Thread: Belly Dance "Big Skirt" Dancing

I've always wanted to do a "big skirt" routine with my troupe. Planning ahead for my fall show!
I've seen some striking fusion style with Spanish/flamenco accents. I like the "faux Turkish" look too, I would call in Fantasy Skirt Dance or something.
Soooo, who has made a skirt like that, good sources to buy, and what is the minimum amount of yardage ya think, without losing the effect?
They're usually advertised as 25 yrd I guess.
Anyone want to contribute some tips and hints for Belly Dance style skirt dances, please do. I might start another thread with call for input & tips about skirt dances.
Thanks!

We just did one. Lots of fun. Yes, you will need the 25 yard in order to have enough fabric to use for effect. We did lots of skirt work with them. We tried to have everyone in a different color. We went for a more folkloric look with blouses under vests. Personally, I prefer the skirts to be set at waist level for this style, so if that is your choice, you may want to custom order for length. Mine had to be 40 inches long. If they are too short (no matter where the top of the skirt rests) when you pick them up at the side for spins etc, you will have an awkward look. It is best for the skirt to be tiered so that bulk at the top is minimized.

I love the skirts I got (via our local studio) from magicalfashions.com I've been told Krishna is great to work with and does troupe discounts.

Are you brand new to skirt dancing? the Dunyavi videos might be a good place to start (tho it's been ages since I looked at them!)
Please take the time to play with the skirts & really finish movements off well- if you hold the skirts just above the last 4-6 inches, you really get a lot of extra spin & swirl when playing with the hem. really throw that skirt around! Experiment with skirt kicks, so you don't always have to be holding the skirt. If you have time, go hunt down Artemis or Eva- they both had fabulous skirt tricks that were really fun to learn.

Do not attempt to make the skirts yourself unless you have the patience of a saint. I love to sew, but by the end of my one and only (EVER EVER EVER) 25 yard skirt, I thought I was ready to swear off ruffles for ever. Came out beautiful, but drove me batty. If you insist on being a martyr, at least get a ruffling foot for your sewing machine.

I don't think it's worth time, money, effort to make a 25 yard skirt. That's a lot of fabric and a lot of work!!! We ordered ours from Moondancebellydance.com and were quite happy with them.

The student troupe I'm in did a tambourine dance with a lot of skirt swooshing. We all have 25 yard skirts, and many of us were sadistic and made our own. (I personally made four.) I was on my 3rd skirt by the time I figured out that I could make my cheap-o sewing machine gather automatically by putting the stitch on the longest setting with the tension cranked up! I cut my sewing time in half after that epiphany. Also, I used the salvage as the bottom edge so I wouldn't have to hem 25 yards! I bought 12.5 yards of fabric and ripped long strips of fabric. The two sides of the salvage made up 25 yards, the next layer up was 12.5 yards, the next was 6.25, the next was 3.125, and then the top was the hip measurement plus 12". Yes, I had a lot of fabric left over, but I saved so much time it was worth it.


In this photo, I made the blue skirt for the dancer in the front. The other blue skirt was purchased from Moon Dance Belly Dance. Everyone else made their own with my directions. Almost everyone use a poly-cotton blend because it was only $2/yard, but a couple of the women used satin. The satin skirts are heavier, and I heard they were a nightmare to sew, but they are pretty. The Moon Dance skirt was made out of very thin fabric and it was nice and fluffy, but it tore very easily.

The only other tip I have for these skirts is make sure you have a drawstring and that you use it every time!

Oh my Gods, karnak, I can't even begin to imagine the amount of work that must have gone into those, especially to have them come out so neat and professional.

I didn't even contemplate making my own; when my troupe decided they wanted to skirt dance they hit eBay and found a seller in India who did all the colours you could dream of for about £40 a throw.

Our troupe do big skirt dances with 45-metre hem skirts... those things take days to make and weigh a tonne! Great movement though

O Thanks for the tips & helpful hint!s Keep em coming!
Yes, dancing with a big skirt is all new to me! I've done some of the picking up edges of split circle skirts for turn accents back in the ole days, but not a specific dance based around with one of those 25 yrd monsters!

