In Part 1 of this 3-panel mermaid skirt series, I showed you how to make your own pattern for this 3-panel belly dance mermaid skirt. If you missed it, start from there 🙂 In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to cut the fabric, and assemble all pieces together. Let’s get started! Click here to sign up for the Sparkly… Read more →
I shared this 5-panel mermaid skirt tutorial years ago, and it has been one of the most popular tutorials at Sparkly Belly. And since I published it, so many of you have requested a simpler, 3-panel mermaid skirt. Thank you! So today I’m thrilled to share with you my 3-panel mermaid skirt over the next 2 posts, more straightforward than… Read more →
As belly dancers, we can never have enough hip scarves, and today I’m very excited to share with you this new ruched hip scarf I made! It’s extra long, so it feels like a half skirt, which feels nice as you dance in it. And I love the ruched design. It’s an easy, beginner-friendly project, and let me show you… Read more →
I shared the sparkly necklace DIY perfect for belly dancers and ballroom dancers with you last month, and so many of you came to my site and downloaded the free pattern! And some of you requested a bracelet to go with it, which is an awesome idea! So in this tutorial, let me show you how I made this beautiful,… Read more →
Whether you make belly dance, ballroom, or wedding dresses, you’re likely to encounter stretch dresses. Decorating stretch dresses or costumes can be tricky because if you don’t do it properly, you can lose the stretch of the fabric or your finished dress can pull in funny directions. So in this video, I’ll show you how I decorated this dress and… Read more →
I always like to have matching accessories for my costumes, and so for this brand new dress I made, I decided to make a pair of nude gauntlets! Gauntlets are great because they cover parts of your arms without adding much weight to the overall look. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to make these nude gauntlets that look… Read more →
Do you have a statement necklace to wear with your costumes? This DIY sparkly belly dance / ballroom necklace was requested by some of you, and I’m so happy I gave it a try! It’s a simple project, yet you get a pretty big result! Plus, once you make it, you can wear it with any outfits! Let me show… Read more →
Want shortcuts for rhinestoning your costumes? 🙂 Today I’m excited to share with you this cool product! The ladies at Crystal Queen contacted me a while ago and sent their rhinestone stencil kit for me to try! Since I had a new dress in progress, I used it to decorate the neckline of the dress! So let me show you… Read more →
As soon as dancers walk on stage in fun belly dance baladi dresses, YOU KNOW it’s going to be a good show! Is it a cool cane piece? Or a cheeky shaabi? Whatever it is, you know you’ll be clapping your hands and beaming at the dancers in a few seconds. It’s going to be fun! And that’s not it!… Read more →
If you’ve made a costume before, you know every costume has a story. Where the fabric came from, what the inspiration was, how the design transformed in the creation process…. But most often we don’t get to hear these stories. I’m ALWAYS amazed by how my students take what they learned, add their own inspirations and personalities, and create costumes… Read more →