Have you considered using seat belt webbing.
2 inch wide goes for about $1 to $2 a yard or less depending on how much you buy
It can be sewn together with a sewing machine.
If you want additional stiffness you can use multiple layers. maybe even capture thin acetate plastic between the layer to make the belt ridged
you can cut it and make holes using a hot knife.
you can use eyelet to reinforce the hole if needed.
to make the belt you need to know
-the waist circumference
-how far from the center line you want the crotch straps to be. for example 6 inches in the front and 8 inches in the back.
-the distance from waist to waist through the crotch at the points you want the crotch straps to fall on the belt.
So your waist belt is made up of 3 layers.
- layer 1 - 2 inch wide seat belt nylon webbing 1 belt - length is 1.25 x waist circumference
- layer 2 - 1.5 inch wide strip of 1/16 inch thick acetate - length is .90 x waist circumference
- layer 3 - 2 inch wide seat belt nylon webbing 1 belt - length is .90 x waist circumference
you then need 2 crotch straps
- layer 1 - 2 inch wide seat belt nylon webbing 1 belt - length is 1.25 x length of crotch strap
- layer 2 - 1.5 inch wide strip of 1/16 inch thick acetate - length is .90 x length of crotch strap
- layer 3 - 2 inch wide seat belt nylon webbing 1 belt - length is .90 x length of crotch strap
Note: layer 1 is the belt closet to the subject and layer 3 is the outside layer
Make sure to melt all cut edges with a flame or something hot enough to melt the fibers.
Start with layer one, of the belt. attach a ladder lock buckle to it , use a tight straight stitches using propylene/nylon thread (not Cotton), stitch a rectangle that goes as wide as the belt and by about 3/4 inch , stitch from corner to corner of the rectangle.
Take the belt and place it around the subjects waist and adjust it for desired fit. Mark the belt so you can return to that adjustment.
Now take the belt off and rethread to the marked size it so you can lay the belt flat on a surface with the buckle laying in the center.
Mark from the center line of the belt were you want the crotch straps to be. add 2 more inches and mark where the other edge of the crotch belt will land. do this for all for locations the belts meet.
Take your layer 3 belt and attach the end to belt 1 adjacent to to stich work that holds the ladder buckle in place using a tight straight stitch.
Place the layer 2 plastic between layer 1 and layer 3 and measure the distance to the first mark for the crotch belt. Cut the plastic 1/2 inch shorter.
Sew the cut plastic strip in between the layer 2 and layer 3 belt using a tight straight stitch along the edges keeping the plastic strip centered and stop just short of the crotch belt location.
The next step is to create the front crotch strap ladder locks tabs.
Take 6 inches of webbing, thread it around the ladder lock buckle and fold it in half. Sew a straight stitch to next to the buckle. Do this 2 times.
Take one of the ladder lock tabs and sew it to the waist belt by sandwiching it between the layer 1 and layer 3 belts. create a box with the stitch work that picks up the edges of all four layers of and then stitch from corner to corner of the box.
( if you want to could add a 1.5 inch square of plastic to the center of the tab to stitch around for additional stiffness, just don't stitch corner to cornet in this case.)
Next is to take the layer 2 plastic strip and cut it to the distance between the front crotch strap and the back crotch strap
Sew it between the layer 1 and layer 3 belts
Take the first crotch strap layers 1 and 3 and stitch them to the belt using the same process used to attach the crotch ladder lock tab.
Work your way around the waist belt until you have all the crotch belts parts attached.
The last measurement is between the last crotch ladder lock tab and the waist belt ladder lock.
In order to allow for some belt tightening in the future we need to keep layer 2 and layer 3 out of the ladder lock buckle.
So I would use a 1.5 by 1.5 inch peace of plastic place it next to the last crotch tab and measure layer 3 so that it fell 1/2 inch past the plastic.
Sew the plastic square in to complete the waist belt stitching.
Using a rod that has been heated up melt a hole in the layer 1 belt next to the above stitching. (careful to not to melt the stitching)
Place the waist belt on the subject and using the layer one crotch straps tighten them to the desired tightness while they are not wearing a diaper.
mark the layer one crotch strap at the ladder lock and where is pass between through the narrowest point between the legs.
