Do y'all remember literally one million years (well, over a year) ago when I mentioned working on
a needlepoint project? I finally finished it!
Absolutely ages ago, I ordered a needlepoint kit from
Needlepoint by Laura on etsy. She worked with me to design a belt canvas with the campus of my husband and my alma mater. We added on our school's initials, its logo (the trident) and my husband's initials and she sent me a kit with the canvas, the thread, and even a needle! I believe it was $70. I watched lots of youtube tutorials (oh my god, the southern accents) and taught myself (sort of) how to needlepoint. It actually didn't take thaaaat long to finish the canvas. It did, however, take me forever to send the thing off for "finishing."
I was very impressed by how professional it looked after I got it back from Hill Top Leather, it looks like a store-bought belt. Overall, it was a fun experience--I tried something new, learned a bit about needlepoint, and in the end, had a nice final result. And he likes it!
I think you could finish a belt on your own if you had the tools and the patience, but I found it much easier--and honestly, probably more cost efficient for someone only making one belt--to just send it off to a needlepoint finisher. I used
Hill Top Leather and it cost me $50, bringing the total cost of the belt to $120. The Smathers & Branson belts in the ShopStyle widget down at the bottom are all $165 so it's not that much of a money-saver, but if you enjoy needlepointing, it's a nice,
slightly cheaper alternative.
He's also wearing my other Christmas present to him: a vintage (although I don't know the era) Barbour jacket. It's a Bedale, and it was also purchased from etsy!
Brown and Williams Clothiers specialize in British menswear and are located in DC but have
an etsy shop too. His new jacket was in perfect condition and should last him for ages--just like his needlepoint belt!
xoxo,
allie
ps: he's also trendy, apparently--in the latest edition of the washington post there was an article about needlepoint belts (specifically the smathers & branson brand). who knew!
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