Amazon.com Review
Belts can be an important fashion accessory, but store-bought versions often cost quite a bit and may not coordinate perfectly with your wardrobe. Belt Bazaar has the remedy for this: make your own, at a fraction of the cost, and have a great deal of fun doing it. Well-known TV sewing show host Shirley Adams presents four basic approaches--soft belts, stiff belts, fleece-core belts, and corded belts--along with dozens and dozens of variations on these methods. By adding pleats, tucks, slashes, applique, cording, assorted trims, decorative stitching, and many other embellishments, and by varying shapes and closure styles, Adams creates a multitude of striking belts, ranging in style from casual simplicity to glittery elegance. Helpful line art accompanies the step-by-step instructions, all supplemented by 30 pages of good color photos. And if belts aren't necessarily your thing, these techniques can easily be adapted to other accessories, such as bags or fabric neckpieces. --Amy Handy
From Booklist
Belts, Adams proves, are simply not as difficult to manufacture by hand (or by home sewing machine) as might be imagined. Besides, cinching it yourself is also a less-expensive proposition than bringing home store-bought merchandise. What's more, Adams truly knows fusible webs, interfacings, and other idiosyncrasies of fabric. She begins with discussions of four different belt versions (soft, stiff, fleece-core, and corded) and then proceeds to detail in words and black-and-white illustrations the how-tos, fasteners, and embellishments appropriate to each type. Everything is fairly uncomplicated, so even a novice can obtain successful results. Barbara Jacobs
