Thread: Hoda Zaki belts

So, I want to make a belt, but I specifically want the kind of belt that Hoda's bedlahs have, like these:





Problem is, while I'm good at altering costumes to fit, I'm not a seamstress.

I love the lines of the belt, the way that it dips in and hugs the curves of the bootay, but have no idea how to achieve it. And it looks very different than the other belts that I've seen and wore in the way that it fits.

Anyone have one that would be willing to take pics of the inside of the belt and maybe describe the curvature?

Thanks tons in advance!

The shape is very different from other belts. I've had two. Too bad I recently relined the one I currently have (in my profile pic) - photos of it without the lining would be much more helpful. If no one else posts pics for you, I'll have time to do it next week.

Originally Posted by kina

And it looks very different than the other belts that I've seen and wore in the way that it fits.

Anyone have one that would be willing to take pics of the inside of the belt and maybe describe the curvature?

Thanks tons in advance!

Originally Posted by kiyaana

The shape is very different from other belts. I've had two. Too bad I recently relined the one I currently have (in my profile pic) - photos of it without the lining would be much more helpful. If no one else posts pics for you, I'll have time to do it next week.

thanks so much!

wow, narrow escape from working on that costume... oh wait, I can still do the bra...

booty bump!

I can tell you how to do this.

Cut a rectangle of stiff interfacing bigger than the front of the belt will be (30" by 8" will work) and while wearing a pair of jeans, lay the interfacing on the front of your pelvis and pin it on the side seams of your jeans. Use a magic marker to draw on the interfacing along the top of your jeans (or an inch or two below it if they're high waisted jeans). Draw another line about 3-4" below that (whatever width you want the belt to be), parallel to the top line. Draw vertical line on each of your side seams.

When you cut out this shape, add an extra two inches to the ends for attaching purposes. The resulting shape will be curved to fit the front of your pevis perfectly.



For the back, it's a very similar process. Start with a 30" by 10-15" rectangle of thick interfacing. Pin it to your jeans. Mark the top, bottom and side seams, and add 2" tabs for attachment. My husband ususally does the marking for me since it's from behind.



But since the butt has curves there will be a gap at the top back of the waistline and on the bottom back of the belt. We're going to add alternating darts on the top and bottom of the back belt pannel - but first you want to cover the interfacing with your fabric so that the fabric will also be taken in by the darts.

Once your back belt base is covered, fold it in half, good sides facing in, along the centerline of each of the dart locations. Sew a really, really narrow dart. Start like a quarter of an inch from the fold and move closer to the edge of the fold over 4". You can always make the darts bigger if you need to. Fit it to the curves of your butt.

At this point you can attach the front and back and then decorate, or decorate and then attach the front and back.

I'll be adding this info to my website in the near future, where I've got lots of helpful pages on costumes.

Shushanna Designs: How to Make Costumes

Just added the page. Shushanna Designs: How to Make a Belt

Originally Posted by shushanna

Just added the page. Shushanna Designs: How to Make a Belt

Shushanna, you rock, girl!!!!

Originally Posted by shushanna

Just added the page. Shushanna Designs: How to Make a Belt

Wow. That's an enormous quantity of information, thank you so much!

here's my question, will that result in the shape of the Hoda belts? Do you see how they dip in at the lowest curve of the back? that's the dip I want to recreate.

Originally Posted by kina

Do you see how they dip in at the lowest curve of the back? that's the dip I want to recreate.

That's actually pretty easy - just cut the interfacing on the top of the back belt panel to have a dip. The tricky part may be making sure the darts don't cause jagged edges, if one side of the fold had a higher edge than the the other. What you could do it cut out the interfacing, sew in the darts, trim it for the dip, take out the darts, cover the interfacing with fabric, and sew the darts back in.

Actually, I just made this harder than it needs to be. Hoda is rusching the fabric - meaning that the fabric will be a lot more forgiving than if it were tightly stretched over the base. So just make your interfacing base the shape and fit you want, and cover it in the rusched fabric.

Great info, Shushanna! Sorry I still haven't posted pics, Kina.

The dips are in the middle of the front and back and the back definitely has pretty deep darts to really make the belt hug your curves. These belts do fit amazingly well and are so flattering. Also the curves come up over the front hips and the back hips on each side. When I draw my own patterns I use a flexible drawing curve, it really helps make smoother lines like these, I also fold the paper in half and open it up after cutting the curve or drawing it which makes exactly symmetrical on each side.

I do not have mine anymore otherwise I would try to offer more help with photos and such. Keep us posted on your project!