Originally Posted by valeskah

Our troupe do big skirt dances with 45-metre hem skirts... those things take days to make and weigh a tonne! Great movement though

Just going to say that myself ... hmmm, wonder if I can find a photo..... (BTW - 45 metres = 50 yards, and I've never seen a supplier for these! I've contemplated making another, but then I remember the pain......)

Originally Posted by superbunny

Just going to say that myself ... hmmm, wonder if I can find a photo..... (BTW - 45 metres = 50 yards, and I've never seen a supplier for these! I've contemplated making another, but then I remember the pain......)

I've made four... I think I'm completely over it!

Originally Posted by valeskah

I've made four... I think I'm completely over it!

Over making them - or - over the pain?

My biggest one is a massive circle skirt... and its something like 33+ yards at the hem.

the movement is INCREDIBLE...

but its got 1.5-2" wide elastic at the top AND a yoke with a tie... because that sucker is heavy heavy heavy


it is a lot of fun to work with... that extra yardage goes a LONG way into giving you more options... I tucked mine on the sides at both hips and had enough to do really fun skirt work... and it really flys when you spin.

I used poplin and crepe fabric.

the poplin is stiff- I was super nervous when I first started working with it- but once I added the double ruffle at the bottom- it was the perfect combination of weights to make it work right. The crepe is okay- PITA to work with- but it also moves nicely.

Ulltimately I would do it again- but I might use different fabric.

and if you are going to make it- give yourself a few months- not just because its time consuming- but the reality is that much fabric needs to stretch and hang for quiet some time.

I let mine hang for a month+ as individual pieces and then as a skirt itself before I cut it... it still stretches I'm sure LOL

I don't have any good pictures- but it starts flying at the end when I pull it out... forgive the dancing... not so much my style- and this project was my first skirt project lol

Very nice Basha! You're right, beautiful effect with spins! so it looks as tho it is not tiered, but made in "pie shaped wedges" seamed along the sides, with ruffle on bottom? It's beautiful! What other material would you use instead?

The "yardage" in a "25 yard skirt" is the measurement along the bottom of the lowest ruffle or tier. It means the lowest ruffle or tier is quite long, about 900 inches, but it's no guarantee of fullness.

You'll need quite a bit of fullness from the knee to thigh in order to tuck or wrap your skirt hem at shoulder height, or to lift the hem high up over your head. If the skirt is fairly narrow at the knee, lifting the hem will pull the whole thing up.

Personally I like the look of a double circle with a ruffle (like Basha's), but most "big" skirt are tiered skirts. I get mine from India Bazaar. http://www.indiabazaar.net/ Everything is custom made and dyed, you can choose cotton or silk (very lush!) in sizes from 10 yd to 32 yd They also carry a "gore" skirt, very similar to Basha's in different sizes and materials.

I have "32 yd silky" skirt from we3. The bottom ruffle is about 3" deep, so although the bottom hem is technically 32 yds, in practical use the skirt is really much narrower. It's also quite narrow at the top. The silky poly fabric is just ok

For some really cool skirt dancing, poke around on Youtube for Mexican dancing and Mexican Skirt dancing. I've seen some gorgeous skirts, and the whole 5 minute dance is swirling skirts.

yep- a double circle with a ruffle is another way to do it- slightly different look. I do recommend at least having the ruffle tho!

also look for "russian gypsy" on youtube. I know that's not PC, but it will pull up the videos you want!

Originally Posted by LiesaB.

Over making them - or - over the pain?

LOL! I *think* my back is working again, but I don't think I can do another one for a while!

Originally Posted by LiesaB.

Very nice Basha! You're right, beautiful effect with spins! so it looks as tho it is not tiered, but made in "pie shaped wedges" seamed along the sides, with ruffle on bottom? It's beautiful! What other material would you use instead?

nope- not tiered. you are familalr with circle skirts right?

Its the same as a circle skirt- just a lot more half and quarter circles.

I want to say I did 4 full half circlels with the flowered fabric and 4 quarter circles in each colour alternating red/cream between the patterned stuff0 so 8 total quarter circlels.

So... if you were to add up the half circles it would be 12 of them.

Then I trimmed it at the bottom with a double ruffle of 4 and 6 inches.

