Ruric-Amari Home Page » Belly Dance Costume Making » Veils
Many people prefer circular veils to rectangular ones because they are easier to use. If you want to be able to do a full range of veil dancing, build up arm strength so you can use both - they are both very different partners in the dance.
Ruric-Amari loves to dance with silk. Delilah swears by nylon tricot (Baer's here in Louisville calls it nylon chiffon, I believe). It is a cheap alternative to silk for beginners. Delilah's website sells tricot veils for $15 or you can get it at Baer's for $2/yd. Beginning students often find the standard veil sizes to be too big in both directions, and they feel a lot more comfortable trimming a few inches off a $6 veil than a $40-$75 one! Tricot doesn't need to be hemmed so you can experiment with any size or shape you want without sewing. Just don't wear anything that has edges that will snag, like cheaper coin belts and jewelery --- or it WILL snag!
Ruric´s workshops and classes usually include veil technique, so if you are interested in learning how to dance with a veil, check out www.Ruric-Amari.com for the latest class and workshop schedule.
A lot of the commercially available rectangular veils are 4-5mm weight, 42" wide, and 2.5 to 3 yards long. 4mm billows like clouds but requires especially strong arms when doing double veil work.
Dharma Trading is a very reliable source of 5mm silk Habotai(less than $3/yd). Dharma Trading is also a vendor of Jacquard acid silk dyes, which turn out to be wonderful! The 1/2 oz size, less than $5, will dye up to 3 veil lengths AND --- that's all it will dye! It won't dye your stove, your floor, your dishes, your spoon, or even the pot you cook it in! After you dye it, you rinse it and then air dry it. A cheap canning pot with enamel finish makes a great dye pot and it is not expensive. Here's the instructions on the Dharma trading site so you can see how easy it is.
| For something a little different, try a 3/4 circle instead of a half-circle veil. They make great capes as well! |  |
The following links include clear instructions on the types of veil shapes that dancers use and how to make them. If you are not sure how big you want your veil, buy some cheap nylon tricot (see above) and trim it until you have the shape that works for you.
To make a rectangular veil quickly, cut 42" wide silk along the grain into a 3-yard length.
The latest 'trend' is to NOT hem rectangular veils, but simply to cut it along the grain exactly. This will produce a different effect than a hemmed veil. It is all a matter of taste.