What you will get from this website
You want to make your own belly dance costumes, but don’t have the time.
Or you have your own belly dance costume design ideas, but don’t know how to materialize it.
Or you need to fix your costume.
Whatever the case, you are in the right place!
I’m Mao, and on this website, you will find lots of free resources on DIY belly dance costumes. It is amazing how much sewing, fixing, gluing, shopping, playing with fabric and trims you have to do with your belly dance costumes. And it is empowering for us to know how to sew, so when you have a great design idea, or a beautiful costume that doesn’t quite fit you, you know what to do.
No matter whether you are a student dancer or experienced, I encourage you to have a look around. I want to make an ultimate resource place for belly dancers to ask questions and get tips and advice about costuming.
You will notice that I am constantly updating and adding posts to help you feel comfortable with fixing or making your costumes. To get updates in your email inbox, sign up for our free newsletter!
Click here to sign up for the Sparkly Belly newsletter!
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Why don’t you join the growing community of belly dancers making their own costumes?
Thank you so much for your wonderful and extremely useful tutorials that have allowed me to create my own costumes perfectly adapted to my taste, my needs and my curves.
– Dary (Cuba)
About Mao
When I had my first solo performance opportunity, I thought, “Who knew I would have to make my own costume?” Well, I didn’t have to, but the other options I had were
- Sport the tank top, yoga pants, coin hip scarf look for the third time, or
- Buy a costume
I was tired of Option 1 by that point, but Option 2 was a bit too much money and commitment, since I was only a student dancer who may perform a solo piece once and never again… So I picked Option 3 – DIY belly dance costume. And later making costumes became my hobby, and thankfully I continued to perform. 🙂
And now I want to share my passion and lessons I learned over the years with you. I hope you can learn from my mistakes, save time and money, and feel confident and beautiful in your own creation on the stage.
If you want to check out my tutorials and time-saving freebies, all you have to do is sign up below!
Click here to sign up for the Sparkly Belly newsletter!
Questions? Email me at mao@sparklybelly.com.
photo credit: Sheila Sund
Thank you for creating this blog and being so open and honest. Too many people when you ask for help never want to give the full instructions. I am a belly dancer on the more curvy side and have to resort to making my own costumes. I would love to see a tutorial about making hip belts, I would love to one day make my own matching bra and belt xox
You’re welcome, and thank you for your kind words, Virginia! Making belts is on my to-do list now 😀 I know, I started making my own too, because I’m too small to fit in pre-made ones. Thanks for your great suggestion!
I love love love your tutorials! So helpful even for a skilled sewer!
Thank you so much, Beverly! So happy to hear that! 😀 Let me know if there is anything you’d like to see on my website 🙂
Wow! I am so glad I found your site! I have never bought a costume because I never could seem to find one to fit me without spending loads of money. I can’t wait to start making one now thanks to your awesome, complete, instructions. Keep up the great posts please! 😉
Aw thank you so much for your kind words, Abby! So excited for your future projects! 😀 Let me know if I can help you along the way.
I am seriously impressed by the professionalism of your site and the crisp, clean instructions everywhere. It is extremely refreshing, as usually I am struggling to find what I am looking for. Last night I found the Aurora Skirt Master Class and then your blog… and realized that I had saved a whole lot of your content via pinterest over the past few years! I am very happy to sign up for the newsletter, so I won’t miss anything! Keep up the fantastic work. – Vorsaga <3 (ATS/Tribal Fusion dancer)
Thank you so much for your kind words, Vorsaga! Enjoy the Aurora skirt course, and let me know if I can help you in any way! 🙂
You should have a cd and book on these courses and sell them.
Aw thanks so much! 🙂 I’ll make that happen if there’s enough demand… 🙂
i just saw your video that is turly amazing, i am a eco fashion designer also in canada, i just send you a email to introduce myself.
