how to make a triangular hip scarf?

Adiva

Adiva

New member
hey all,

Knowing I'm not the greatest artist around, I would like to try and make a hip scarf like this one, anyone got an idea on how I should get started and mostly how much fabric I need, I suppose I need a large triangular shaped piece? what kind of fabric do you guys suggest??

and what do you guys suggest for finding the beads, make them individually or can you buy long wires as a whole? I don't even know if they are called beads in english, I don't want coins anyway, I wanna make one like the picture bellow...

thx
 
Thara

Thara

New member
Hi!
I think You need long border of fabric at last 20 cm wiber then Your hips, chiffon or velvet is used traditionnaly. I would put glass beads on crochet tread and then crochet in fishnet pattern.
Hope that helps :)
 
Aniseteph

Aniseteph

New member
Hi Adiva,

The ones I've seen usually are made of something fairly lightweight, I guess because the top edge folds over when you wear it and if you use heavier fabric it can get a bit bulky round the hips; who needs that? :lol:

The fishnet pattern Thara mentioned is shown here: Crochetblk.htm

Glass beads are strung onto the thread beforehand so they need to be big enough to thread, and without sharp edges or they will cut through the thread, at which point you need to mend it quick or all your work starts unravelling :mad:. If you can do crochet you can get the hang of the pattern quickly and go quite fast, but incorporating the beads is fiddly.

I don't know where you can find suitable beads in larger quantities and at a reasonable price. eBay usually has beads in amounts for jewellery makers, not bellydancers! I wouldn't be surprised if once you add up the cost of materials and the work you'd have to put into it you might as well treat yourself and just buy one!
 
B

belly_dancer

New member
Aniseteph said:
Hi Adiva,



I don't know where you can find suitable beads in larger quantities and at a reasonable price. eBay usually has beads in amounts for jewellery makers, not bellydancers! I wouldn't be surprised if once you add up the cost of materials and the work you'd have to put into it you might as well treat yourself and just buy one!
Click to expand...

yep... it has been my experience that once you add up the cost of beads/etc.. you might as well just buy one!!!!
PLUS unless you are super skilled the frustration is just not worth it!!!
(& I am sort of skilled!!!! eeeekkkk)
 
Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
If you do make a scarf just for the heck of it, chose beads that are a decent size and not too tiny- they are seen from a distance and there is no need to go blind and crazy trying to thread tiny beads onto crochet thread! I like handwork and will make a scarf for fun someday if I ever get the time.
 
K

kiewiet

New member
Hi adiva
You probably can buy one cheaper than making it nowadays but here goes the basics:
Buy a piece of fabric that will go around your hips and tie easily in a knot - if you want a triangle you buy a square piece of which the diagonal line from corner to opposite corner is the needed size (hope that makes sense:think:)
You have to hem it according to the fabric type - most of the scarves, like you showed, in Australia are chiffon or similar type which require a strong rolled hem. To measure this, tie a tape measure (knot it like you would a scarf) around your hips and add 10cm for hems and allowance for fabric thickness.
The beaded fringe is crocheted on. You can buy rocaile or similar beads loose or on thread but whichever way you go you will have to string them onto your crocheting cotton as the thread they are sold on is not strong enough to last on a scarf. You also have to sort through them and remove any with broken edges or chips as they cut the thread. Very time consuming:(
Once you have them strung you crochet the edging, incorporating beads as you go. The stitches used are very basic but it takes a while to get comfortable with adding the beads in at the same time
The big drawbacks are that it is quite difficult to estimate how many beads you will use but we are talking about 750g-1kg or more depending on your fringe width. Finding beads and crocheting thread that will actually go through the holes in the beads is difficult too and in any batch of beads there will be differences in the beadhole sizes. This means you will have to buy extra to allow for this. Also bead dye lots differ so try to get what you need at one time so that the beads match. It can work out to a LOT of money
The beads on the scarve in your picture look as if they are the faceted kind (they have little ridges which reflect light) and they can be a curse to work with if you don't have experience.
I would suggest try making a small piece first before you go and buy all the actual stuff to make it with.
Good luck if you do decide to make it
 
Adiva

Adiva

New member
thank you guys all so much for all the advice, you are so helpfull... and the reason why I was thinking of making one myself is because it is really hard to find one out here, I checked out a neighbourhood here in Brussels (it is kind of the Arabic quarter of the city) but no luck, so I think there are like 3 real belly dance stores left, somewhere in Belgium, but when I will ever get there I don't know, maybe I'll try and be patient and someday I'll get there;)

thanks anyway everybody!!!
 
K

kiewiet

New member
Adiva, look on the internet. A lot of places ship for very reasonable prices to other countries and have a return policy. Also here in Oz some places advertise on the net but not in the local papers, so you may find a supplier or dance school with a good range not to far away by checking out the internet.
If credit card payments is your beef(they are mine:mad:Hate them) quite a few places have been happy for me to pay in other ways, so its worth asking about it.
 
K

karencity

New member
I'm looking for one of those too. eieio's emporium has them but I'm having a hard time because it's not in the US
 
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