DIY Belly Dance Gauntlets / Fingerless Gloves (+ Useful Costuming Tip!)

Have you felt like something is missing when you put on a costume?

Maybe it looks too simple or off balance or just doesn’t look complete.

I want to share with you 1 very useful dance costuming tip. If you feel like any of the above, try adding a bit more fabric on your arms. Whether it’s armbands or wrist bands, you don’t FEEL like you’ve added much more, but adding fabric on arms changes the OVERALL look by balancing how much skin is exposed.

It’s a good trick to know when you need a quick fix. And if you want to see how to make these green armbands, I have a tutorial video here.

And in today’s video, you’ll see how to make these super easy long gauntlets that give a simple costume a more completed look. Let’s get started!

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To make gauntlets, you need:

Stretch fabric – You can use any stretch fabric. Spandex or stretch mesh is perfect for making these gauntlets. Half a meter should be enough.

Matching colour elastic – 20cm or 8in is more than enough.

Matching colour thread

Regular sewing tools such as measuring tape, scissors, pins and sewing machine – See Resources page for my favourite tools 🙂

DIY Belly Dance Gauntlets / Fingerless Gloves

First take 3 measurements:

1. your wrist
2. your upper arm or wherever you want the gauntlet to go up to. I measured at the middle of my upper arm.
3. the length between the 2 points we just measured.

Lay your fabric on a flat surface, and fold it in half so that the fold is perpendicular to the direction of the stretch.

Pick a point at the top of the fold. Mark there, and from there, measure 10cm or 4in down.

From there, measure a half of your wrist measurement out to the right.

Back to the fold, measure down the length between your wrist and upper arm plus a 1cm (1/2in) seam allowance, and from there, measure a half of your upper arm measurement.

Now connect the dots, and you have something like this.

Cut along the line, and make one more for the other side.

Now fold the pointy end at 1cm or 1/2in from the edge at both sides towards the wrong side. You can trim any excess fabric here so the corner is not bulky. Do the same at the other end, and do a zigzag stitch to secure all the folds.

Fold the fabric right sides together lengthwise, and do a straight stitch along the long edge, using a 5mm (1/4in) seam allowance.

Repeat the sewing section for the other side.

Now turn them inside out and try them on! Then see how much elastic you need for it to go from the pointed end of the gauntlet around your middle finger and back. Cut 2 pieces in the same length.

And simply make a loop with the elastic, and sew it onto the wrong side of the gauntlet. I used a zigzag stitch to secure the elastic.

That’s it! Now you can do some beading on them or even make cut outs. Check out my cut out tutorial if you want decorative holes.

These gauntlets are nice and tight-fitted, so they won’t fall off your arms. They are a great accessory to make if you need matching costumes for your troupe. 🙂

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial, and if you did, please share it with your dancer friends. And if you make your own gauntlets, share your creations on Sparkly Belly’s Facebook group.

And if you want to start making more than just gauntlets, learn how to make costumes from my FREE course, Belly Dance Costume Making 101.

Sign up for Belly Dance Costume Making 101 from here.

Thanks for reading, and keep sparkling!

Want to make more costuming bits yourself?

Sign up for my free course, Belly Dance Costume Making 101!