Thank you, Sammi! Looking forward to chatting with you 🙂
What is the best type of fabric to use I was thinking possibly satin or a sheer organza your guidance would be greatly appreciated
Hi Jessica! What are you planning to make? 🙂
I don’t do belly dancing but I love the costumes and I love making stuff….I’ve been looking at them on Pinterest I have alot of ideas but not alot of sewing experience but Im thinking abou taking craftsy classes so recommendations would be great. I want to make costumes primarily
That’s great, Jessica! From what I know, Craftsy offers classes on sewing skills and making bags and clothing, but I’ve never seen costume making classes there before.
If you’re interested in making belly dance costumes, I recommend you join my free course that introduces you to costume making. You can learn more here: https://www.sparklybelly.com/belly-dance-costume-making-101
I also have other courses on creating different costume designs here: https://www.sparklybelly.com/premium-courses/
Hope this helps! 🙂
Thank you Mao! I love your tutorials and website You have totally inspired me to make my own costume ♥️♥️
Yay! 😀 My pleasure, Hillary! Let’s stay in touch 🙂
I discovered your blog looking for a baladi dress. None on the market appealed to me and I thought about making it. The questions was how? Your blog was a lifesaver answering this question. The baladi dress is nearly finished and I already love it.
Thanks for all your tips, especially for halterneck bra. I used the magic straps last week on one of my costume and my bra has never been so confortable! No more pain in my neck! It really is magic! I am so sewing those straps on all my bras!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Cecile! I’m so excited to hear you were able to make your own baladi dress and make your bra more comfortable! 🙂
Enjoy the courses, and feel free to email me if you have any questions or want to bounce ideas! I love to create resources to help creative and enthusiastic dancers just like you, Cecile 🙂
Hello there!! Thank you for this website! I am not a belly dancer, but I am a burlesque performer and I have to make my own costumes and am learning how to sew. I’ve been hand sewing basic things but am learning how to sew on a machine. Your videos and website are going to help me so much!
Aw thank YOU for finding my site! That’s exciting, let me know if I can help you in any way, Lady Arachne 🙂
hola soy Natalia de Argentina me encantan tus tutoriales me gustaria que esten traducidos al español porque no se ingles pero igual los miro
Hola Natalia! Thank you so much for your request 🙂 I’ll keep it in mind.
In the meantime, your internet browser may have a translation tool that translates English to Spanish for you automatically 🙂 That’s how I read websites in other languages.
And if you have any questions about my tutorials, feel free to email me at mao@sparklybelly.com. I’m happy to help! Gracias!!
I love your costume ideas and creations. I have a lot of my own I would love to share with you too. I am a teacher of Belly Dance which I have done for over 39 years. I am now a senior and teaching other seniors how to Belly Dance. My first ever show was for the Girl Scout Jamboree in 1992 with my 10 year old daughter whom I had taught to Belly dance. We were not supposed to perform that day but the performers who were broke down enroute and could not make it. While I had costumes for both of us we had no routine planned and I had my daughter just copy me. We were a hit and my daughter got so many comments that she refused to take her costume off at all that day. I had had a baby two weeks prior and had a definite baby bump still but we were a hit. Prior to our dancing the building was full of noise, when we danced you could hear a pin drop. It was a great day.
Aw what a lovely story, Ramona, thank you for sharing! Would love to see your creations if you’ve got photos 🙂 You can either share with me by email at mao@sparklybelly.com or our FB group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/sparklybelly 🙂
Heya! For the hourglass dress, do you think I could modify it to have short skit? I need stomach coverage but would like something a little sexier than a long dress 🙂 Thanks!
Hi Jennifer! What a fantastic idea!! The pattern can definitely be modified, and the dress can be made shorter! If you’d like, join the course, and email me at mao@sparklybelly.com with a sketch of your design, and I’m happy to help you create it! 🙂
Hello! I am interested in making several poinsettia appliques for a craft project. Can you please tell me where you purchase your beads? I am having a hard time searching online for the correct color, size & shape. Thank you!
Hi Chris! That’s great! I used beads and stones I had in my stash for the poinsettia applique, but I purchased most of them from https://www.pandahall.com/ But the nice thing about the poinsettia applique is that you can mix and match different sizes and place beads and stones randomly to fill the areas 🙂 Just make sure the seed beads are about size 6-10 🙂