Witch dance

Witches Dance tribal belly dance.. here is a little snap of the costumes we wore...

Mother and daughter... I am so blessed to be able to share dance with her.

Definitely need to do a bit more playing in the costume department.

Dress ups

I've been going to tribal belly dance classes... and it's dress up day...

Head scarves, belts, tops... I can feel a few different special costumes coming on. There areno satin skirts in this dance style!

Beaded belly dance costume

I finished beading this bra. I knew I wouldn't have enough of any particular sequins, so I mixed them all up, and worked just on the main part of the cups.


Finished with plenty of time to spare for the rehearsal. And they are really comfortable.

There really is a lot of time goes into the handwork. I do enjoy it when I get a chance to sit and sew in the evening when the little boy is asleep.

Belly Dance costume

It's coming up to our annual bellydance concert, and this year our troup teacher decided we needed to wear jelebas, well... this version of one.

It has a cutout bust wher ethe bra shines and shows off.

I bought a stretch velvet fabric that had pearly beads stitched onto it. Oh! it was a bit of a disaster to sew! I couldn't sew a straight line for the seam, the beads were so big, I had to go around them, and if you pulled one out it left a huge hole. No wonder I got it on the bargain fabric pile!

As you can see there is more beading to go on the bra, but I am onto it, and will have it finished for the concert by end of August. And although you can't see, there are huge splits in the sides that go all the way up the legs for maximum movement.



What a stunning colour in the sky in our yard. Great inspiration. 

Belly Dance Life

I promised a picture of myself in tribal belly dance outfit. This is as close as it gets at this stage, this is a selfie.

Professional photos will come in around December.

I had a smashing time, danced for hours and hours... and enjoyed every costume change. I even had time to do 3 other people's professional makeup before the concert started.

Four more

Incredible! I'm not really sure how I did it, But they are done! The bellydance costumes for this year's concert are finished. And that is a relief.

This is a bra I covered in a high end dress fabric. The "Princess Jasmine" sleeves were added following a tutorial on Sparkly Belly. I love that the turquoise colour adds brightness to an otherwise drab costume of bronze/brown/gold.



Then I made up this matching belt, and stitched another hand me down necklace onto it for tinkle and jingle during the Drum Circle dance. Also hanging from the belt is part of the dream catcher, and more feathers are in the hair. This is a tribal inspired bra and belt. I feel so comfortable in this outfit.



I will be excited to post photos later, of the costumes while I am wearing them.

Over the weekend another TWO little doll/teddy sleeping bags were finished (they just had a bit of binding to hand stitch down).




And feeling all inspired on Saturday morning after finishing the costumes, I went a bit crazy and designed a new quilt, then went to buy the fabric for it!

Um... ok... yes... it is now started. !!!! I think it is going to be one in a series following a "mythical and magical" theme....



You just can't keep a sewing girl down!

And to keep in the flow of the new little quilt currently forming, I am hoping to have the top pieced, and the back pieced ready to sandwich together on Wednesday at social sewing group.

Thank goodness for this blog, my quilting journal, or I would never be able to keep track of all these finished items.

Tambourine Tangerine

You guessed it! There's a hole in my finger! All this hand stitching on bellydance costumes!



This was a pink bra. Er.... well, it still is... But, it was a pink bra, and an orange belt. The belt was about a size 8... and I am about size 12-14... what to do with it? Aha! The belt has been stitched onto the bra, extra sequins added, and it's ready to go with the 25 yard full skirt in pink and orange ready for the tambourine dance.

Okay... now I have decided to start another new costume instead of wearing something I had... Eek! This really does sound like me... hahahahaha.... nothing like an outfit at the last minute!

Making the new costume consists of rustling up bits and pieces that I have already, including a $1 scarf from ebay, a dream catcher, a $7 bra from kmart, a hand me down necklace and some gorgeous bronze fabric.... I think I will make up a belt too.




For this one I have chosen a more tribal theme.. adding the turquoise feathers and fabric to brighten up the bronze/brown.

My dear Mother In Law just stitched me a bronze/brown satin skirt (she has made about 100 of them, and they are very fast for her... bless her!!)... Ok... I have only a few days.... Cheer me on!

Oh! And I made this patchworked teddy/doll sleeping bag....

Ouch! Hand stitching binding! My fingers!! We ARE suckers for our craft!

Two disco balls

I really have no idea where the weekend went... I think that's life when you are celebrating being a Family!

there at dawn... the first ones there...

warning!! gratituous shots of the warm weather at our local beach

Not much stitching to show after intensive family time... but I do have these to show you which have been progressing for a few days..

little 30s hexies

Little hexagons made with fabric leftover from the quilt I made for my expected bub while pregnant (He is almost two!!)... I have a few ideas for what do make with these little sweethearts... Any suggestions?

And from Friday Night With Friends stitch-in at home, I finished sewing the sequined fabric onto this bra ready for the bellydance concert in a few weeks.

the black velvet was already covered in stitched sequins, this was an easy one!