The crepe was nice- as long as it isn't too texturie- mine was a smoother "crepe"
any of the satin or sateens would proably work.

There really wasn't anything wrong with the poplin but it really needed the weight at the bottom to fly. So something that isn't stiff- a litte weight is okay- but the stiff factor was an issue!


all dirty jokes aside there LOL

Originally Posted by LilithNoor

Oh my Gods, karnak, I can't even begin to imagine the amount of work that must have gone into those, especially to have them come out so neat and professional.

Thanks! I only made the blue one in this photo, but I helped out everyone else as I could. (I'm somewhere in the back. I think you can see part of my arm. Hee, hee!) There's an unwritten step after getting the bottom four tiers sewn together when panic sets in because it appears that the skirt is going to be too short! There are a few women that I dance with that used to be seamstresses. The skirts are too hard to make, but they are time consuming.

Basha, your massive skirt is very impressive! (I think I recall seeing it as a work in progress on Tribe.)

thank you *-*

yep- that was a year and some change ago- but same skirt! :)

Found some pics of the 50-yard skirt, although not necessarily good ones (excuse the bad posture!), first one is from years ago, the others a little more recent. The 'action' shot is off a two step turn - wish I could have found one taken during spins!

From memory, this took me and my mother about 2 days to make - didn't hang, cut it all ahead of time, including doing the calculations to cut the top edge of the top tier on the correct angles to gather onto the v-shaped yoke (that was fun!). We couldn't gather the material using the sewing machine, so mum pulled out the old nylon fishing line thread (very fine, of course) and we gathered each tier by hand to the correct length to fit the tier above it... as for sewing it together, yep, that was a two-person job: one to work the machine, the other to feed the materials over sewer's shoulder and ensure there were no tangles... no, I'm not making another in the near future.

You can probably just make out the details in the first pic - doubled satin yoke (you can't see that), faux-silk sari top tier (almost 7 yards), green embroiderie anglaise second tier (20 yards), matching chiffon and satin third tier - that's the 50 yard one, with 2:1 chiffon to satin, pink sari material attached to the bottom edge, green ribbon hiding that seam, plus 'feather' knitting wool attached all the way round near it's top. There's also pink ribbon over the seam between the 1st and 2nd tier, and hidden among the fold of green you'll find purple beads, ribbon, acrylic jewels and ribbon flowers grouped together strategically - tricky to see in the pic, but you catch their shine and movement when the sides of the skirt are picked up and manipulated.




Heavy? Yes!
Got momentum? Heck yeah!
Love it? Almost as much as my own child!!

The student troupe I used to belong to did skirt dancing with the 25-yard skirts from Moon Dance Belly Dance. They held up well and came in a good selection of colors, plus they were relatively affordable. They're also plenty long if you have any amazons in your troupe (I'm six feet tall and the ones I ordered were always a perfect length on me). Some of the shorter members of the troupe rolled their waistbands so they still had fullness but they didn't trip.

We did have one very tiny member (I don't think she was even 5 feet tall) who went with one that was the same design but with less yardage, since she would have disappeared in the bigger ones.

I should note that the skirts that we ordered from Moon Dance were of good quality, but a troupe member ordered a skirt from them in a different style and it practically fell apart after one wearing, so their quality might vary based on the specific product.

Wowza Superbunny - gorgeous!!
I think for troupe, most of the gals will order.
Thanks for all the great suggestions (keep em coming!) Myself - & other wacky seamstress types - I'll probably attempt, using the circles with ruffle on bottom style. It's a concept I have for my Nov-Dec recital, so I have time to play. I have tons and tons of fabric, so I am excited to see how much I have of what...
Prob be cursing in a few months tee hee.
Looking at Mexican skirts - that's a great tip!

Originally Posted by rachelw

I should note that the skirts that we ordered from Moon Dance were of good quality, but a troupe member ordered a skirt from them in a different style and it practically fell apart after one wearing, so their quality might vary based on the specific product.

I'm 5'10 so it's good to know that they are long enough. I thought of Moondance, I see that there are different materials & types of the 25 yrd skirts; which were the ones that your troupe got?

