Brrr….it’s cold in Vancouver!
And it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…. already!
So Navid and I went to the Vancouver Christmas Market last week, and had a great time. If you are in Vancouver and haven’t checked out yet, we highly recommend you go! My favourite this year is this yummy drink called Feuerzangenbowle – German Fire Punch. It’s like mulled wine, but with melted sugar and rum which makes it ten times better!
So in the spirit of the festive season, in the last 2 weeks, we made the veil wings and lit them up with LED lights. This week, and it’s the last of the Christmas series, we’ll light up our costumes too! This is actually going to be very easy, so if you thought the isis wings were a bit too cumbersome to make, you can definitely try this one! So let’s get started. 😀
Sign up for Sparkly Belly newsletter so you won’t miss out on future videos!
Sign up for my free costume making course from here! 🙂
To light up your costumes, you need:
Battery-operated LED lights – These are the same LED lights as ones I used for the wings DIY. It is 6m long.
Scrap fabric
Basic sewing tools and matching colour thread
Light Up Dance Costumes DIY!
First, make a pouch to keep the battery pack. Just like we did in the previous video, I basically measured the length and width of the battery pack, and made a rectangle piece out of scrap fabric like this:
The width is the width of the battery pack plus 5cm (2in), and the length is the length of the battery pack x 2 plus 8cm (3in).
Fold the rectangle panel right sides together, and sew along the side edges at 1cm or 1/2in seam allowance.
Fold 1cm or 1/2in from the top edge twice, and do a straight stitch to secure the fold.
Flip it inside out. And the pouch is done!
If you don’t have time to make a pouch, I would experiment with something like a short sock. It’ll be hidden anyway… so that’s a short cut 😉
Now the question is where to hide the battery pack?
I tried different places, and the best way to place the battery pack is in a circle skirt, right at the back centre and just below where your belt would sit. I wanted it to be removable, so I used a safety pin to secure it to the centre back of the inside of the skirt, below the waistband. And I used a few more safety pins to secure it in place. Make sure the light switch is facing out so you can easily reach it. The volume of the circle skirt hides the battery pack nicely.
And you just wrap your LED lights however way you like! My favourite way is going around the belt like framing the edges, and take the lights up to the bra and frame the edges of the bra. Very easy. No need to be perfect, since the wire won’t show very much in the dark.
Now find the switch and light up your costume!
It looks great with a little light shining on you (below left – like in a dark restaurant with candles) or in complete darkness (below right – like on stage with no light).
It’s fun, mysterious and great for special events. You can make different design, and if your LED lights come with twinkling functions, then you can coordinate those with your choreography. And you can combine this with the LED isis wings… lots of options for creative performances.
Oh, and don’t forget the DIY belly dancer ornaments to add to your holiday decorations. 😀
I hope you enjoyed the Christmas series. You can use these ideas for holiday events this season or any special events throughout the year. If you try any of these, please share a photo on Sparkly Belly’s Facebook group.
And if you want to learn how to make belly dance costumes, sign up for my free course, Belly Dance Costume Making 101 from here.
Thanks for reading, and keep sparkling!