Some bellydance bras get a lot of embellishment... but this one is like a disco ball already... well... when I wear it, it's kind of like 2 disco balls. Hahahahahahahah! Oh! I think I'm funny... it's lovely to be in a bellydance troupe... It's my time to be a woman. I am grateful for my friends, the exercise, and the inspiration to work on more costumes!

Hmm.... I think this week will be dedicated to working on costumes. The dress rehearsal is on Sunday, and we need to be in all our costumes by then. Eek!

Kerri's red and gold bra

What a spectacular night we had at the dance concert!

I am so grateful for my Circle of Women. It was such a blessing to be pampered (Kerri did my hair), and pamper others (I did some make up). A truly joyous night of women working together and facing their nervous fears... remembering dance steps... costume pieces and accessories...

And I won a big prize in the raffle! A pack of hair products!


Here is the only bra I had not taken a photo of before  - Kerri models it here.


This bra was not padded, which meant I had to allow for stretch when beading, and had to stitch the sequins and beads on vertically. It is much easier to stitch onto a slightly padded bra.

At first the base of the bra was also sequined, but the beads were digging into her skin. I removed the sequins and replaced them with some rows of beaded fringing. Ta-da! Happy Kerri!




It is the close friendships shared with my Circle of Women that are a true blessing, as a result of belly dancing, and I find myself truly grateful for their role in my life. Thank you.

Black and Red Tassels belly dance bra

And I just managed to squeeze in another piece for a dance costume for the concert!

Finished at the last minute, I had been looking for the right tassels, and I am glad I waited.

They turned out a treat. Two rows of tassels, with black sequins stitched over where they were attached.  These give a lovely swishing feeling, and allow some of the lovely bra to show through the fringe.

Yellow Tabla belly dance bra

I have just realised it's starting to get close to our dance concert night this month, and I am looking at the costume lists, mentally assessing what to wear for each dance.

Thank goodness I only need to have costumes for 5 dances. Some of the women are in about 15 dances. That is a LOT of costume changing!

Still, I needed to make a yellow bra for the Table dance. The costume must be yellow and black, so I wanted to keep the bra looking fresh, as I have a black lace bolero and layers of black and yellow skirts to wear together.

The result is a very subdued bra in soft yellow, with a beaded fringe (I think it's supposed to be for upholstery, but nobody would know). The sequins are stitched on symmetrically.

Reminder to self next time adding fringeing: stretch out the base of the bra while stitching it on.

 Ouch. it's a little bit tight.

Teal and Tangerine Belly Dance Bra

Ooh! I think someone has the bug!



I bought this bra, which PERFECTLY matched the unusual fluro pink/orange fabric swatch - now made into harem pants -  I had been carrying around in my bag.

The bra was so pretty it didn't need much blinging. So I added two different sized sequins - large pink with teal over the top, and some pink with gold, attached in a random arrangement.



While I have worn it a couple of times, I am still looking for a fringe or tassels to hang around underneath in just the right shade.

Blue sparkly belly dance bra for Kerri

I've had so much fun decorating Belly Dance bras, that I have quickly used up all my supplies (time to scout for bargain bras and matching sequins and motifs).

So I offered to decorate some for my girlfriend Kerri. She sews amazingly, and has been sewing her own ballroom dancing clothes for over 20 years, but the handwork is not her favourite. Woo hoo! I get to do some more handwork without buying supplies!

This is her first pair, covered in a remnant of blue sparkly fabric, then freestyle sequined by me.

Black with blue flower belly dance bra

And an even faster way!

I bought a black sequined top at the opp shop for $1, then cut it to cover a $5 bargain bra, appliqued around the edge to stitch on the black background, while turning the edge under.

A blue sequin motif was added, and ta-da! A very very quick (and very reasonable priced) addition to the Belly Dance costume collection was created.

Just a little note, if you are thinking of doing this yourself, watch that the sequins folded under the edge don't scratch your skin - you might need to use very sharp scissors to trim the excess away.

Teal and gold belly dance bra

The second attempt at beading a belly dance bra resulted in much larger beads and an applique motif on one side. This greatly reduced the time taken to complete the beading.



I really like the assymetry of the design, with the applique motif on only one side. Followed by a design that vaguely mirrored it on the opposite side.

The pearly sequins are also a favourite.

Striped belly dance bra

How does a new Mum get to sew when she is busy with 3 children and family life?
She squeezes in hand sewing!

Finally, it was time to return to grown up, independant activities, such as belly dancing.

It was also time to create some costumes. Belly dancing gives me time with my Circle of Women, and it allows us to feel free for that time... to wear clothes we wouldn't normally wear, and enjoy our bodies and the way they move.

Hand beading and sequins, yes, I can do that without setting up the sewing machine for 10 minutes, not knowing when Bub would wake up again.

Here is my first attempt at the sequins/beading.

Each sequin is individually stitched on with a bead in the centre. Colours were chosen to allow a few different skirts to be worn with this bra (one bra could make a few outfits). Since making it I have decided that next time I will use larger beads (hence why I created stripes, so that every piece of surface did not need to be sequinnned, plus the bra was so beautiful, it didn't need to be covered up completely).

Careful! I think this could become addictive!