I will have to go back and find the inspiration for mine- it wasn't my idea- I asked to borrow it since it was so stunning- but hers was alternating black panels with black and white polka dots panels- and a white ruffle... very spanish.

OMG GOD <swoon> stunning...

let me see if I can dig it up- there was a video somewhere but now I can't find it... but I do have these still!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3053/...fe813551_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3161/...970d702b_b.jpg

Karnak, the blue skirt you made is lovely!! I'm torn between solid color or panels of diff colors. I love both looks in these skirts!! Hmmm, I guess it depends on what is in my fabric cavern, for starters.

Wow these are all beautiful. I cannot imagine making them - yikes - tons of work!

I love these big skirts, I have two from Scarlett's Lounge, two from We3, and one with mirrors and a velvet border that weighs an absolute ton but it's fab in lights - I think it isn't as full as the others but it's spectacular.

http://www.gypsymagda.com/skirts.html

http://www.flyingskirts.com/catalog/skirts.shtml

Also, the vendor wendybalisle on Ebay has some awesome stuff.

Flying Skirts has some beauties and Dahlal just got some wonderful ones with gradated colors.

There are many other sources now - I think possibly you can get away with a 10 yard + hem if it's one of the really fancy ones.

If you order, give LOTS OF TIME. I am too tall for ready made and have learned the hard way not to order too close to the time of the performance because guess what, the monsoons came or something.

Originally Posted by LiesaB.

Karnak, the blue skirt you made is lovely!! I'm torn between solid color or panels of diff colors. I love both looks in these skirts!! Hmmm, I guess it depends on what is in my fabric cavern, for starters.

You are gonna sew? Hats off!

PS think about the ones with different bands of color too -

Originally Posted by superbunny

Found some pics of the 50-yard skirt, although not necessarily good ones (excuse the bad posture!), first one is from years ago, the others a little more recent. The 'action' shot is off a two step turn - wish I could have found one taken during spins!

From memory, this took me and my mother about 2 days to make - didn't hang, cut it all ahead of time, including doing the calculations to cut the top edge of the top tier on the correct angles to gather onto the v-shaped yoke (that was fun!). We couldn't gather the material using the sewing machine, so mum pulled out the old nylon fishing line thread (very fine, of course) and we gathered each tier by hand to the correct length to fit the tier above it... as for sewing it together, yep, that was a two-person job: one to work the machine, the other to feed the materials over sewer's shoulder and ensure there were no tangles... no, I'm not making another in the near future.

You can probably just make out the details in the first pic - doubled satin yoke (you can't see that), faux-silk sari top tier (almost 7 yards), green embroiderie anglaise second tier (20 yards), matching chiffon and satin third tier - that's the 50 yard one, with 2:1 chiffon to satin, pink sari material attached to the bottom edge, green ribbon hiding that seam, plus 'feather' knitting wool attached all the way round near it's top. There's also pink ribbon over the seam between the 1st and 2nd tier, and hidden among the fold of green you'll find purple beads, ribbon, acrylic jewels and ribbon flowers grouped together strategically - tricky to see in the pic, but you catch their shine and movement when the sides of the skirt are picked up and manipulated.




Heavy? Yes!
Got momentum? Heck yeah!
Love it? Almost as much as my own child!!

Jealous. Very very jealous.

One thing to watch with the 3 tiered cotton skirts available from a number of sources: After a while, the cotton starts to tear at the seams joining the tiers.

Two ways to fix:

1) Sew trim over the seams - it dresses it up, reinforces, and hides the problem. This can be done before, or after, there's a problem. I did this to one of my skirts - and one of my wife's.

2) Sew a like colored ribbon UNDER the seams (on the inside). Is virtually invisible and reinforces. Can only be done BEFORE a problem crops up. It has the advantage of not changing the appearance of the skirt.

Originally Posted by LiesaB.

I'm 5'10 so it's good to know that they are long enough. I thought of Moondance, I see that there are different materials & types of the 25 yrd skirts; which were the ones that your troupe got?

I think they were the 25-yard skirts and they were black with a band of color along the bottom. Looking at their website now, though, I'm not seeing that design in that yardage. It was a few years ago, so I could be wrong, or maybe they don't make them in that design anymore.