How to Tie a Belly Dance Hip Scarf

The first thing most belly dance students buy is a jingly belly dance hip scarf. But tying it on is not as simple as it looks! New dancers are often surprised at how easily a hip scarf slips down their hips as they dance. And if the coins and beads go all the way to the ends - which most do - you'll soon discover that when you tie it, you have to drag the coins/beads through the knot. Do that a few times, and you'll start to find that beads and coins are falling off your hip belt as you shimmy!

Wrap the hip scarf around you with one tie in each hand. Work out where you need to tie it.

Now, grab a handful of material from the centre of each tie at that point, so you have a "rabbit ear" in each hand. Tie the rabbit ears together.

This option looks good, as it creates a neat tie with the ends of the hip scarf hanging down.

Now here's the snag - this option only works if your hip belt is a good length.

If your hip scarf is short (or you're wide!), your rabbit ears will be more like cats' ears, and too small to tie. If that's the case, you'll need to go for one of the other alternatives - the Ponytail or the Tuck.

For this option, you'll need one of those ponytail ties with two beads on them. I have a few in different colours to match my hip scarves!

Wrap your hip scarf around you and cross one end over the other, as if you're about to tie a knot. Now take your ponytail tie and wrap it around the half-knot of the scarf.

Because you don't have to tie a knot, this works with much smaller hip scarves than the rabbit ears. Be careful, though - I managed to damage the chiffon on one of my scarves by being too rough pulling it through the ponytail tie.

Instead of tying your hip belt, why not just tuck it in?

You should always wear pants or skirt that sit on the hip anyway - if your skirt sits on the waist, it'll affect your focus, even if you add a hip scarf. So all you have to do is wrap your scarf around you, and tuck it into your waistband.

This option works best if you wear the hip scarf to the side. Hold your scarf so the ties are at one hip. Now tuck the back tie in first, just in front of your hipbone. Pull the scarf tight and tuck the front tie in on top. If it feels insecure, add a safety pin or even a big blingy brooch to keep it in place.

Unfortunately, belly dance hip scarves are delicate and with all the shimmying and shaking of class, plus taking it on and off and carrying it around, they do get damaged and even the best quality ones will eventually lose their coins and decoration. So it's important to do what you can to delay the inevitable!

For more hints and tips on belly dance costuming, visit BellyDanceBazaar.org.

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Text copyright Marisa Wright.

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