Leather belt construction

[Marcus Mummius]

Salvete,

We know the Romans often used several layers of leather to make the belt for a balteus.

They often used thin leather and joined pieces so both the front and the back of the belt would be smooth. Often a piece of linen fabric was put between the leather to make the construction stronger and make the belt more resistant to stretching.

Several techniques can be used to achieve this.

The simplest is taking two pieces of leather and sewing them together with the rough sides to the inside. This however results in edges that aren't very clean.

Another technique is to use two pieces and folding the edges to the inside. This way you have a neater edge, but you clearly see that two pieces of leather were used.

Another technique consists of using a piece of leather for the front that is wider than the piece for the back. The edges of the front piece of leather can be folded over the narrower back piece. This way you have nice round edges, but the seem is clearly visible on the back of the belt.

There must be yet another technique. This is one I do not understand. You can see this on the belts made by Erik Konig from Aurificina Treverica. The following pictures can be found on his website:







On this last belt you can see how the zone where the apron is attached is cut open and the apron is inserted between the two layers of leather.

How in earth is this done?

You can clearly see that the belts consist out of two layers of leather, both the front and back are the smooth side of the leather. The edges are round (so folded IMO, not cut edges). But I can not see a seam.

I've been pondering this for a very long time. Can someone tell me how this can be done? I would be able to sleep better at night if I know.

Any opinions are very welcome!

Valete,
Falco