Tag: bellydancer

How to Add a Ruffle To a Skirt Slit

Do you have a skirt that could use a little makeover? You can easily transform a simple skirt into an exciting ruffle skirt if you know how to add a ruffle to a skirt! The original skirt is from my 3-panel mermaid skirt tutorial, and I decided to add ruffles to upgrade it. In this video, you’ll see how to… Read more →

Sparkly Belly Student Showcase 2021

The best part of my job is seeing my students’ creations 🙂 It’s quite magical when costumers combine what they learned in my courses and their creativity, and create their very own belly dance costumes. I often learn from them too! Let me show you what I mean. Here are 9 of my students and their beautiful creations! Sparkly Belly… Read more →

How to Make Seed Bead Fringe with Chani

Are you in love with beaded fringe but not sure how to create it yourself? Do you have a costume that needs an upgrade? In this post, Chani, our alteration expert, will show you how to create beaded fringe to give your costume more movement and shimmer. Enjoy 🙂 Greetings, Dancers! I hope this finds you well and enjoying dancing,… Read more →

3 Steps to Turning Your Belly Dance Costume Professional

3 Steps to Turning Your Belly Dance Costume Professional!

Have you felt like your belly dance costume is incomplete? You put on a bra, belt, and a skirt, and it looks like something is missing…. or not dramatic enough. Don’t worry, it happens to many dancers, including me. In this video, I’ll show you how to solve this incomplete outfit problem quickly. Let’s get started! Click here to join… Read more →

Chani's turquoise costume

How to Alter a Beaded Belly Dance Bra with Chani

Looking for ideas on how to alter a beaded belly dance bra? Have a vintage costume that needs an upgrade? In this post, Chani, our alteration expert, will show you how to alter a beaded belly dance bra top seamlessly and make it fit you! Enjoy 🙂 This is a vintage costume I bought on-line many, many years ago. The… Read more →

3-panel-belly-dance-mermaid-skirt-sew-part-2

DIY 3-Panel Mermaid Skirt Pt.2 (Sewing) for belly dancers

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 →

DIY 3-Panel Mermaid Skirt Pt.1 (Free pattern) for belly dancers

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 →

How to decorate stretch dresses (1)

How to Decorate Stretch Dresses

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 →

DIY nude gauntlets

DIY Nude Gauntlets

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 →