Which part of costume making do you love the most? 🙂
For most people, decorating is the best part of costume making, because you get to be creative!
But sometimes it’s hard to find a good balance of different decorative pieces….
Or maybe you’re not sure where to start….
Or you have all these different things you want to use on a costume, but can’t figure out where to place them all!
So in this tutorial, you’ll see 5 simple formulas that create a nice balance when you decorate a belly dance costume. They will make sure your finished costume looks beautiful and professional 🙂 Let’s get started!
*If you want to make the costumes shown in this video, links to the tutorials/courses are listed at the bottom of this post 😉 So keep reading!
Click here to get the printable 5 formulas cheatsheet for free!
How to decorate belly dance costumes: 5 simple formulas that work!
#1. (If you’re not sure) Line them up!
When you decorate a costume, you may start with larger pieces like appliques or silk flowers. If you’re new to decorating, simply try lining them up 🙂 It’s such a straightforward approach, but always results in a clean, beautiful look. By lining up large pieces, you’ll also make sure that the costume design is visible from a distance, which is great for a big venue performance!
You can get the appliques you see in the above video at Sparkly Belly’s DIY Applique Kit shop 🙂 (5% off coupon code: SPARKLY2019) Specifically, I used:
#2. Place 3 appliques per area
If you like appliques, you can’t go wrong by placing 3 of them in 1 place. It’s not that 2 is bad or 4 is too much. But if you’re in doubt, place 3 and this often creates a nice balance in this small area and looks great from a distance. This rule of 3 is also important for the next formula.
I used the Star Flower appliques here 🙂
#3. Triangle placement
If you use a certain style of appliques in 1 section of a costume, create 2 more locations with the same theme. For example, have the same appliques on the bra, belt and hair accessory. You can use them on the skirt or armband as well. The important thing is there’s a triangle of the appliques throughout the costume.
If you can’t make a triangle, go for at least 2 sections. Having something only in 1 section usually looks out of place.
Once you have large pieces in place, what should you do with the rest of the empty areas?
#4. Connect all elements
As fillers, I like to use fabric, beads, chains, or rhinestones. You can take the colour palette of your appliques and use the same colour beads and fabric to fill the empty areas. By taking the colours from the appliques, you can keep the consistent colour theme, and the finished costume looks very balanced and well thought-out.
You can throw in a new colour here, but if you do, keep in mind the triangle placement formula. Mix in the new colour in 3 places so it doesn’t look out of place.
…and finally, what I believe makes the difference between an amateur looking costume and a professional one is the next formula.
#5. Create layers
As you saw already, there are a lot of materials you can use to decorate a costume, and if you look at designer costumes, designers always use different materials to create layers!
For example, this grey costume above has contrasting colour lace on top of the base costume, beaded appliques on top of that, and beads and rhinestones in the same colour palette connect all the different elements.
Or like this floral costume, there are layers of satin fabric, floral appliques, chains, and rhinestones.
You can layer tassels and fringes.
If you like a minimalist look, you can mix different texture fabrics and decorate simply but add sparkles by using rhinestones of different sizes.
Or mix in ruffles in a similar shade of colors and use pearls and rhinestones for decoration.
These layers create depth and complexity in the overall look of the costume and elevate the costume design to a professional level.
(SCROLL DOWN TO SEE HOW TO MAKE THESE COSTUMES 🙂 )
Hope these formulas help you create a nice, balanced costume! In case you want to print out these formulas so you can refer to them in the future, I’ve created a pretty cheatsheet with costume photos for you! Click here to get it for free! 🙂
You don’t need to use all of these formulas, but pick a few that resonate with you and they’ll help you be creative and create a beautiful and unique costume!
How to Make the Costumes
If you want to make the costumes that I showed in this tutorial, you’re in luck – I have tutorials and/or courses on all of them! 🙂 Here they are!
Beaded appliques & rhinestone appliques: https://www.sparklybelly.com/shop (5% off coupon code: SPARKLY2019)
Grey & yellow costume:
Appliques: https://sparklybelly.myshopify.com/products/star-flower-diy-applique-kit (5% off coupon code: SPARKLY2019)
Bra: https://www.sparklybelly.com/dina
Skirt: https://www.sparklybelly.com/aurora
Lace drape sleeve: https://www.sparklybelly.com/diy-lace-drape-sleeve-for-belly-dance-costumes/
Lace swag on the skirt: https://www.sparklybelly.com/aurora
Gold Costume
Bra, Belt, Skirt and decoration: https://www.sparklybelly.com/bdcw
Blue & White Swirly Costume
Bra: https://www.sparklybelly.com/bdcw
Belt: https://www.sparklybelly.com/swirlybelt
Skirt: https://www.sparklybelly.com/bdcw
Decoration: https://www.sparklybelly.com/swirlybelt
Red Hourglass Dress
Bra: https://www.sparklybelly.com/dina
Dress: https://www.sparklybelly.com/hourglass
Navy Blue Ruffle Dress
Bra: https://www.sparklybelly.com/dina
Dress: https://www.sparklybelly.com/hourglass
Pink & Purple Floral Costume
Bra: https://www.sparklybelly.com/bdcw
Belt: https://www.sparklybelly.com/bdcw
Skirt: https://www.sparklybelly.com/diy-circle-skirt-reversible/
Pink flower appliques: https://www.sparklybelly.com/diy-easy-fabric-flower-appliques/
Purple rose appliques: https://www.sparklybelly.com/diy-fabric-rose-appliques/
Baladi dress
Bra: https://www.sparklybelly.com/dina
Dress: https://www.sparklybelly.com/diy-baladi-dress-mandarin-collar-placket-part-1-measure-cut/
If you found this tutorial useful, share love & share this tutorial with your dancer & costume designer friends!
Again, you can get the printable cheat sheet for the 5 decoration formulas here so you won’t be looking for this post in the future! Get it by clicking here!
And if you’re new to belly dance costume making, join my introductory course, Belly Dance Costume Making 101 for free below!
Click here to sign up for my FREE email course Belly Dance Costume Making 101!
Thanks for reading, and keep sparkling! 😀
P.S. Pin this image for your future project!
Like what you read? Want to make more costuming bits yourself?
Sign up for my newsletter here and get my free email course, Belly Dance Costume Making 101!