Ever wonder what happens to yourcarwhen it pass on the conclusion of its life ? It ’s not pretty . Most of it is direct to a flake yard , where operable parts are deprive , and the relief is pan . There ’s at least one part that can get a fresh life , though : the seat belt .
Webbed framework , often polyester or nylon , is used to make seatbelts . They ’re always made from a long-lasting , but flexible textile – and it has to be if it ’s drop dead to keep your life in a car crash . According to Encyclopedia Britannica , the webbed fabric used in seat belt can hold 6,000 pounds ( 2,722 kilograms ) . For more on how seatbelt protect you , seeHow Seatbelts Work .
seat belt material can degenerate more or less overtime– not enough to make it totally unusable , but enough to make it unsafe for your car . For that reasonableness , and for aesthetic ones , seat belt usually are n’t strip from old motorcar to be reused in other car . That does n’t change the fact that the fabric is still strong enough to be used in a variety show of other practical app .
In this clause , we ’ll look at five ways innovative graphic designer arerecyclingyour old seat belt .
1. Belts and Shoes
One path torecycleaseatbeltmay be the simplest one : Since it ’s already a smash , you could use the buckle and circuit portion of your seatbelt to make a hip and durable accessory .
This is one bit that you may conceivably make yourself , although there are producer who make them in a assortment of style . After geld the shoulder strap out of thecar , you could seal the scratch edges with a faint , and then sew the ends together using heavy - tariff nylon thread . The connecting belt pieces of the seatbelt can then be used as a belt buckle [ root : Instructables ] .
Feel like being stylish and eco - friendly ? you may make yourself a pair of sandal to match that belt . The same seatbelt you used to create the whang can be tailor up and tailor to the soles of old pass - flops ( with the premature shoulder strap removed ) to create sandals . The material is strong enough to stand up to almost any invertebrate foot dealings , considering it was designed to stand up to cartraffic .
2. Bags
Designers are creating purses and bags out ofseatbeltsby weaving sometime seat belt fabric sheets . By using seatbelt material , the bags are durable enough to stick out up to most wear and teardrop .
purse are now among the hot items created from seat belt . Increased demand has led to more maker using seatbelt cloth rather thanrecycledseatbelts . An easy elbow room to tell that a seat belt purse is not constructed from old seatbelts is the expression . If a pocketbook is available in colors that you would n’t find in acar– hot pinko , for example – chances are upright that the material is not recycled , since the dyestuff could weaken a seat belt ’s webbing and render it unsafe to use in your car .
Making your own bag requires more than simple sewing and weaving skills , but it ’s certainly accomplishable . Start by wrap strip of the belt material around a block the size of the bag you want , then weaving another set of funnies so that a pie-eyed web of material is created . you may add another strip as a shoulder shoulder strap using weighed down duty nylon train of thought and add other features , like azipperor button blockage , a fabric lining for the interior or an adjustable strap [ source : Twofoos ] .
3. Hammocks
Recycledseatbeltscan also be weave into large sheets that can be used for hammocks . The mound are durable and manufactured by wander the belts so that the hammock cradles the body more than conform to it , as with traditional rophy hammocks [ source : Koerner ] .
alas , recycle stuff may be more difficult to get by in large enough quantity to make an entire hammock . Designers like Inghua Ting instead useend of the linematerial – seat belt fabric made specifically for vehicle no longer in product or that have been redesigned . They may also employ turn down seat belt material , set aside because of minor weaving flaws ( the seat belt may be too infirm to safely utilise in a vehicle , but still undestroyable enough to deem you ) or mismatch colors [ source : Ting London ] .
This is definitely a more metre - intensive and serious DIY labor than most . Your best bet is to get word about weaving from a professional , as an improperly waver hammock is useless and potentially dangerous to boot . Plus , designing a hammock using woven seat belt material command more than a webbed bland surface , as the material is flexile enough to shift with weight on it [ source : Ting London ] .
4. Pillows and Cushions
Like hammocks , pillow and cushion can also be woven fromrecycledor end of lineseatbelts . And because of the lastingness of the material , these cushion can be used indoors or out .
Beyond pillows , buns cushions for chair can be address or re - covered using seatbelts . For illustration , designer Nuttapong Charoenkitivarakorn , of Thailand furniture company Boonchucharoenkit , habituate scrap seatbelt cloth for his lounge electric chair [ root : Treehugger ] . Designer Peter Danko ’s dining chairs , which habituate end or line or discontinued seatbelt material , have been used for their lastingness in trend in homes as well as gamey - traffic area like restaurants and malls [ source : Danko ] .
wait for a DIY re - natural covering ? Consider those atomic number 13 chairs in your garage with the frayed webbing : rather of give the chairs away , head to the local junkyard for some seatbelt stuff to replace the wear out - out straps . rationalize the old strap from your lawn chair , and wrap the seatbelt material in its place , using strong nylon thread and even piece of ass to hold the material safely in place .
An alternative DIY project is a pillow made from seatbelt material . Similar to constructing a bag or grip , the textile can be woven around a block the sizing of the pillow you need , then stuffed and sewn exclude with heavy nylon thread .
5. Art
Wovenseatbeltscan be stretched acrossrecycledcanvas anatomy to create modern art while . The webbing created from a smorgasbord of seatbelt with varying degrees of wearing and rent can add up visual interest to a square piece of art that can be as modest or as large as the artist or buyer desires .
artist who create such piece can use environmentally friendly textile like recycled seatbelt . They do n’t need to be as good cleaned like it would be if the fabric was being used for a pillow . To add to its green appeal , the soma can be constructed out of environmentally friendly sustainable sources like bamboo or reclaimed wood .
