So I opened my DIY Applique Kit shop a little while ago, and people love the kits because they come with everything you need to create beautiful appliques yourself! 😀 But some of them asked, “How do I attach the appliques to a costume?” A very good question 🙂 In this post, I’ll show you exactly… Read more →
You know I love making beaded appliques and using them for decorating my costumes 😉 But finding the right beads and the right stones can be challenging, and often I don’t know where to buy them or how many beads to buy to make appliques. 🙁 It turns out, many costumers face the same challenge! I… Read more →
When I make beaded appliques, I like to mix in a rhinestone chain. 🙂 Rhinestone chains are great for defining the shape of the applique, which is a big plus for dance costumes. (Vague shapes don’t show well on stage.) And of course, rhinestone chains add lots of shine, and they are much quicker to sew on than… Read more →
If you’re in my Applique Making course or if you’ve read my decoration tutorials, you probably heard me saying, “It is important to make a clean outline.” I truly believe an applique will look beautiful with a clean outline, even if you mess up the inside of the outline a little 😉 It’s especially true for dance… Read more →
Beaded appliques are perfect for decorating your dance costumes with… or even your evening dresses or bags! They make everything look so fine and polished! 🙂 And so they come with high price tags. Can you make one yourself? Sure you can! 🙂 In fact, making your own beaded appliques is actually simple and… Read more →
One of the most common costume making problems I hear from Sparkly Belly readers is actually not related to costume making at all. It’s about finding time to sew. When I share my costume tutorials, I often get comments like, “I love this! But first I have to find time to sew….” The other day, I saw a FB discussion… Read more →
Want to make this lovely grey skirt? Learn here! For making dance costumes, stretch fabric is essential – it helps us create fitted costumes and gives the flexibility we need for when we move around and dance in it. 🙂 So I have a lot of tutorials where you use stretch fabrics – like this mermaid skirt, Goddess Skirt, and… Read more →
In my last post, we measured and cut out all panels we need to sew this DIY baladi dress with a mandarin collar and placket. I love when all the panels are cut and waiting for me to sew them together. 😀 Let’s get started! Click here to make your own Dina Bra! 😀 DIY Baladi Dress with mandarin collar &… Read more →
Since I launched my latest costume making course, Aurora Convertible Skirt Premium Course, I received questions about what to wear under this type of skirt that has cutouts. Click the image to check out how to make this skirt! Generally, you can either wear nude colour underwear that doesn’t show, or some dancers wear boy shorts in nude colour. For… Read more →
I like belly dance costumes that have decorations sewn onto the skirt. 🙂 For this type of skirt, you don’t have to wear a separate belt, which can be more comfortable for some of you. At least for me – less opportunity for costume malfunction 😉 But how do you sew decorations to the stretch waistband of… Read more →