Repeat the process with what would be the thickest diaper they would be expected to wear on a regular bases.
mark the layer one crotch straps again.
Remove the belt and lay it out on a flat surface.
Now we get into options
Option 1 the crotch straps just pass between the legs and where they land they land
Option 2 the crotch straps are sewn together on the inside edge where the pass between the legs. this keeps the straps from overlapping and give a bit of a leg spreading effect.
Option 3 a panel is inserted to increase the width of the spreading effect.
For option 1
take the layer 2 crotch strap plastic strip cut them so the length is 1/2 inch short of tightest mark on the layer 1 belt.
Trim the layer 3 belt to fall on the max tightness on layer 3 belt.
Sew the layer 2 plastic between layer 2 and 3
For option 2
on the layer one belts measure 2 inches each way from each of the between the leg markings on the inside edges.
fold the waist belt in half and line the layer one belts on top of each other. Making sure that the top edge of the waist belts line up.
Transfer the marks that are farthest away to both belts.
Trim the layer 3 belts to fall on the max tightness on layer 3 belt.
Sew the outside edge ( the one the is farthest from the mid line of the waist belt) of the layer 1 and layer 3 belts together using a straight stitch. Keeping within a 3/16 inch of the edge
Measure the distance between the waist belt and the back marking that was transferred to both crotch belts
Cut 2 layer 2 strips of plastic that is 1/2 inch shorter than the above measurement.
Sew the layer 2 plastic in by sewing the inside edge up to the marking. Keep the plastic up layer tight against the waist belt end.
fold the waist belt in half and line up both of the crotch straps layers on top of each other with
Place the layer 2 plastic between layer 1 and 3 and sew from the back of the belts to the back marking that was transferred to both crotch belts.
Then take the 2 crotch straps and align up on top of each other with the layer one belt in the middle and layer 3 on the outside.
( the stack should be layer 3, layer 2, layer 1, layer 1, layer 2, layer 3)
Sew the inside edge of all 4 layers together keeping within 3/16 of the inner edge between the back transferred marking and the front transferred marking.
Strain relief
Open up the crotch straps with the layer 1 straps facing down,
Take a 3 inch long peace of belt and place it on the crotch strap such that is just over laps the layer 2 plastic and centered between the 2 outside edges of the 2 crotch straps
Stitch the belt peace using a straight stitch 1/4 inch below the layer 2 plastic and stitch all the way across
Run another Stich 1/2 below the first.
Measure the distance from the above stitch to the front transfer mark and cut 2 layer 2 plastic strips that are 1/2 inch shorter.
Feed the 2 plastic stripe into the pockets that were created when the inside edge was sewn together.
( if the pocket is not wide enough trim the layer 2 strips width to fit)
Take another 3 inch long peace of belt and over lap it with the above plastic strips.
Stitch the belt peace using a straight stitch 1/4 inch below the layer 2 plastic and stitch all the way across
Run another Stich 1/2 inch away from the first.
Measure the distance from the above stich work to the the ladder lock mark for the tightest crotch strap adjustment.\
Trim the layer 2 belt to fall on the mark.
Cut a layer 2 plastic strip to be 1/2 inch shorter and sew it in between layer 1 and 2.
Stich the end of the layer 3 belt to the layer 1 belt.
Using a rod that has been heated up melt a hole in the layer 1 belt next to the above stitching. (careful to not to melt the stitching)
to secure the belt so it can not be removed.
Acquire 3 small pad locks
Tighten all three belts
Find the hole in the layer one belts and align the belt Tongue with it and melt a corresponding hole.
Insert pad lock.
Another option is to make a series of holes in the belt Tongue and that way it will be adjustable.
You could also reinforce the hole with metal grommets,
Just make sure you have the part that get flattened on the side away from the diaper. That side can create leaks in the diaper and we dont want that do we.
If you want you could replace the ladder lock with regular belt buckles and use the above grommets.
(With this the layer 2 plastic could be extended all the way to the end of the belt as the flexibility would not be a issue)
Secure the belt would be achieved by securing the next available hole to the buckle using a pad lock.
Well that is a pretty detailed instructions. If anyone decide to make one let me know if I missed or messed up on anything.
There is one flaw in that as the waist belt get adjusted the symmetry of the crotch straps get messed up.
Feed back would be apricated and I will incorporate what I can