the buckle fold to the middle hole, so the size you order lands you on the center hole with two holes on either side.
Second, the thickness rule. If the belt you measured is a thin one, add two inches to what the tape says. If you have no belt to measure, order four inches over your pant size. The whole thing with diagrams is in the belt sizing guide, and the sizing photo is the last one in every belt listing. Read it and follow it and the belt will fit the first time. If I still get it wrong, I fix it; size exchanges have no time limit.
How do you care for a buckstitch belt?
Exactly like any other piece of leather I make. Wash it with a leather soap when it gets dirty, let it dry out of the sun, and put any conditioner or oil you like on it. You do not have to tiptoe around the lacing; the kangaroo lace was chosen so it would not soak up oil and discolor, and the belt has already been through an oil dip in my shop. My full routine is in how to clean and condition leather.
Matching the belt to your tack
This is what the belt is for. I build split one ear headstalls in white, turquoise, pink and purple buckstitch, along with straight breast collars in the same colors. If you are starting from scratch, buy the headstall first and match the belt to it. If you are starting with the belt, the whole set is in the Heritage Buckstitch collection and the headstall pages.
I call these lifetime belts, and I mean it literally. They are made from the best leather and the best lace I have been able to find anywhere in the world, they are two layers thick, and they carry the same lifetime guarantee as everything else I build. Buy one, size it right, and it should be the last buckstitch belt you need to buy.
Frequently asked questions
What is a buckstitch belt?
A buckstitch belt is a leather belt with a row of lace threaded by hand through slits along each edge, set at an angle so it looks like a line of slanted stitches. It is a traditional Western pattern from the same era as buckstitched saddles and headstalls, most often done in white lace on dark leather.
How much does a good buckstitch belt cost?
A hand-laced buckstitch belt on full-grain leather runs from roughly $90 to $400 depending on the maker, the leather and any tooling. My Heritage Buckstitch belts are $179.95 in white, turquoise, pink or purple, with the buckle sold separately. Belts well under that are usually machine-stitched imitations or lower-grade leather and lace.
What is buckstitch lace made of?
It varies by maker. I use kangaroo lace because it is the strongest lace I have found and its top layer repels oil and moisture, so the lace keeps its color after the belt is oiled. Cheaper belts use lace that frays, curls and discolors.
Does a buckstitch belt come with a buckle?
Mine come either way. Many buyers already have a buckle they want on the belt, so you can order it with no buckle, or add the 1.5" Jeremiah Watt stainless steel heel buckle I use on my own belts for $15.
What size buckstitch belt should I order?
Measure a belt you wear from the buckle fold to the hole you use; that is your size, and my belts are cut so that size lands on the middle hole. Because my belts are thicker than most, add two inches if the belt you measured is thin, or order four inches over your pant size. Ordering too short is the most common mistake. Size exchanges have no time limit.
Can I get a buckstitch belt in a color other than white?
Yes. I make Heritage Buckstitch belts in white, turquoise, pink and purple. New colors are added in small runs as enough people ask for them, so when a batch sells out the next one depends on demand.
Tyler has been building Western tack for more than fifteen years, the last six of them full time, from the shop at his house in Eminence, Indiana. Growing up around some of the top professionals in the pleasure horse, barrel racing and racehorse worlds gave him the chance to ride high-quality horses in each of those disciplines, and years spent as a pickup man and riding ranch horses today are where most of his ideas for better tack come from. Every piece he sells is made in the USA and guaranteed for life.
