Forums > Technical Discussion > Wrap-proof skirt for firespinning

Posted: 12th Apr 2003
Hey rozi,

cool thread! are you a seamstress of sorts? i would like to make a kilt soon, do you know how hard those are by any chance?

material: denim is always a safe choice. my party pants (!!) are heavy denim, i do lots of wraps against those. any kind of natural fabric will be definetly safe (safe being not melt onto your skin).
for non-natural, kevlar and nomex immediately come to mind. theres probably a safe point for the hybrid fabrics, ie: i have some UFO pants that are ~50% cotton, 50% synthetic. i feel safe burning in those.

style: well, you mentioned a skirt and that you had some vague ideas in your head. i like the raver styles so thats we're i might look for inspiration. heres a example of the UFO skirt. https://www.synth-tec.com/product.asp?pid=101




better examples; https://www.villagestreetwear.com/ufoskirt.html


heres my favorite kilt designer; https://www.utilikilts.com/



arashi:: talk some fashion yo!! i needs me some pointers.

peace

matt

Posted: 12th Apr 2003
difficulty is that I want to get a real bellydance feel to the outfit, which means flowy skirts that are not flowy

I had a couple of ideas:

1. A skirt that is fitted across the hips anh then flairs out to a bell shape (rather than full floaty madness)
2. A plain black skirt in fairly utility type material (natural fabrics) sitting low on the hips, with a silvery belly dance belt over it to give it that feel.
3. A floaty skirt, but with a top/dress over it that is of heavier material and reaches to the thighs

Love your links, I have been trawling through them and there is some gorgeous stuff on there. I really liked that dress with the hood, it is so sexy. Many possibilities.

It was a day for screaming at inanimate objects.

What this calls for is a special mix of psychology and extreme violence...

Posted: 12th Apr 2003
Silk might work.

Also you could use something with a bit of synthetics in it to give it a light "flowy" look and spray a ton of fire retardent stuff on it.

Personally I wouldn't use fire with anything that's a 50/50 mix atleast not without fire retardent spray. Since I haven't actually used fire retardent spray I would take a piece of the fabric I plan on wearing, spray it up and see how easily it melts or burns (which btw is an excellent way to test anything, just expose it to fire under controlled circumstances and see what happens)

Posted: 16th Apr 2003
Maybe make the skirt out of leather, it might be a bit more fire retartend, and you'd be able to layer it, and then just sew some belly dancing style coins onto them so you get the jingle with it...just a thought.
Josphin

Posted: 16th Apr 2003
Silk is flamable `

Leather is probably your best option Rozi, go to a leather worker, and get a bunch of soft suede peices, then patchwork them together gypsy style. If you leave the ends as points and different colours/angles patched together, it would look very sexy and interesting when you spin!

Currently on the right side up of the world.

Posted: 17th Apr 2003
I am heading towards denim. You can get some lighter weight ones that are still a pretty dense weave, at the same time you can dye it other colours.

It was a day for screaming at inanimate objects.

What this calls for is a special mix of psychology and extreme violence...

Posted: 17th Apr 2003
Okay, as a bellydancer and as a costume designer please do not limit yourself to the idea of overly flowy.

Egyptian Cabaret dancers wear tight and close to the body skirts. There are also so many options here. Swirrals (pants). Harem Pants. Both have a flowy feel, are worn by Middle Eastern Dancers and work for fire. Harem Bloomers. A shortened version of the pants, cropped just under the knee.
I wear skirt to spin in, 6 to 10 yard/metre skirts (the bottom edge measures that much fabric) and do just fine. It takes practice, alot of it.
Also Bellydancers wear a good deal of glass and metal....that is an option to concider. I have the most astounding gold glass and metal beaded outfit that I wear for fire dancing. It is flowy and showy! And these bra and belt sets move with you to accent your dance without getting in the way of the fire. I wear mine over everything, including leather pants.

You might also want to concider a panel skirt. It is a panel in the front and in the back attached together at the hips. This can be worn (if daring) over the slightest of undergarments or over Harem pants. Nice flow, less fabric. The open sides are a great pleaser for trailing and such.

Refined silk is flamamble yes, but raw silk is not and it flows and billows beautifully. It is a bit heavier than refined, and so is warmer. I wear it as my primary costume in Ren shows as Harem pants and a bibbed Choli.
Cotton. A tight nice grade of cotton has a similar effect without the flare.
Demin is too heavy, as is leather, for the effect you are looking for.

How long have you been bellydancing Rozi? Which style do you pursue currently?

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

Posted: 17th Apr 2003
Currently I don't . I have done a tiny bit of bellydancing, very much beginners stuff, a few months ago. The idea of me combining fire and bellydance kinda sparked a couple of months ago when I was at a gathering and was practicing balancing a staff on my head, and then doing chest circles and belly rolls.

However I also realised just recently that a lot of the music I was listening to lended itself perfectly to dancing with fire, and the only way to do it was to do bellydance moves.

I am trying to find a good class nearby to get back into it again, cos I really loved it.

Mmmmmm, skirt ideas beginning to bubble and boil

It was a day for screaming at inanimate objects.

What this calls for is a special mix of psychology and extreme violence...

Posted: 18th Apr 2003
Hip moves are also really good when balancing stuff. Isolations, and once you get good at it, even some spins and knee moves.

I am going to be teaching some workshops when in Aus on bellydance. I should see if I can teach some in Sydney, aye?

Go to different belly sites and suppliers for further ideas, btw. There are soooooo many options out there now!

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

Posted: 17th Apr 2003
This isn't even relevant but I thought it would be kind of funny to make clothing covered in those plastic googly eyes (like you glue onto puppets) I don't know the term to describe it but I picture them hanging by short little threads so they swing around whenever you move.

You could start with bigger eyes at the top and gradually use smaller ones near the bottom. It would be the perfect type of nonsensical crap for those weird fashion shows. All the fashion reporters would say it is "allureing, outstanding and ground breaking"

Posted: 18th Apr 2003
Astar...or maybe "eye catching" ?
I could picture it as a fringe, absolutely.

Okay...I know..stupid punny.
My friend (she went to FIT in NYC) designed (and made) a dress of those pop top can tabs. From a distance it looked like chainmaille. She also made one of nothing but Queen of Hearts Cards. Those were interesting.

In Egypt the top Cabaret dancers wear themed costumes. One of my favorties, Sameia, wears this fruit costume with a head dress like Carmen Miranda. Instead of straps for the shoulder it is a banana and grape bunch. I have also seen a crustacian theme (seriously, a plastic lobster was the shoulder strap with a clam shell bra!). Denya (another dancer) wears a spider themed outfit that is really pretty.
Truthfully, with enough time and creativity, anything can be made to work!

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

Posted: 18th Apr 2003
I don't suppose you have pictures of the lobster outfit? Lobsters and anything related to lobsters is sort of a inside joke with a group of friends of mine and they would go nuts if they saw a picture of a lobster dress.