Welcome to Thrifty Belly Episode 1! 😀 Thrifty Belly is a new series we’re starting today where I take old clothes or thrift store finds and transform them into dance costumes. I’ve been getting a lot of requests to do practice wear, and today we’ll take an old oversized t-shirt and transform it into this cute, off-the-shoulder peasant top, which… Read more →
I like Princess Jasmine. Her typical look is not a floor length dress like other Disney princesses. She’s in rather simple harem pants, but she is still gorgeous and that’s what I find unique and attractive about her. And to me, the best part of her outfit is the sleeves. Her sleeves are so flowy, and simply romantic.I’ve always wanted… Read more →
Last week I announced that the enrolment to my online Belly Dance Costume Workshop (BDCW) is opening on May 22, 2016. I’ve been receiving messages and questions from excited dancers 🙂 If you have questions about the workshop, feel free to email me at mao@sparklybelly.com. I’m happy to answer your questions, and it’s great to know what you are wondering… Read more →
Merry Christmas! I hope you are having a wonderful day with your loved ones. I’m just finishing up the last bit of work here then heading off to my fiance’s parents’ place for dinner. It’ll be a good time 🙂 Before I go, I want to quickly share with you some photos. I often receive photos of beautiful creations by dancers, and… Read more →
Want to finally learn how to sew? And make your own costumes? And save money? If you said yes to any of the above, you are in the right place! 🙂 The #1 Costume Challenge I’ve been sharing my DIY belly dance costume tutorials for a while now, and during this time, I have been fortunate enough to get to… Read more →
Alteration is a big part of belly dance costuming, and continuing from last week’s alteration project, I have one more example to show you. Last week I showed how I altered my beaded belt and made it shorter. In this week’s video, you’ll see how I changed the shoulder straps of the matching bra from over-the-shoulder style to criss-cross at… Read more →
We make lots of tubes when we make shoulder straps, ties etc for belly dance costumes. To create a clean looking shoulder strap, you need to sew a tube wrong side out, then turn the tube so the pretty side of the fabric shows. I used to get frustrated when making tubes, because when the tube is narrow like a 1cm wide,… Read more →